My Review of Saw X (2023)

 

Written by Peter Goldfinger And Josh Stolberg

Directed by Kevin Gruetert 

John: "Hello, everyone. It's time to play a game. You all pretended to cure me. But what I have planned for each of you, is very real."

In nearly two decades, this franchise has veered into being often needlessly gruesome and also presenting a morally complicated anti-villain main character in John Kramer/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell). He's a complex guy, isn't he?

Anyways with the previous benching the character completely, this tenth installment went for the opposite idea. If ever there was a Saw movie where John Kramer was front and centre to proceedings, it was this one. It's also the best movie in the franchise.

Having cancer has been a huge thing with John's character and in this movie, he was given the opportunity to be cured. Naturally he took it and believed that Dr Cecelia Peterson (Synnøve Macody Lund) could help him. He was more than willing to part with his cash and go to Mexico for the cure.

Of course it turned out that Cecelia and various others, including the likes of Diego (Joshua Okamoto), Mateo (Octavio Hinojosa), Valentina (Paulette Hernández) and Gabriela (Renata Vacation) had all scammed him. John wanted his usual bout of revenge and justice and Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) was more than willing to help. This movie was also Amanda at her most likable. John too for that matter.

In fact, I'd almost go as far as to say that John and Amanda were closer to even being heroic. Especially when you look into how absolutely despicable Cecelia turned out to be as a character. She might be the nastiest character ever introduced into the franchise and her boyfriend Parker Sears (Steven Brand) wasn't any better.

As bad as John and Amanda, even they wouldn't intentionally kill a child. Cecelia was more than willing to harm poor Carlos (Jorge Briseño) when she wasn't willing to betray Parker to try and save herself. There was something immensely satisfying in seeing her comeuppance play out the way it did.

- A mid credit scene had Kramer and Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) putting Henry (Michael Beach) in a device as revenge for his role in scamming John.

- John actually fell victim to one of his own traps in order to save Carlos. I'm surprised it took that long for such a thing to happen.

- Standout music: José Miguel Ortegon's Mascara del Diablo.

- Chronology: Predominantly set in Mexico and within the same timeframe as the first two movies.

I think Saw X might be the best movie in the whole franchise. I thought it was a brilliant use of John, Amanda and even Mark as character and Cecelia was such a vile piece of work as a character. The change of location also helped too.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (2021)

 

Written by Josh Stolberg And Peter Goldfinger

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman 

William: "John Kramer was right. The spiral: a symbol of change, evolution, progress."

If you ever wanted to know if the Saw franchise could make a movie that didn't feature John Kramer/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) in any capacity and still work, there's this movie. Aside from a few needed mention, this was a John Kramer free zone.

Even more surprising was the addition of Chris Rock to this franchise. Horror's not something he's done a lot of in his career and I'm surprised he opted for a well known franchise rather than A24 potential critical darling. He's also rather good in this movie.

Chris Rock played a demoted detective named Ezekiel "Zeke" Banks. Zeke's pretty coarse and set in his ways and he's not particularly happy with being paired with the more modern thinking Detective William Schenk (Max Minghella). Nope, he's not happy at all.

This time around though it's not ordinary citizens or even criminals being targeted by a new Jigsaw. It's the police themselves, mostly the corrupt and inept ones. This Jigsaw wanted to clean up police corruption and using John Kramer's method of self inprovement was the way to do it.

This obviously made Zeke determined to catch Jigsaw and even had him accepting William's way of thinking as well. It also meant Zeke confronting his retired police captain father, Marcus (Samuel L. Jackson). Marcus wasn't particularly the most likable of characters but there's a joy to be had in seeing Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson share several scenes together.

As for Jigsaw himself, I don't think Schenk was that shocking but the lengths he went to avoid early detection were impressive. The guy even managed to fake having a baby in order to gain Zeke's trust. As a Jigsaw successor, William did seem closer to what Kramer would have wanted but he was also motivated by revenge. He also got away too with Zeke and Marcus being the final casualties of the movie.

- This movie was the lowest grossing in the franchise and fell victim to be released during COVID.

- Various victims included Detective Marv Bozwick (Daniel Petronijevic), Detective Fitch (Richard Zeppieri) and Captain Angie Garza (Marisol Nichols).

- Standout music: Young Nudy's You Ain't Hard.

- Chronology: Present day, July 4th at the beginning of the movie.

I really enjoy this movie. Spiral: From The Book Of Saw effectively was a spin-off movie and it was great. Chris Rock, Max Minghella and Samuel L. Jackson were all on fine form. This would easily be high up in my list of movies for this franchise.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Jigsaw (2017)

 

Written by Josh Stolberg And Peter Goldfinger

Directed by The Spierig Brothers

Jigsaw: "The truth will set you free."

