I adore the Saw franchise. Ever since James Wan’s 2004 original revolutionised low-budget horror, each one has brought something to the table. While many criticise the franchise for falling into common ‘torture porn’ trappings, I find all of them to have their own merit. Even those later ones, dominated by Kostas Mandalore’s deplorable Detective Hoffman, are very frequent rewatches when I’m in need of some comfort.

That’s why I was hugely excited when Saw X was announced in 2021. Coming off the back of Spiral: From the Book of Saw, which was a serviceable spin-off lacking in personality, news of Tobin Bell’s return was music to my ears. The grace and calmness he brought to John Kramer, despite the character’s sociopathic tendencies, really carried the first seven entries in the franchise – even if he may have been dead since the third entry.

A sequel to the first film taking place before the second, Saw X is a perfect return for the franchise, proving that nearly 20 years on the premise still has legs. Rather than trying to constantly shoe in ways to bring Kramer back through flashbacks or imitator killers, it takes the logical approach of going as a straight prequel. In fact, it’s a more focused, emotionally resonant, and enjoyable film for it.

Taking place after Kramer dispatched of Leigh Whannell’s Adam in the 2004 original, Saw X shows our pseudo-protagonist heading to Mexico for an experimental, unproven cancer treatment. Recommended by an acquaintance he met at a cancer support group, Kramer spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on this risky cure – but when it all turns out to be a ruse, he gets revenge in the only possible way he knows.

It’s far more plot-driven and densely written than previous Saw films, which makes X a real breath of fresh air. The film does away with the hyper-fast cuts and music video aesthetics, with a much more sombre tone. That even boils down to the understated opening credits, and the reluctance to lean too much on traditional imagery like Billy the Puppet.

Instead, it’s Tobin Bell’s performance that carries Saw X, as he spends more time contemplating his mortality than brutally killing those who wronged him. Those moments still come, for sure—I’ll never be able to look at rope the same way—but it’s just as much a character study of a helplessly angry man devoid of hope as it is a horror flick. Bell’s performance is vulnerable and soulless in equal measure; the embodiment of this contradiction between fearing for the end of his own life while simultaneously forcing others to fight for theirs.

Those survivors are less immediately magnetic than we’ve seen in other Saw films, though. X goes back to its roots by setting the final hour in mostly one room, without much variety in the range of traps or environments. That’s unlike the madhouse of Saw II, or even the back-and-forth between the bathroom and the real world in Saw.

This does throw the pacing off-kilter a bit, especially as the film is nearing in at two hours, much longer than the average Saw film. Ten or fifteen minutes off the runtime would’ve likely tightened up the final hour, especially when the classic twists and turns kick in at the end. By this point, you’re wondering how the story will wrap up, before realising there’s still a way to go. It’s only a criticism because the Saw films are so good because of their tightness; how effectively they shock you and leave you feeling hollow afterwards. X still achieves that, but it could do so in a more efficient fashion.

But that’s not enough to detract from just how refreshing it is to see a Saw film with some clear artistic chops behind it again. It feels like more than gory entertainment, unlike most of the others. Just like James Wan’s original, it has filmmaking quality coursing through it, a real director’s vision bleeding through from series mainstay Kevin Greutert. It’s testament to how enjoyable the rest of the film is that this review barely dissects the gory traps: they’re still here as ever, but the sheen that surrounds them is even more remarkable.

In the days since first drafting this review, Lionsgate officially greenlit Saw XI, due out in late 2024. If this most recent entry is anything to go by, the Saw franchise is back and better than it has been in almost two decades. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier.

★★★½

Saw X is available now on DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital.