Saw X Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

Downs...

5. It Is Less Trap-Focused Than Ever

As double-sided a coin as a horror film like this could produce, the lack of traps or progression through any kind of trials is likely to split audiences down the middle. While for many this is a welcome change to the series, it nonetheless denies casual fans and torture porn connoisseurs many of the thoughtless thrills and spills they came for. Saw X's games are few and far-between, and often waylaid by the kind of human drama this instalment is determined to foreground.

The trap sequences that do make it into the movie are less creative, frequently feeling only tangentially relevant to the crimes of Jigsaw's victims. Several of them are also considerably more brutal than usual, thanks to the revenge narrative driving their creation; the victims of X can only dream of the halcyon days when sawing off a foot or dipping their hand in acid was all it took to survive.

Consequently, the traps are nowhere near as fun as usual, often feeling grimly morose and downright miserable, executed with a procedural approach.