Saw X (2023)
★ ★ ★ - Okay
Somebody took the elements of a Saw film and anchored it with genuine motivation and a remarkably strong lead performance. I gave up on this franchise long ago, but this is the first one I can recommend. It's genuinely fun, if you're okay with an extreme level of blood and guts.
#768 in the Horror/Thriller 1000
Saw X has the positive side effect of making the series better. Reframing it with revenge plots while holding onto the core philosophical idea of using pain to break people down before rebuilding them into someone better. I watched Parts 5-8 for the first time and enjoyed them more than I expected. They're hurt most by focusing on the very bland Costas Mandylor as a cop who goes from hunting Jigsaw to carrying on his work. It's also very easy to get lost in all the time jumping, but I admire the effort to keep the continuity straight even though they made the bold move of killing off their most interesting character. (Tobin Bell embodies Jigsaw like a 2nd skin.)
Saw 2&3 was about throwing together a bunch of jerks so we can take delight in watching them torture themselves and each other. Starting with 4 - and peaking with 6 - the victims are criminals, smart enough to evade the law but unfortunate enough to cross Jigsaw and his followers. They're not wild misfits but outright bad people, and the film always gives them plenty of opportunity to survive. (That's where the redemption comes in.) This is a lot more interesting than the other Horror series I recently watched. Saw X remains my favorite, but I'd put 4-6 and 8 above the direct sequels.
For the list, only the original (#443) and X (now #801) are in the Top 1000, but I expect many titles will rise up over the years, especially if Part 11 can maintain the quality.
1531. Saw 2
1802. Saw 6
2101. Saw 5
2371. Saw 3
2386. Saw 4
2594. Jigsaw
2662. Saw 7 aka. Saw 3D
Still haven't seen
Spiral.
My Ranking...
1. Saw X
2. Saw 6
3. Saw 5
4. Saw
5. Saw 4
6. Jigsaw
7. Saw 7
8. Saw 2
9. Saw 3