Saw X, the tenth instalment in the Saw franchise has surprised horror fans and critics around the globe, becoming the most highly praised Saw film in years and conquering the box office. Kevin Greutert, director of Saw VI and The Final Chapter, returns as both director and editor. Greutert has served as the editor on every entry in the franchise and is largely responsible for the distinctive visual style which has been imprinted into the minds of audiences since the franchise’s inception. Gruetert, along with other returning cast and crew, have been present for the franchise’s best and worst moments and are responsible for some truly awful cinema moments, but perhaps their perseverance has paid off. Saw X is faithful to the franchise, reminiscent of early entries, character driven and innovative. While it shocks and disturbs, as we would expect from a Saw film, it also has an unexpected heart. The characters of John Kramer and Amanda Young, as despicable as they may be, have been a part of the cultural zeitgeist for two decades, and Saw X fleshes out their motivations and explores their complex relationship deeper than ever before.
Saw (2003) was the brainchild of James Wan and Leigh Whannell, two graduates of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology who have remained close friends and frequent collaborators. Twenty years ago, Wan and Whannell directed, wrote and starred in Saw, a short film set entirely in a grimy bathroom with just two characters chained to opposite walls. The simplicity of the story was largely due to the lack of funds available to the two creatives, but after a trip to the U.S. and international distribution of the short, the filmmakers quickly accumulated enough cash to finance the production of a feature length film, and within a year, Saw (2004) was released and became the second highest grossing horror film of all time, following Wes Craven’s Scream, and began one of the most beloved horror franchises of all time.
Saw was produced at a time often referred to as the era of ‘torture porn’, with American-made films like Hostel, The Human Centipede and Saw all being released in quick succession. The decade also saw remakes of The Hills Have Eyes, I Spit on Your Grave, House of Wax, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween and The Last House on the Left, all of which pushed the gore and torture even further than the original concepts dared to. Horror was grimy, vomit-hued and meaner than ever before. At the time of their release, most of the previously mentioned films were slated by critics for their lack of originality and their depictions of graphic violence. Despite lack of critical praise, audiences couldn’t get enough, prompting studios to churn out similarly nasty films at an unstoppable rate. Today, in the Y2K renaissance, 2000s horror has gained somewhat of a cult status, and the aesthetics of Saw and its counterparts have become immediately recognisable to fans of the genre, as well as casual audiences. You will be hard pressed to find someone, even someone who is staunchly anti-horror, who can’t conjure up some kind of image of Saw or Hostel – dark rooms, torture devices, filthy floors and brutality have become synonymous with the titles. Hardcore fans of the franchise (such as myself) are devoted to it, defending scenes that even we believe are indefensible, taking elements of the fashion and set pieces as our own, hosting watch parties, going to Saw themed escape rooms, etc. As time goes on, more and more people seem to be reclaiming the films they once thought of as gratuitous and unoriginal, now seeing value in nostalgia.
At the height of Saw’s fame, we had entered a new post-9/11 and Abu Ghraib moment in the film emerging from the US. Long gone were the campy romps of the 80s and the cat and mouse thrillers of the 90s; the 2000s were decidedly more bleak and nasty, rivalling maybe only the horror of the 1970s which was heavily influenced by the Vietnam war, while also pushing the new boundaries of film that had emerged after the end of media censorship in the late 1960s.
Horror has always been a genre of social awareness, whether that was seen in the release of Night of the Living Dead at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, through Get Out’s criticism of the notion of a ‘post-racial’ America or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s anti-meat industry rhetoric. Some of these messages have been more apparent than others, and for the torture-filled films of the early 2000s, perhaps the message was more subdued than what we have become used to as audiences. Regardless, the nihilistic tone of Saw, and films like it, clearly reflected American attitudes of the time.
Today, films from studios such as Blumhouse and A24 have taken over the horror market, producing what some would class as ‘elevated horror’, as well as box office hits. To call yourself a horror fan is no longer met with grimaces and questions of “how can you watch that stuff?”, but rather with recognition, from genre fans, general film buffs and mainstream audiences. With this in mind, it came as a surprise to hear of the release of Saw X, particularly with the increasingly negative reviews of the franchise’s last few installments, but also because of the seeming shift of horror into new, more critically acclaimed and arthouse spaces. Releases such as Midsommar, Us and Pearl have defined the genre for the past few years – auteur pieces which focused much more heavily on character development, cinematography and innovation, as opposed to the shock and carnage of their predecessors. Saw X was an exciting announcement for genre fans, particularly long established fans of horror, but there was hesitancy surrounding its release. Dismal reviews for recent installments did not instill much faith in fans that their beloved franchise was being treated seriously by studios, and the plummeting sales in cinema ticket sales were not an indication of success.
However, the unprecedented buzz around Barbie and Oppenheimer this Summer may have raked in a whole new generation of post-pandemic cinema goers and reinvigorated a love for cinema visits. Additionally, Saw X’s release date of September 9th allowed it to piggyback off the Summer’s cinema popularity, as well as making a Saw viewing the perfect day out for those wanting to get in the Halloween spirit. Every year, a myriad of horror films are released between September and October, with this year’s frontrunners being The Nun 2, The Exorcist: Believer and Five Nights at Freddy’s, as well as plenty of streaming service titles. Despite the influx, Saw X is a clear winner at the box office, among critics, and in my heart, becoming the highest rated Saw film (grossing over $60 million dollars worldwide) and the most popular film at the UK box office.
Whether the success of the tenth Saw film is due to quality filmmaking, a nostalgia for a twenty year old franchise, an established cinema popularity from June, a devoted fanbase, a lucky release date or a combination, it is unclear. Whether the Saw franchise will add another victory to its franchise, or if its box office triumph will inspire studios to revisit horror tropes and themes of the past, is yet to be seen. Saw X may not have reinvented the horror wheel, nor do I expect it to be given much of a mention when we discuss the best films of 2023, but that is not to say it did not succeed in its goals. Films like Saw are never going to be winners at the Academy or given the time of day from serious film buffs, but there is something to be said about a franchise that has for twenty years horrified and delighted audiences, as well as attracted a dedicated fanbase, and this film most certainly continues that tradition.
Saw X is now showing in cinemas internationally
This article was written by guest writer Lauren Gallagher. Lauren is an Irish writer and proof-reader. Lauren is a graduate with a B.A. (Hons) in English, Media and Cultural Studies and has recently relocated to Brighton in the UK. Her work focuses primarily on exploring horror from a female and anti-colonial perspective and has been featured on Screen Queenz and anfa collective.
You can find more reviews from Lauren here.
