MOVIE REVIEW – Tobin Bell returns to the big screen as Jigsaw. Creativity and brutality continue to take center stage as the latest installment in the franchise features torture and gore on an unprecedented scale. Old acquaintances and new threads are intertwined in a bloody story that bleeds heavily in a series of logical lapses.

Horror fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of Tobin Bell in the latest Saw film. Even though the original Jigsaw, John Kramer, died in Saw 3, the filmmakers went back in time in a new and imaginative way, to a time between Saw and Saw II.

Chris Rock may have starred in the latest installment of the hit Saw horror movie franchise, Spiral, but the original John Kramer, so memorably portrayed by Tobin Bell in the other films in the series, is unlike any copycat killer. Fans of the horror films known as “torture porn” (whose names should probably be registered with the local authorities) will be delighted to see Bell return in the 10th film, “Saw X”, where he gets even more screen time. The character is/isn’t dead – but that’s only because this story takes place in the appropriate timeline.

This movie is sickly twisted – but that’s why they love it

For those unfamiliar with the franchise, a brief introduction: John Kramer, aka Jigsaw (we won’t go into why he’s called Jigsaw), lost his life in Saw 3. Nevertheless, the producers kept him in the sequels with flashbacks and old footage. But now we come to a movie that tells the story of the events between the first and the second part.

In this episode, Kramer is still suffering from terminal cancer, although ironically it will not be the cause of his death (look it up if you’re curious). The interesting thing about this movie is that Jigsaw, who has led countless people to their deaths with his brutal torture, now finds himself in a support group for cancer patients. Every villain has a sensitive side, especially when it comes to his own demise.

This scam story thread is a scam itself

When Kramer meets a fellow cancer survivor, Michael Beach, who has made an impressive recovery, he discovers a life-saving treatment developed by a Norwegian doctor. But it has not been approved for use in the United States. Kramer seeks out the doctor’s daughter, Cecilia, who has taken over her father’s practice. He travels to Mexico and undergoes the supposedly life-saving procedure in a secret clinic near Mexico City.

But not surprisingly, it is all a scam, and everyone from the doctors involved, to the nurses, to the driver who picks him up from the airport, are all part of this fraudulent charade. And if there’s anyone who’s not lucky enough to be fooled, it’s none other than John Kramer. He soon realizes what is going on and takes revenge in his own unique way. He is aided by his trusted student Amanda, who was a strong ally at the time. The “small matter” that both Bell and Smith are much older than their characters should be in this part of the movie can be overlooked.

Unreliable, Slowly Developing Story

Just as other elements of the story are completely implausible, such as the medical fraud, which in reality, in this form, would be completely unfeasible if so many patients were defrauded. Of course there is medical fraud, in private clinics, but it is not used in such an obvious way.

Saw X’s plots also have the flaw of unfolding much more slowly than in previous episodes, but they eventually reach the point that is the franchise’s hallmark: showing in gory detail how Jigsaw’s victims try to escape the deadly traps he has designed with fiendish precision. In these moments, the victims often have to make horrible, horrible decisions to avoid a horrible death – which we won’t go into, because that’s the point of the movie. The “games” are again extremely gruesomely creative, and in this respect the movie does not disappoint.

“You’re fucking sick…”

– notes an “observer” character to Kramer and Amanda, and you can’t really argue with him. (Why have critics when the actors do the work for us?) As perverse as these movies are, there’s no denying that they’re incredibly clever in their portrayal of Kramer, who somehow manages to elicit some sympathy even as he does unthinkable things to people. As he himself often mentions, he never kills anyone directly – the victims always have a chance to survive if they are brave enough (sometimes literally). When Cecilia asks him at the beginning of the movie what he does for a living, Kramer simply replies, “What I do is help people deal with their personal problems” – and one is inclined to question his own thoughts about the character. And by the end, you feel a deep-seated sympathy for him, both because his victims often deserve their fate and because his elaborate traps are amazing. We should also add that this “let’s make a good guy out of the iconic horror character” is a very tiresome and cheap gimmick, which also does not help the story much.

Of course, the whole thing would be much less effective without Tobin Bell, whose raspy voice and somber expression give Jigsaw’s iconic “Would you like to play a game?” the dark charm that makes it so memorable. Bell’s performance really brings the character to life, much like Robert Englund did with Freddy Krueger. It just wouldn’t work with any other actor.

-BadSector-