With the release of the tenth movie of the Saw horror-thriller movie franchise, Saw X, on Sept. 29, 2023, in theaters, this horror-thriller film provided more hidden details about John Kramer’s, the main protagonist AKA “The Jigsaw Killer” life when he was alive. Set in Mexico City, Mexico (both filmed in real life and setting of the movie), we are given a new area, country even, where his games take place. With new enticing traps and an intriguing storyline, the movie scored 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience score of 89%. I saw this movie on Oct. 1 on a Sunday with a friend, just a few days after its release. As a die-hard fan of the Saw movie series, I was excited to see this in theaters and it definitely lived up to my expectations. Though I am not Mexican, I am Hispanic/Latinx, so the addition of a Spanish-speaking country, language, and cast made me appreciate the film more. The adrenaline rush and plot twists made this movie an unforgettable experience, and of course, I cannot wait to buy it on DVD soon! For those who have yet to see the movie (or are debating to), spoiler warnings ahead!
A die-hard Saw Fan
I got into the Saw movie franchise during my junior year of high school. I don’t exactly recall why I got into it, but I did know that the use of inhumane traps did strike me the most since I have yet to see a horror movie use traps as a means of psychological treatment and physical torture. After familiarizing myself with the main concept of Saw, I decided to purchase the seven-movie pack of Saw 1-7 and Jigsaw (commonly referred to as Saw 8) spontaneously at the store “For Your Entertainment” one day.
I have rewatched the Saw movies in my living room back home many times since I purchased it. With two speakers placed around the room and a huge TV in front of comfortable couches, it felt like I was in a theater eating my popcorn on the edge of my seat (in this case, my couch). The ninth installment of the Saw saga Spiral was released in theaters on May 14, 2021, and of course, I dragged my parents to see it. It’s a spinoff of the original horror-thriller saga, however, it did add its own unique elements of its own. When news came out that there would be a tenth movie, I was so hyped and impatiently waited for its release.
The story
Saw X takes place between the first and second film. John Kramer, the main character, finds out he has terminal brain cancer (if you have watched the other Saw movies, this is not new information). Desperate to live, a man from his cancer support group, Henry, tells Kramer about an underground procedure that saved his life and tells Kramer who to contact. Kramer flies to Mexico City as soon as he can for this treatment, only for it to be a complete scam. The leader of this scam, a woman from the U.S.A “Cecilia” (and her boyfriend, Parker, who we find out is involved at the end) worked with individuals from Mexico to pull this scam off: Diego, Valentina, Mateo, and Gabriela.
The Best Traps (IMO) Explained
With a total of eight traps in the film, there were three that definitely stood out. The first is the brain surgery trap. It’s exactly what you’re probably thinking about: Mateo is strapped onto a chair, only able to move their arms so that he can extract a part of their brain to be placed in a beaker with a chemical substance for a key to be released, allowing him to escape from having his face melted off with a mask. Given three minutes to perform the procedure, he successfully managed to cut a small part of his brain out, however, he did not manage his time well. The mask around his head closes and emits excruciating heat, killing him after a few seconds. I consider this the best trap because the fact you have to perform actual brain surgery on yourself is psychologically torturing. And you’re not sure what part you’re cutting out, so if you consider the fact that you might permanently alter yourself psychologically, it makes you feel scared for him.
The second trap I found mind-blowing was the bone marrow trap. Essentially, Valentina will be decapitated if she doesn’t cut off her leg and stick a tube into her leg bone to drain out enough bone marrow to stop the trap. Insane, right? Well, she of course doesn’t want to, but eventually, with words of encouragement from her fellow imprisoned acquaintances, she forcefully cuts her leg off. She was a few seconds from filling the jar with her bone marrow, and thus she was beheaded, brutally. I love this trap since we as the audience can feel the pressure and her pain from doing such a task. If she had a few more seconds or started a few seconds earlier, she would have survived.
The poster of the movie (as shown above) depicts a man with a machine with tubes on both his eyes and him facing upwards screaming. This is actually the “first trap” shown in the film withing the first 15 minutes. John Kramer at the hospital sees a janitor attempting to steal an unconscious patients’ expensive belongings. He then has a vision of this man in one of his traps: the janitor is trapped onto a chair, tubes connecting to both his eyeballs, and rods on each of his fingers on his right hand The task was to allow each of his fingers to break backwards via the rods by turning a dial to five within one minute in order to prevent the tubes forcefully sucking out his eyes. He managed to break three of his fingers before the timer went off, and we see the graphic images of his eyes forcefully through the rubes and landing on a plate. He screams in agony, and the screen fades out back to the hospital. The janitor spots Kramer looking and puts everything back, receiving a “good choice” by Kramer.
Ending…
As with all of the previous movies, there was of course a crazy plot twist! The last trap we see was actually meant for John Kramer himself and Amanda as he predicted he would be put there by Cecilia, but a young Mexican kid took Amanda’s place in a twist of unforeseen events, but it worked out either way. Kramer knew this child was innocent, and so he told him “no hala,” which means don’t pull, essentially risking Kramer’s life to ensure the child would not be harmed. Shockingly, the child pulls a lever anyway, sacrificing himself for Kramer, and gets a never-ending waterfall of blood poured on him. They both go back and forth with the lever, with Kramer refusing to have this kid drown.
While this is happening, Cecilia and Parker are in the security room watching it unfold and decide to take the money they scammed and leave. This was a trap: Kramer foresaw this twist of events happening and made the room into a trap. Toxic gas was emitted and there was only one outlet in the wall big enough for one person to breathe through…
Each of the Saw movies ends with a plot twist and this new film was no exception. Kramer, Amanda, and the child head for freedom, with the child receiving great compensation for his selflessness while enduring the trap he was recently in. Cecilia is left to her own devices after killing her lover, Parker, in order to live. The classic ending music of the Saw franchise plays out and the movie concludes. However, there is an extra credit scene… but I’ll let you watch it on your own!