Sometimes I worry about myself…

With Saw X hitting theatres tomorrow it made sense we went into this press screening with somewhat ‘lowered’ expectations for a film that would maximize the gross out and strain credibility even at the best of times (it is a Saw movie after all).  While it still hits the beats that you’d expect, this chapter actually has a twist on the violence that you actually may not see coming.

John Kramer (Tobin Bell) is back. The most disturbing installment of the Saw franchise yet explores the untold chapter of Jigsaw’s most personal game. Set between the events of Saw I and II, 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. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through devious, deranged, and ingenious traps.

If you had told me that at the beginning of this week that we’d see John Kramer basically pull a Dexter Morgan and makes us actually care about him, then I’d owe you a Coke.

While there isn’t a soul on the planet who would call these films anything other than trashy entertainment, there’s something that’s oddly endearing about Saw X as it gives the carnage something it had more or less been lacking since the original three films; purpose that we actually give a damn about.

Director Kevin Greutert returns to the franchise (he directed Saw VI & 3D) and allows us to see the evolution of the monster that is Jigsaw.  While it’s says it’s set between the events of parts 1 & 2, there’s certainly connective tissue to the original 3 films in the franchise and rewards the audience just enough by allowing us to truly understand the nature of the rules.

The style of it all leans into the desperation and brutality that surrounds these characters and doesn’t just give us random industrial gothic settings for the hell of it.  Sure there are some logic gaps that you can drive a MACK truck through in between some pretty brutal kills (it is a Saw movie after all) but those actually get washed away thanks to some pretty solid character work.

This might actually be the first time we see John Kramer as a human being and don’t be surprised if you find yourself cheering for his brand of carnage on moral grounds rather than just for the spectacle of it all.

Bell actually shows some genuine humanity in the performance as the groundwork of his moral code becomes even clearer throughout the movie.  Shawnee Smith returning as Amanda allows for some subtle nuance between the teacher and the pupil to the point that it almost resembles a father/daughter dynamic and it only helped in getting us invested in the carnage that John Kramer would be reeking on his subjects who were forced into playing his “games”.

While there’s nothing here to suggest that the violence of the franchise has anywhere else to go other than a reboot, what Saw X does is actually put the John Kramer character in perspective.

Saw X embraces the idea of the John Kramer as an anti-hero and while everything that Kramer/Jigsaw is reprehensible, this chapter allows us to actually understand him, empathize with him and respect him because in a world that is losing its moral compass, it’s a little ironic and even admirable that John Kramer still has one…even one as screwed up as it is.