“Jigsaw” Mask Profile Photo of the Official “Saw” Franchise Facebook Page
Ever since its release in theaters on Sept. 29, “Saw X” has drawn millions of viewers to theaters across the world, grossing over $52 million so far according to Box Office Mojo. “Saw X” is the tenth movie in the “Saw” franchise, hence the roman numeral “X.”
The “Saw” movies follow John Kramer, a deranged elderly man who places his victims, who are usually immoral individuals, into “games” to punish them for their wrongdoings. During the “games,” the victims are usually forced to either inflict extreme bodily injury upon themselves in order to survive, or they allow themselves to succumb to Kramer’s traps.
“Saw X” stars Tobin Bell, who plays the infamous John Kramer, known as the “Jigsaw Killer” in the story. Shawnee Smith plays Amanda Young, Kramer’s apprentice and former victim. In the original “Saw” movie, released in 2004, Amanda was placed into one of Kramer’s traps and was forced to kill a man in order to survive. When she does, Kramer recruits her as part of his team and hires her to assist him in his “punishing” of these so-called “sinners.”
The main antagonist of the film is Dr. Cecelia Pederson, a sketchy Norwegian doctor played by actress Synnøve Macody Lund, along with Parker Sears, portrayed by Steven Brand. The other more minor antagonists are the members of Dr. Pederson’s team: Valentina, played by Paulette Hernández, Mateo, played by Octavio Hinojosa, Dr. Diego Cortez, played by Joshua Okamoto, as well as Valentina, a patient of Pederson’s portrayed by Paulette Hernández.
A few weeks ago, when I heard of the release of “Saw X,” I decided to watch the original “Saw” movie as the film series always seemed intriguing to me. I had seen people online making parodies of the films, and I always thought the films to seem intriguing.
The main difference I noticed from the first film to this one was the contrast in the portrayal of Kramer and his victims. In the original “Saw,” Kramer is hardly seen in the movie at all, and the vast majority of the film follows two victims who had unfortunately been placed in one of Kramer’s “games,” and their attempts at beating the game to survive. Kramer is portrayed as the antagonist, as I believe he is in most of the other films in the franchise.
However, in “Saw X,” Kramer is seen in a drastically different light. The opening scene of the film shows a sickly Kramer lying in an MRI machine, and it is revealed shortly thereafter that he is dying of cancer and is given only a few months to a year to live.
We see Kramer in a more vulnerable state than in the first film, and I found myself almost sympathetic toward Kramer despite all of the despicable things he had done to people in the previous films.
Kramer seeks help from a seemingly optimistic doctor who claims that she has found a revolutionary cure for cancer. Kramer is operated on, but it is all revealed to be a fraud. Seeking revenge, he places the people who lied to him in a series of his infamous traps, demonstrating to them how truly precious life is, which is something that they have taken away from him.
Kramer is written to be the victim in this story, which has been unseen prior to this extension of the franchise. In contrast to the initial “Saw” film, the victims, a term I use loosely in regards to this specific installment of the series, are truly despicable people, whereas in the original installment, the victims committed trivial wrongdoings and certainly did not deserve the hell they were put through.
From the vulnerability we see in John Kramer to the many inconceivably unexpected plot twists, “Saw X” undoubtedly kept not only me, but everyone I was with in the theater on the edge of our seats the entire duration of the film. The cast is packed with talented actors and actresses who managed to exhibit true terror in their performances, and the special effects were very realistic, if not utterly horrifying.
The success of the “Saw” film series has proven it to be nothing short of a masterpiece, and the tenth installment unquestionably lived up to this standard.