All 10 Saw movies ranked from worst to best
3. Saw X
*SPOILER-FREE REVIEW*
The newly-released Saw X is getting glowing reviews, with many viewers saying it’s the best the franchise has been in years. As evidenced by my ranking, I would certainly agree with that. Although I have issues with this movie, it’s a major improvement from most of the entries before it, which is such a relief. Jigsaw is back and so is Amanda this time around!
Saw X sees Kevin Greutert return to the franchise to direct, from a script written by Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg.
Taking place between the first and second Saw movies, Saw X goes way back in time and focuses on John Kramer’s ongoing battle with cancer. If you’ve seen the series, you’ll know that his health takes a turn pretty quickly and a lot of the franchise sees him dealing with his own mortality and the fact that he doesn’t want to die with so much work left to do. In Saw X, John is desperate to keep living so he can continue his games, and he goes to great lengths to try and cure his illness.
Saw X is undoubtedly very fun, and very gory, and once it gets going, it’s very entertaining and keeps you on your toes. That said, it takes a lot of time to set up the game and the events to come, which is the main problem I have with the movie. It’s straight-up boring at the start and takes a while to hook the viewer. For a franchise that’s not known for strong acting or dialogue, I don’t see why Saw X takes so much time to get to what it’s good at: horror.
Beyond my main gripe with the pacing, Saw X features memorably gross traps and a few really cool sequences. Having Amanda back is totally awesome, the new location is refreshing, and there’s actually a good amount of heart in this movie — even if it asks you to root for a serial killer. We’ve got some life back into the franchise, and for that, I’m appreciative, at the very least.
According to Collider, Saw X made a worldwide box office total of $29.3 million in its opening weekend on a $13 million budget, which is awesome. People are coming out to see Jigsaw and Amanda back at it again, and I have no doubt this will be one of the most successful movies of the franchise — it’s already the highest-rated on Rotten Tomatoes.