Saw X 2023 Movie Review
If “Saw X” followed the logic of the franchise even rudimentarily, I would have very little to comment on. But I am taking the opportunity that Kevin Greutert gives me to actually refer to the problematic pretext that created it and its lowly real purpose. James Wan and Leigh Whannell with “I See You” created an original horror film where the character of John Kramer-Jigsaw is introduced through the dialogue of the two trapped characters. We get just as much information as it needs for the exciting twists to occur before the film ends by completing its self-contained purpose.
The “Saw” franchise is essentially created by Darren Lynn Bousman who directed 4 sequels and defined their content and directorial style, with the stylized sharp editing and constant flashbacks that allowed the perpetual return of the dying/dead to the screen Jigsaw, interspersing between the Games scenes that imbued the plot with an air of police mystery.
Jigsaw’s dark character proved to be a driving force strong enough for the screenwriters to create an entire philosophy behind his criminal acts, one doomed by its relentless re-analysis to become increasingly murky, absurd and reprehensible with each film. Jigsaw is a genius engineer and a paranoid criminal, two aggressive designations intertwined in art. In the fictional context of the slasher, which aims to enthrall the viewer through increasingly sick and often repulsive Games that intrigue because they present themselves as a kind of perverse reality, it is futile to take this philosophy seriously.
All of these are directly related to “Saw X”. It is paradoxical how Greutert, a stable editor and director of the franchise, throws away all the familiar features to create something unprecedentedly pedestrian in both areas he had undertaken. Horror is not combined with mystery but with an – at best – uncomfortable social drama. If “I See You” felt like a one-act play for two actors, “Saw X” corresponds to a fully developed play where the characters develop in an unprecedentedly empty way for the benefit of the twist that wants to impose a different kind of diabolical. character that turns Jigsaw into a victim of his own prey.
The idea might have been exciting if it weren’t part of a barbaric franchise with nefarious – yet entertaining – entertainment motives. The realization of this pseudo-serious drama is done with zero suspense-building skills, since the Game now takes place in the background without a trace of interest, having in the foreground the meaningless interactions of the poorly developed characters and the graphic performances of the cast. I’m excluding Tobin Bell’s presence, as it’s the only film that gives him a chance to actually star and provide the only solace in its unreasonably long running time.
The future inspirations of the creators for the course of the series are unknown, but all they have to do practically is to bring back the sadistic element. Analyzes of a killer’s arbitrary philosophy stemming from a purely subjective attitude towards life as a pretext for depth of content are laughable. And to Jigsaw’s constant motto “I have never killed anyone, the decisions are always theirs”, I respond with the Latin saying about law: the moral instigator as the perpetrator counts.