With the first seven months having a group of recurring writers and directors and being released between 2004 and 2010, this franchise certainly needed a new coat of paint. To it's credit, Jigsaw tried to do exactly that.

There's no recurring characters like Hoffman anymore. In fact this movie arguably operated as both a prequel to the first one (through some flashbacks) and a standalone sequel of sorts. I should point out that once again, Jigsaw/John Kramer (Tobin Bell) isn't alive in this one.

Saying that, his bloody acts of violence under the pretext of justice were an inspiration for yet another copycat/protégé killer. This time that was Logan Nelson (Mark Passmore). Logan claimed to speak for the dead and he certainly added to the Jigsaw legacy body count.

There were many victims in this movie but most were selected from the criminals that Detective Halloran (Callum Rennie Keith) let slip through his fingers. Needless to say as the movie drew to it's bloody conclusion this would be a decision that Halloran wouldn't live to regret.

Like Hoffman before, there's an attempt to humanise Logan. Logan's anger came from a man named Edgar (Josiah Black) killing his wife. It certainly explained why Logan worked through a list to eventually get to Halloran and frame him for the new Jigsaw crimes. It's sound enough as a motive.

As for the flashbacks, more victims of Kramer themselves were revealed. This included a grieving mother named Anna (Laura Vandervoort). She had lost her baby and had a prior connection to John Kramer. Then there was Mitch (Mandela Van Peebles) who caused the death of John's nephew and Ryan (Paul Braunstein), who also caused a death. Those three had a lot of focus on them and it didn't end well for them.

- Other victims in this movie were Carly (Brittany Allen), fangirl Eleanor (Hannah Emily Anderson) and of course, Edgar himself.

- Logan was responsible for mislabeling John's X-Rays, causing his tumour to be undiagnosed.

- Standout music: Great American Canyon Band's Never Fade Away.

- Chronology: Ten years since the events of the last movie.

Jigsaw felt like a much needed shot in the arm for the franchise. While this franchise will never be able to escape from the ghost of John Kramer, I do think this felt like a fresh chapter for the franchise after the Hoffman heavy series of movies. I really liked this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Saw 3D (2010)

 

Written by Patrick Melton And Marcus Dunstan 

Directed by Kevin Gruetert 

Dr. Gordon (to Bobby): "Bravo! To be able to sustain such a traumatic experience and, uh, and yet find a positive in that grizzly act. It's a remarkable feat, indeed. Remarkable... if not a little perverse."

Otherwise known as Saw: The Final Chapter. Yup, this really should've concluded this franchise but there would be three movies to come. Everything about this movie really felt like an ending.

For example, our main focus was on a survivor named Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery). He wrote a book about escaping Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) and even held a support group for former victims. Except that there's a problem with Bobby.

The problem being that Bobby was never a victim of Jigsaw's in the first place. In flashbacks, it was revealed that he was something of a loser who pretended to be a victim in order to reshape his life for the better. Unbeknownst to Bobby, he actually did meet the real Jigsaw but that was something he'd come to realise much later in the movie.

The consequences of Bobby's deception however did put him in the firing line. He was tested by current successor, Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor). Yes, the latter survived Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell) trying and Marl wanted revenge on the former Mrs Kramer. That didn't stop him from making Bobby's life a living hell.

Bobby's suffering came at being unable to save his publicist Nina (Naomi Snieckus), lawyer Suzanne (Rebecca Marshall) and best friend Cale (Dean Armstrong). There was also Bobby's unfortunate wife, Joyce (Gina Holden). Yet again, it ended badly for everyone involved.

However the best part of this movie was of course Mark vs. Jill 2.0 with the former subjecting the latter to what she did to him. Except she actually died and then Mark got bested by Dr Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes). I was surprised to see Gordon back into the mix but again, it also felt like a full circle moment for this horror franchise.

- The opening kills were a public event with a love triangle between Ryan (Jon Cor), Brad (Sebastian Pigott) and Dina (Anne Greene). It didn't end well for Dina.

- Another kill sequence involved a group of white supremacists, one of whom was played by Linkin Park's Chester Bennington.

- Standout music: Ozzy Osbourne's Life Won't Wait.

- Chronology: From where the previous movie left off.

