Saw X Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

2. It Returns To The Established Formula

After so boldly going where no Saw has gone before, it is disheartening to see the film dive back into the franchise's familiar machinations towards the conclusion.

Saw X quite literally wheels out Billy the Puppet in the latter half, before setting up the final 'reveal' of an overarching plan that has been in place all along, and barraging the audience with a stereotypical, rapid-fire flashback montage. But, despite how hard the movie baits us to look the other way, after ten films, fans know what to expect.

This is almost without doubt an attempt to make X slot more neatly into its designated position in the series, and yet this instead leaves the film perched awkwardly and precariously between the new, character-driven sensibility it has spent the better part of two hours gunning for, and the fewer dimensions of the existing titles.