History Film / SawX

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: [[spoiler: Valentina would have no chance of cutting off her leg like she did using a Gigli saw in the Bone Marrow Trap.]] Not only is the human femur stronger than concrete, but right next to it is the femoral artery, one of the human body's most vital blood vessels. [[spoiler: Even if she managed to cut it off within the time limit, tourniquet or not, severing that artery would guarantee she'd bleed to death either way.]]

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: [[spoiler: Valentina would have no chance of cutting off her leg like she did in the Bone Marrow Trap. Not only is the human femur stronger than concrete, but right next to it is the femoral artery. Even if she managed to cut it off within the time limit, tourniquet or not, severing that artery would guarantee she'd bleed to death either way.]]

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: [[spoiler: Valentina would have no chance of cutting off her leg like she did. Not only is the human femur stronger than concrete, but right next to it is the femoral artery. Even if she managed to cut it off within the time limit, tourniquet or not, severing that artery would guarantee she'd bleed to death either way.]]

* IronicEcho: When Cecilia begs that what Jigsaw's putting her through isn't right, he disgustedly responds, "A lecture on moral decency? From ''you''?" [[spoiler:When Cecilia turns the tables on him, and, more importantly, [[EvenEvilHasStandards forces an innocent child to play one of John's games]], Kramer pleads that this isn't right, and hears his own line shot back at him from Cecilia.]]

* BatmanGambit: Jigsaw's plan requires [[spoiler:Cecilia to get to the cell phone and call Parker, which is the only way he could get Parker to the game's area. It also requires Cecilia and Parker to put John and Amanda in their own trap, although this part is speculated to be more a XanatosGambit since the trap could have be used for her and Parker, had they followed the rules.]]

** The Bloodboard trap has two victims on a plate being waterboarded by blood. Each has a lever to control the angle of the plate, which shuts off the blood flow for the one raised higher. The point is to have them fight over who gets to live. [[spoiler:John and Carlos end up being forced into the trap, at which point John tries his hardest to keep Carlos alive. The activation of the Control Room trap shuts the Bloodboard trap off, sparing both.]]
** The final trap in [[spoiler:the Control Room has corrosive gas pumped into the room and a single porthole with rubber flaps. The two trapped inside have to fight over whose head goes in the hole. After ten minutes, the trap shuts off. Cecilia stabs Parker so she can survive the trap.]]

* StoppedNumberingSequels: Inverted. After the series did away with numbered films since ''Film/Saw3D'', ''X'' goes back to numbering them again (counting ''Film/{{Spiral|2021}}'' as the ninth entry despite it not even being a part of the ''Saw'' storyline).

* ExactWords: In a more humorous example than usual for the series, when Cecilia asks John what he does for a living, he replies that he [[FromACertainPointOfView helps people work out their emotional problems and make positive changes in their life]].

''Saw X'' is the tenth film in the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' horror film series. It is the first ''Saw'' film directed by Kevin Greutert since ''Film/Saw3D'' in 2010, and the first entry edited by Greutert since ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}'' in 2017; the writers of that film and 2021's ''Film/{{Spiral|2021}}'', Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger, also return.

''Saw X'' is the tenth film in the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' horror film series. It is the first ''Saw'' film directed by Kevin Greutert since ''Film/Saw3D'' in 2010, and the first entry edited by Greutert since ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}'' in 2017; the writers of that film and 2021's ''Film/{{Spiral|2021}}'', Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger, also return. It was released on September 29, 2023.

** This film marks the first time a proper game trap has been introduced visually and commenced with no monologue from Jigsaw prefacing it and setting the terms of the test-- [[spoiler:this is because ''Jigsaw'' is placed into the Bloodboarding Trap, another first for the series!]]

* BullyingADragon: Cecilia and her crew have been grifting people with their fake cancer treatments, which is already monstrous. But little did they know they just ripped off ''the Jigsaw Killer''. Doubly so for Cecilia herself, [[spoiler:as she is fully aware… but did it anyway]].

* ItWorksBetterWithBullets: Parker tries to shoot Jigsaw, unaware that while he was out, Jigsaw removed the powder from all the bullets.

* TheKillerBecomesTheKilled: A first for the franchise in which [[spoiler: John himself is forced into a trap. Cecilia hoped that this would either kill him or force him to kill an innocent child (Carlos) she put in the trap alongside him simply to spite him. However, [[BatmanGambit John predicted he would get put into the trap]] and escapes shortly after.]]

** This film marks the first time a Jigsaw trap has been introduced visually and commenced with no monologue from Jigsaw prefacing it and setting the terms of the test-- [[spoiler:this is because ''Jigsaw'' is placed into the Bloodboarding Trap, another first for the series!]]

** The movie's whole plot was built from the initial mention of a Norwegian experimental cancer treatment in the flashbacks from ''Film/SawVI''. ''X'' shows John first learning of the now-fake treatment onscreen (with Norway being mentioned as the country where the treatment supposedly had the most success), before he went to discuss it to William Easton after Umbrella Health denied him coverage for several requests.

* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: The imagined Eye Vacuum Trap has John making remarks about the custodian's "sticky fingers" and how John has had "an eye on [him]" and that he "doesn't like what [he sees]."
* EvilIsPetty:

'''John''': [[SureLetsGoWithThat Something like that]].