Saw 3D really should've been the one to have ended this franchise. It's not perfect by any means but it felt like a good place to end things for Jigsaw and his successors. Oh well.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of The Beauty: "Beautiful Living Rooms"

 

Written by Ryan Murphy And Matthew Hodgson 

Directed by Michael Uppendahl 

Byron: "Happy endings. They get me every time."

Can a billionaire actually show some genuine benevolence? No, let's be honest, not really. Unless it's Bruce Wayne and he's fictional. Also Byron Forst ain't no Bruce Wayne.

Even when Byron showed some compassion, it's because he wanted something in return. For Agent Meyer Williams (John Carroll Lynch/Patrick Luwis), all he had to do was lure Cooper and Jordan into an obvious trap and his family would be whole again. Of course, Meyer agreed to Byron's request.

It's hard to blame him though. His wife Juliana (Kelli O'Hara/Hazel Graye) hated his guts and both of them blamed the other for their daughter Joey (Kaylee Halko/Augusta Liv) having progeria, which was on the verge of killing her. By the end of this episode, the Williams family were reset and Byron seemed oddly touched that he could help them. For a nanosecond, he almost came across as human.

Then I thought about the rest of the episode. We got a needed backstory for Antonio/The Assassin as the latter trusted Jeremy enough to fill him in on the details of his own transformation (Teddy Canez). Yet again, the show struck gold with Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope because the two of them play off each other so well here. I really like this pairing.

More interesting in their scenes together was the new found sense of awareness that Jeremy had about himself and incel culture. He kind of pointed out some of Antonio's toxicity, was philosophical about his father. Jeremy even asked sone relevant questions about his transformation that Antonio managed to give answers to.

Then there's Cooper and Jordan. Aww, they love each other. I don't think that's particularly shocking but I found it funny how being captured by Jeremy and Antonio really drove the point home for them. Will Byron succeed in killing Jordan and Cooper or will he find some other way to keep them in line? Assuming they don't escape first that is.

- There was mentions of The Bear, John Cena, Charli XCX, Dr. Oz, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and football talk in this episode.

- Juliana was 30 when Meyer was 45. Joey's 15 but her progerie gave her the heart of a 90 year old. Juliana also was an editor at a fashion magazine and battled cancer.

- Manny reappeared in this episode to be killed off and used as a human shield during Cooper and Antonio's fight scene.

- Chronology: Not long from where the last two episodes left off.

Beautiful Living Rooms provided a few more answers, back stories, love declarations and alliance shifting. It's another strong episode and the last of the single ones. Next week onwards, we're in double bill domain.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Saw VI (2009)

 

Written by Patrick Melton And Marcus Dunstan 

Directed by Kevin Gruetert

Jigsaw: "You think it's the living who have ultimate judgment over you, because the dead will have no claim over your soul. But you may be mistaken."

I thought upon reviewing the fifth movie that it was a the middle part of a trilogy but perhaps it was the second instalment of a quadrilogy. I said that because this wasn't the ending to the Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) era that I thought it would be.

Yup, Hoffman's cruelty has intensified and he's roping more people into his legacy killings as John Kramer/Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) successor. The problem being that Hoffman had a few obstacles in his way. Ones that even he struggled to properly deal with.

The movie opened with the gory death of Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) but much to Hoffman's annoyance, Agent Perez (Athena Karkanis) actually survived and was getting close to exposing Hoffman's crimes. In fact, Hoffman's voice was exposed and he murdered everyone, including Perez. Gone was any sympathy this film might have had for him.

Then there was Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell). Her role here was somewhat more expanded on than before. It turned out that Kramer had given her instructions to take out Hoffman and the movie ended with the latter in a classic trap. This really should've ended the character but erm, there's another movie to get through with him.

As for the rest of the movie, the focus on Hoffman's brutality was William (Peter Outerbridge). He was the one who denied Kramer the insurance to help him and throughout the movie, William found himself having to try and save some employees (he failed) as well as Tara (Shauna McDonald) and Brent (Devon Bostick). Oh and there's William's sister, Pamela (Samantha Lemole).

Yup, there's certain moving parts in this movie. I'll admit the flashbacks to previous movies worked here along with the Mark vs. Jill subplot. William's not a particularly sympathetic character, which was why his comeuppance was a bit satisfying to watch here.

- Flashbacks included Hoffman blackmailing Amanda into killing Dr Lynn along with John and Jill's connection to William.

- The opening kills/tortures involved predatory lenders Eddie (Marty Moreau) and Simone (Tandra Howard).

- Standout music: The James Brothers More Than A Sin.

- Chronology: Not long from where the previous movie left off.

