OK, just saw it - no pun intended. Um, It doesn't come out in some areas for another month. No idea why they're releasing it so far apart in different countries - Germany is in 2 months methinks - they're basically guaranteeing that half the fans have it spoiled for them. *** so no spoilers here***

Hmm, there is no denying the impact the Saw series has had on not only the horror genre, but movies in general. Starting off as a little low-budget psychological thriller centered around two guys in a basement, this series has smashed box office records and created a new horror villain in Jigsaw. Since 2004 audiences have flocked to watch new victims meet their demise in an inventive and cruel way while relishing the inane plot twists and convoluted story, whilst others have condemned the series as dare I say... "torture porn" and nothing but sick people coming up with sick traps for sick audiences. OUCH!

I think some people go into these films expecting to see the Mona Lisa. Relax.

Um, I'd be lying if I didn't at least call myself a minor Saw connoisseur. I enjoyed the first one which I thought personally was very very clever. The second one was a good follow-up, and to some extend the third. However, after those, I felt they focused too much on gore over substance.

So I was surprised to find myself revisiting the franchise in this latest installment. Count them on your fingers --10.  Not really, I was in the mood for some gory death game style vengeance! Forgive me if I'm a little fuzzy on some of the later entries I've seen, they all blend together in a haze of severed limbs, endless plot twists, and lots of screaming.

I walked into this movie with the mindset that they should put this series out to pasture, but holy crap, my expectations (albeit low) were almost knocked out of the park! I thought it was  refreshing, it was quite different from other films in the structure.  There was a real sense of “we’re going to actually tell a story with good acting” for most of the film, and it tried to do something different with the Jigsaw character and give him some depth, which worked for us but possibly won’t for others. I did feel some elements of the ending were a bit contrived, and an identical effect could have been accomplished in a better way.  I was also really underwhelmed by one of the traps in particular.  It's not without its flaws though.  Ooooh, stick around for the ending credits.

So yes, I enjoyed it overall. We both did. Shockingly!  Maybe it's the jumpstart this franchise needed. The popcorn bucket they sold for the movie was so worth it!

To sum up - Saw X isn’t a prequel or sequel. It’s more of an Interquel. Since interquels are so rare most people don’t know the term. Other people might call it a midquel but by definition methinks interquel is more accurate.  

It’s definitely not for the weak hearted, but then you know that already! If you're a long-time fan or just someone looking for a gruesome thrill, this installment is worth the watch! -A

I am very surprised, had definitely written this movie off! Maybe I'll try to catch this one after all.

Interquel is the correct term for this. A midquel is a movie that takes place between a time period of another movie. An example of that comes to mind is The Fox & The Hound 2 which occurs between the first and a second half of the original movie, and that is considered a midquel.

As far as Saw IX goes, yes I call is that for OBVIOUS reasons, the movie was good, but it came way too late. They should have thought to do this story back when they did Saw II because to make something just to shoehorn John Kramer in the mix was just sad. JIGSAW did what I thought was a stretch and reasonable enough and that movie was still set after the other ones to an extent. I like the movies to keep moving forward. To make a full interquel was just confusing and to then call it NUMBER TEN which it's not in both story chronology and movie installment because the Chris Rock movie was a spinoff, not Saw IX. The director of that even said such so what the director smoking.

Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith clearly aged like hell, so the setting does not work. Even if they had this be a real sequel after Jigsaw, I would not have wanted them to showcase the Mexico stuff as flashbacks. I feel like we dwelled enough into Johns life as it is and should just end his arc. They were best giving us the same story but instead of John have either Logan, Gordon, the William dude from Spiral in the role and one of them come down with cancer like John. The Amanda and Hoffman roles could have been given to either of them as well.

Good enough! Some fun Saw-ing in the second act which is about all that I ask. Bad climax lacking in gore. Slow start (and bruh, if you're gonna turn that dial once, just get it over with and crank it to 5 for god's sake).

Overall probably the best time I've had with this franchise aside from the genuinely excellent first film and the junky good fun of the second. Two or three of the traps are extremely entertaining.

I laughed out loud when one character gets a medkit dropped next to him as though he'll be fine now. The level of punishment the human body can take without fainting or death in the Saw universe is truly spectacular.

If you liked at least two Saw movies, I'd recommend this one. Not much there for anyone else.


SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS BELOW

There's something deeply ludicrous about making Mr. Saw or whatever the protagonist. I was kinda just sitting there baffled for the first act -- you think I care if this guy dies of cancer? By the movie's own twisted retributive morality, he deserves that and much worse. And then we get this hilarious climax where a kid tries to sacrifice himself to save some random old guy who fixed his bike tire.

The dude's "rules" were always a thinly veiled excuse for gratuitously overblown punitive punishments, which works fine when he's the villain, but becomes a bit comical when he's the antihero. This movie actually follows a vigilante arc (complete with a trip to Mexico and generic narrative racism -- this thing's about one step off Rambo 5), but its protagonist's methods are so hilariously far beyond even The Equalizer, or Bronson at his Death Wish-iest, that the already suspect eye-for-an-eye mentality of the subgenre feels even much more exposed and shallow than usual.

This movie sets up a great confrontation between its two leading figures for Saw XI, and I think that'll play better than this does, once it's explicitly villain against villain the whole way.

Tobin Bell was great, obviously. So was the new lady.

The final twist, with the inevitable big music cue, was a major letdown. Obviously they were in a tricky spot with this twist in general, given the movie's place in the franchise. But I was so genuinely immediately confused by the obvious question of who the two-person trap was designed for that the entire thing was muddied.