Directed by Kevin Greutert

Written by Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg

A sick and desperate John travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. (IMDB)

John Kramer is back!

Sort of.

Saw X sees the return of Jigsaw and yet more ingenious, slightly unbelievable traps and games for unsuspecting victims.

Of course, he’s not ‘back’ as such, we are simply treated to an almost two hour ‘flashback’ as we get an origin story of sorts as John (Tobin Bell) seeks a miracle treatment for his cancer. However, he finds himself south of the border, Mexico way, getting scammed by some unscrupulous con artists, promising the sick a disease-free future for huge amounts of cash.

When he realises their deception, he enlists the help of some familiar faces and seeks revenge by kidnapping his scammers and forcing them to play some typically unpleasant Jigsaw games in the desperate hope for redemption.

Nestled between Saw and Saw II, X can’t really be considered a true origin story as John is already well into his campaign of terror, but it does give us a deeper glimpse into his background and motivations for doing what he does. Whether or not we need this is debatable. The Saw films are really all about the traps, the morality of the victims and the lessons they learn (or not) at Jigsaw’s hands; do we need to understand Jigsaw that deeply to enjoy the terror and gore? Saw X seems to have taken a leaf out of other recent origin stories like Joker and Cruella, turning things on their head in a bid to illicit sympathy for otherwise psychopathic nut jobs. Yes, John is on a crusade to punish the guilty and we all root for him regardles, but a quick glimpse at any one of his traps outlines just how wacko he really is.

Whether we need an origin tale or not, we’ve got one. However, we also have another Saw film. So does it stack up to the ever growing catalogue of Jigsaw shenanagans?

Yes and no.

Saw X is not best in the series, but it is also not the worst. We get traps and games, blood and gore, twists and turns, and Billy and his tricycle. What more could you want? Pig masks and fan favourite characters, of course!

It’s all here and it delivers just what you would want from a Saw film. Because of this it probably won’t win any new converts and anyone who jumped ship a while ago is unlikely to find anything new here to bring them back into the fold. But those of us who have stuck with Jigsaw through the ups and downs of the franchise will find enough to enjoy and satisfy our latest fix in a series that isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Most people who are still with the series by this point will know what happens to John and what is in the future for him, but that doesn’t stop Saw X leaving things open for a potential prequel-sequel!

Like many of the other films, the plotting is flimsy and the extremely elaborate set up for some of the traps and the associated plot twists won’t stand up to much scrutiny, but that’s not what we are here for. By the time we get to the revelation that John has been in control all along and that iconic Saw theme music kicks in, we don’t care, it just feels like we are in a safe pair of psychopathic hands. This is what we came for and the film delivers for the fans.

Tobin Bell and his ‘friends’ are fantastic as ever and the rest of the cast do a great job of veering between slimy con artist to angry captive and to terrified victim. It’s shot in typically grimy Saw fashion with grainy muted colours but without detracting from the stomach churning nature of Jigsaw’s games. This is often the strength of many of the films, the squeamish delight in seeing someone with pipe bombs sewn into their skin and just a scalpel to help them escape. The ‘what would you do?’ vibe is strong with these films, it’s part of the fun as the audience can watch in horror as they try to decide whether or not they would have the guts to break their own fingers to save their eyeballs!

While not everyone’s cup of tea, there is no denying the lasting appeal of the Saw franchise as a guilty pleasure; a gory shlock-fest, perfect for Halloween.

SAW X is available to buy and rent on digital 30 October from Lionsgate UK

pictures provided by Alternate Current and copyright LionsGate Films