After nine movies, Saw 10 is scheduled to arrive in theaters on October 27, 2023, just a few days before the 19th anniversary of the franchise. It can easily be said this series has stood the test of time and become one of the biggest horror franchises out there.
Horror movies have a long tradition of making tons of sequels, with Friday the 13th and Halloween accounting for 25 total movies between the two of them. Part of the magic of these movies is that as long as the writers can come up with clever new twists and visuals, the films have the potential to be consistently entertaining. But the question is, is Saw 10 up to the task of refreshing the series? Here’s what this newest sequel should really hone in on.
The Return of John Kramer, AKA Jigsaw
The new title heavily suggests the return of Tobin Bell as Jigsaw, which is a very good sign. Returning to what works is definitely where you want to begin this new title, as 2021’s Spiral proved that a movie without its main antagonist, or a good supporting secondary, leaves something to be desired. If Friday the 13th Part V or Halloween 3 proved anything, a horror movie doesn’t really work without the main antagonist.
Jigsaw is unique to the club in that he actually detests murderers and feels his work is of a higher purpose. Someone who also ends up being a threat because of his intelligence rather than his brawn. It’s a big part of what gives the franchise the edge that puts it on the map to begin with. It may also be possible that the character returns without Tobin Bell as the actor himself thinks it may be a good idea to have someone new playing Jigsaw.
A Focus on More Psychological Puzzles
Saw 10 is a chance to revisit what made this series fantastic in the first place: simple questions of morality. Do you forgive the man who killed your child on accident, or do you leave him to slowly get all his limbs torn off? Can you jump into a pit of needles and find the key that gets you safely out of the room? Challenges that test victims' mental state more than their physical.
The original movie started with a pretty simple premise: is Doctor Gordon willing to kill a man to save not only his own life but the lives of his wife and daughter? A difficult problem which is, in fact, why 90% of the movie sees Gordon struggling with this very dilemma (that and a limited budget). Very little screen time is spent on the blood and guts, with most time dedicated to those thought-provoking questions.
Saw II and Saw III continue this by placing people in uneasy alliances to survive. Trust is a key theme here, as the greatest danger they face ends up being themselves. All that Det. Eric Hoffman had to do was very simply admit that he was wrong and listen to Jigsaw for his ‘game,’ but that proved too taxing for him. He, like the others, is his own worst enemy, which is a more interesting hook than a death spectacle that just finds a new way to kill victims as graphically as possible.
Better Jigsaw Sidekicks
First, we had Amanda Young; raw, emotional, a tad unhinged, and drenched in a 2000s emo phase. Then there was Detective Hoffman, a cop pushed a little too far but a stone-cold killer nonetheless. And finally, Logan, who starred in 2017’s Jigsaw, the less said, the better. While Jigsaw is definitely the focal point of the series, supporting central characters are critical as well and have been an indication of the health of the franchise.
Saw 10 would greatly benefit from a return to a good dynamic duo. A wild Jack White to Jigsaw’s Meg White. Someone to take on the doctrine and expand the world of traps. Perhaps a character who may even test Jigsaw himself, which is not something that’s really been done before. While not everyone liked Amanda or Hoffman, they gave Jigsaw someone to play off of, allowing his character to shine in different ways than he might if he was just by himself.
Memorable Traps
The traps in any Saw movie are as important characters as any of the people starring in it. The series really jumps the shark by the time you get a giant swinging pendulum precariously placed so that it will gently lower down to cut someone in half that Hoffman manages to set up as a weekend project. Simple games and traps make the horror more relatable and memorable for the viewer. Both the iron maiden clamp and the shotgun-loaded suicide collar bring back clear and vivid memories for fans of the series compared to a giant carousel of death or something that makes it seem like Jigsaw has an army of engineers at his fingertips.
The series does better when it keeps everything relatively grounded. A gun behind the door or just pushing your face through some knives is effective enough as it allows an audience member to put themselves in that situation with ease. When you go crazy, it starts to dip into fantasy and pulls you out of that moment instead of wondering if you could carefully climb out of a barbed wire cage.
Sometimes it doesn’t even need to be explicitly tortuous, as was the case with Saw III’s iconic pig vat. It didn’t involve any personal torture for protagonist Jeff, just a difficult moral dilemma for the character involved with time to think. Less is more in a horror movie. What’s implied is often far more nerve-wracking than what’s shown.