Saw X (2023) Dir: Kevin Greutert

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Having blitzed my way through the previous films in the infamous extreme horror franchise known as 'Saw', it was finally time for me to watch the most recent film in the franchise, which was once more directed by Kevin Greutert, who had done a few of the previous films. This one, incredibly the tenth 'Saw' film, was set between the events of the first two 'Saw' films, which surprised me a little, but presented more opportunities for narrative direction, considering the events of most of the previous sequels.

As it pertained to the cinematography, I actually think this may be the strongest film in the whole franchise. It was by far the most slick, the most crisp, and the best lit film to-date. However, I did have fairly mixed emotions about the various traps that were used. Aesthetically speaking, some of them were interesting, but I felt like I'd seen much better or more creative in other 'Saw' films, unfortunately.

The film did at least have one major plus over most of the other sequels, and that was its far more cohesive and emotionally driven story, with the exception of the first film. With that said, this one was still not without its issues. Two of the major plot twists were extremely predictable, and the way the story attempted to redeem John Kramer was a little weird to me. Either way, as far as this franchise goes, the narrative was far stronger than many of those that have come before it.

Tobin Bell has been the everpresent face of the franchise, even when he was technically not even the main character anymore, but on this occasion, he was well and truly the key role of the film. It was slightly weird to see a noticeably older Bell playing a younger version of himself, although it's not the first time that the franchise has done this. As for his acting, I thought Bell did a fairly good job - it was arguably one of his best, and most consistent performances, though not the most memorable, in fairness.

Shawnee Smith also returned to the franchise, which was cool, but also weird, because, much like with Bell, she had clearly and understandably aged since the films that her character existed in. Her acting was fine, but fairly unimpressive. I wouldn't say I was particularly sold on her character, compared to the way she had explored it in her prior appearances. With that said, she provided at least some interesting insights into her character's psyche at various points of the story.

The film's main antagonist was played by Synnøve Macody Lund, who I did initially enjoy, but gradually got bored of by the time the film was getting to its finale. The writing for her character was a little weird, but it was more about the awkward way in which Lund portrayed the main shift in her persona in the second half of the film that irked me - it just didn't quite work. The film also featured two noteworthy performances from Steven Brand and Renata Vaca, albeit mainly for the amount of screentime they had, as opposed to the quality of their acting - of the two, Vaca was far more convincing, though.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty good return to the 'Saw' universe, which gave the franchise the more thought-out writing that it had been screaming for since arguably all the way back to the second film. The traps may not have impressed me so much, but I'm more than willing to let that slide on account of the improved story, which made for much easier viewing. I hope that, if we do eventually see the currently shelved 'Saw XI', this positive trend continues.