X frames Kramer like a tragic hero instead of a complete maniac with a thing for Rube Goldberg homicide, and swears by the wobbly moral mechanism he believes will balance his soul’s ledger.

| Oct 6, 2023

[Previous reboots] both failed to grasp Kramer’s star power. Saw X does not make that mistake, leading to one of the franchise’s strongest installments since the original, mostly because it gives Jigsaw center stage.

| Oct 3, 2023

[Tobin Bell's] half-cracked grandeur, boosted by [Shawnee] Smith’s skewed stares of adoration, sends the movie into a loopy giddiness. Saw X may not be the best one to start off with, but it’s hard to imagine a better one to end with.

| Oct 2, 2023

It’s thoroughly unpleasant, but that’s rather the point.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 1, 2023

Saw X wipes that silliness out, positioning itself as a direct sequel to "Saw" and presenting a singular, streamlined story of revenge that works from a clear channel of logic.

| Original Score: B | Sep 29, 2023

Set between Saw and Saw II, the tenth instalment of the torture-porn franchise amazingly hasn’t run out of steam.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 29, 2023

A serious actor, Bell surely knows this bloody franchise will be what he’s best remembered for, and he treats the role of John Kramer, the Jigsaw Killer, like it’s Shakespeare.

| Sep 29, 2023

Saw X feels like a welcome return to form.

| Sep 29, 2023

“Saw X” solves a lot of the problems of other films in this franchise by limiting its scope, eliminating some (but not all) of the incoherent plotting [and] coming up with a few ingenious traps.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 29, 2023

This is the most well-groomed “Saw” movie to date. The story mostly makes sense and Greutert pulls back on the frenetic editing techniques that made the older movies look like the blood and guts equivalent of white noise.

| Sep 29, 2023

Kramer’s return may be bad news to his victims, but for the rest of us? Playing his new game is a heck of a lot more fun than it has any right to be.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 29, 2023

This first totally linear narrative in the “Saw” saga is a well-told tale, with some solid characterizations and quite decent twists.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 28, 2023

A top-tier Saw film. A well crafted John Kramer-focused story with a heavy emphasis on his mentor/protégé connection with Amanda that strikes the ideal balance between standing on its own two feet and enhancing franchise mythology.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Sep 28, 2023

It might be somewhat better than the lowest lows of the franchise but there’s really nothing here to justify why we’re being dragged back to the horrors of the 2000s. We’ve seen enough.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 28, 2023

Greutert’s film brings back the core elements that made these movies work. It’s an uncomplicated, effective horror thriller, even though it’s trapped itself in the past with nowhere else to go.

| Sep 28, 2023

The blood and gore is all present and correct, but the focus on Kramer's vulnerability and human side sits at odds with his awful judgmentalism. Let monsters be monsters.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 28, 2023

Saw X delivers a franchise high, and that’s no small feat ten installments deep. There’s a comfortable sense of awareness and humor found in a sequel that utilizes its pared-back simplicity to showcase the characters and gore.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 28, 2023

Those minded to put themselves through it are unlikely to leave disappointed, though giving deli counters a wide berth for a week or two is advised.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 28, 2023

It’d be hard to call any element of Saw X original but returning director Kevin Greutert knows what’ll satisfy his audience: a few buckets of blood and the gag-inducing sound of crunching bone.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 28, 2023

Even if you see one or two of the narrative surprises coming, there’s no chance you’ve seen as intelligent a use of human entrails.

| Original Score: B+ | Sep 28, 2023