Saw VI felt like it could've been another finale to this whole saga had Hoffman actually died. I personally think he shouldn't have made it out of this movie alive but that man refuses to stay dead.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Saw V (2008)

 

Written by Patrick Melton And Marcus Dunstan 

Directed by David Hackl

Jigsaw (to Hoffman): "Everybody deserves a chance."

I'm halfway through this franchise and it's incredible that for the main character still being dead, they keep finding ways to make him relevant to the plot. Jigsaw/John Kramer (Tobin Bell) - the post death hold you've got on this series should be studied.

Anyways, the previous movie established that Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) was an apprentice/wannabe successor to Jigsaw and we got his origin story in this one. Is he worthy of Kramer's mantle? The obvious answer would be no of course.

The movie opened with a grisly death of killer Seth Baxter (Jordan Jarsky). Let's just say that Edgar Allen Poe inspired the means of Seth's demise but it was credited to Jigsaw. However, it was Hoffman's doing and Jigsaw wasn't pleased about being credited for such a sloppy opening kill.

Anyways Hoffman's motives for murdering Seth were down to the latter killing his sister. I suppose I should give the movie points for trying to make him a bit more sympathetic but it's clear his values are different. With Kramer, there's that warped sense of justice/trying to get people to be better versions of themselves. Like Amanda, Mark clearly just wanted to kill and make his victims suffer before they die.

Speaking of victims, we've got five connecting ones here. Ashley (Laura Gordon), Brit (Julie Benz), Charles (Carlo Rota), Luba (Meagan Good) and Mallick (Greg Bryk). All of them have different professions but all of them played the role in some recent deaths (though not intentionally). To the movie's credit, there's a decent attempt to flesh out these characters before they're all taken out of the mix.

As for the rest of the movie, I was surprised that Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) actually survived the previous movie. Granted, he still had to make a sacrifice and his attempts to catch out Hoffman ended badly for him. He's a decent foil for Hoffman until he wasn't.

- There's more flashbacks to Kramer bequeathing a mystery box to his ex-wife Jill. The latter was also being stalked by Strahm.

- There's brief appearances from Amanda, Eric, David and Agent Perez in this movie.

- The film didn't end with "Game Over" like previous movies did.

- Chronology: Shortly after the events of the fourth movie but some flashbacks included the third as well.

Saw V made for an okay addition to the franchise. It's very much the middle part of the Hoffman trilogy, giving him a needed backstory. It also separated him from Jigsaw, making him into a more conventional sadist compared to his deceased mentor.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: "In The Name Of The Mother"

 

Written by Hiram Martinez And Ti Mikkel And Ira Parker

Directed by Owen Harris 

Baelor: "Be vigilant. Don't die."

That's perfectly sound advice. Then again, when you're taking part in a Trial by Seven, it's also advice that's hard to take. Oh and as it's a penultimate episode, a sympathetic character had to die. Baelor, we barely knew you.

The consequences of Baelor choosing Team Dunk meant that his own brother inadvertently killed him. Maekar struck a fatal blow and Baelor made a point of telling Dunk that the realm needed good men. Bertie Carvel might not have had a lot of screen time this season but he made the most of what he was given.

As for the battle itself, I love how green Dunk truly was as a wannabe knight. He looked completely out of his depth and it took very little for Aerion to actually incapacitate him. It also led to the majority of this episode being rather flashback heavy for Dunk.

In flashbacks we saw a younger Dunk (Bamber Todd) and his friend Rafe (Chloe Lea) trying their best to get out of Flea Bottom. This meant stealing from dead nobles but it also resulted in getting on the wrong side of Alester (Edward Davis), resulting in the death of Rafe and Dunk going with Ser Arlan.

As flashbacks, they're good and did add a bit more to Dunk's backstory. In the present though, things got even more vicious between Dunk and Aerion with the former forcing the latter to yield. I can't see Aerion letting that public humiliation slide in the future.

Last but not least, there was also Egg. His role was smaller in this episode but Dunk kept him on as a squire and Egg panicked when he thought Dunk was dying. Egg also was clearly upset when he realised that Baelor had also died by the end of this one.

- A few moments where characters were sick in this one to add to the bodily fluids list for this season.

- Beesbury and Hardyng seemed to be the other deaths of the episode, though Raymun took a battering as well.

- Aerion's dragon armour looked fantastic on the battlefield. It really did say a lot about his character.

- Chronology: The flashbacks said it was after Daemon's rebellion. 

In The Name Of The Mother was another triumph as an episode. Great use of flashbacks, brilliant battle moments and a death that genuinely impacted in spite of being telegraphed. I really hope the finale sticks the landing.

Rating: 9 out of 10