*** In the film proper, a custodian is put into this trap, who has to make the SadisticChoice of breaking his fingers one by one or having his eyes sucked out of his skull by the vacuuming hoses. This turns out to be an ImagineSpot of John watching the custodian trying steal things from a sleeping patient, only to back off when he notices John.

* {{Fingore}}: In John's imaginary Eye Vacuum Trap, the custodian is tasked to twist a dial using his left hand that will activate a device that breaks the fingers on his right-hand one-by-one, in order to prevent the hoses from sucking his eyes out.

* ForcedToWatch: Jigsaw's game takes the ''Saw 1'' Bathroom Game to a greater scope by taking place in a larger single space with multiple more people chained and unable to reach each other. Here, he presides over the operation of a trial for each player, while the others can only watch and offer encouragement to the person in the trap at hand. Since the traps have a medical theme, the setup also invokes the players being held hostage in an operating theater where they must witness the victims performing "procedures" on themselves.

** During the flashback / capture montage, Amanda isn't shown as the Pig Mask on the roof, [[spoiler: further alluding to Hoffman's presence.]]
* GoryDiscretionShot: [[spoiler: When Mateo fails to complete his test in time, the Tlaloc mask closes on his face, roasting his head alive. Aside from his screams and steam coming from the mask, we never see the end result]].

* HalfwayPlotSwitch: Tonally, at least. Someone unfamiliar with the ''Saw'' franchise would watch this movie and, barring [[spoiler:one ImagineSpot]] right near the start of the film, think it was a mundane medical drama about an old man fighting against cancer. [[spoiler: And then TheReveal happens and it turns right back into a typical ''Saw'' film.]]

* ImagineSpot: The Eye Vacuum Trap turns out to be this, as John imagines punishing the custodian for stealing from one of the patients before the custodian sees John watching him and puts the items back.

* CentralTheme: Accepting mortality. At the start of the film, John Kramer proclaims his desire to fight his cancer at every cost, only to end up shattered by a scam that removes his last bit of hope. As he puts his scammers through a game, he has to break it to Amanda that he can't keep fighting and that he is dying and will leave her alone, and in the last act, [[spoiler: Cecelia puts an innocent boy against John in a trap, causing John to fly against the expectations he has for his victims and refuse to fight against the trap, forcing the controls out of the boy's hands and insisting on letting it take his own life to save the boy if that's what it has to come to.]] While John lives due to his death canonically taking place later, the film sees his viewpoint turning to abandoning the fight.

* ForcedToWatch: Jigsaw's game takes the ''Saw 1'' Bathroom Game to a greater scope by taking place in a larger single space with multiple more people chained and unable to reach each other. Here, he presides over the operation of a trial for each player, while the others can only watch and offer encouragement to the person in the trao at hand. Since the traps have a medical theme, the effect is to invoke the players being held hostage in an operating theater.

** In this film, John personally interacts with his victims, rather than his typical method of hiding behind a peephole/camera or disgusing himself in plain sight, and speaking to the victims via Billy, speakers or tapes.

** John has a great rapport with the handyman's young son Carlos and even calls him a friend. John was even willing to let himself suffer the worst of the “blood-boarding” trap to prevent Carlos from being traumatized or even killed by it. Amanda even has a fondness for the kid, keeping him close before the credits roll.

* BigBadEnsemble: A unique case due to the EvilVsEvil nature of the plot. On one side, there’s [[VillainProtagonist John Kramer]], the infamous Jigsaw Killer himself; on the other, "Dr." Cecilia Pederson, a phony con artist who robs and destroys the lives of cancer patients, and is even able to go toe-to-toe against John in terms of intelligence. Place your bets.

* BatmanGambit: Jigsaw's plan requires [[spoiler:Cecilia to get to the cell phone and call Parker, which is the only way he could get Parker to the game's area. It also requires Cecilia and Parker to put John and Amanda in their own trap.]]

** All the victims in this movie are willing participants in conning deathly ill cancer patients out of their money while lying about curing them, so they naturally deserve some punishment. That said, the nature of their punishment at Jigsaw's hands is much too extreme and some do display varying degrees of guilt or sympathy –- [[spoiler:except Cecilia, who is this trope and then some]].

* ExplainExplainOhCrap: [[spoiler:As Cecilia searches for the money, Parker wonders something: since her trap had two spots, who was the other one meant for? Cue her grabbing the money bag and triggering the final trap, revealing they were being played all along.

''Saw X'' is the tenth film in the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' horror film series, directed by Kevin Greutert in his return to the franchise since his last directing role in ''Film/Saw3D''. It was released on September 29, 2023.

The film is an {{Interquel}} set between ''Film/SawI'' and ''Film/SawII'' featuring more focus than usual on the Jigsaw Killer, John Kramer. After travelling to Mexico for an experimental procedure that could save his life from his developing cancer, Kramer is dismayed to discover that the entire operation is a scam. Refusing to stand for this, he sets to work on putting those involved with the fraudulent scam in diabolical {{death trap}}s so they will know what it's like to have to fight for your life.

* MuggingTheMonster: The central premise of the film is a group of con artists picking the wrong guy to scam and paying dearly for it. As an offscreen character (referred to by the subtitles as "Detective") says in the trailer, "Out of all the men to cheat, you picked ''John Kramer''?". In the film proper, [[spoiler: Hoffman]] says it to [[spoiler:Henry]], and follows it up with "I'd call that... epic bad luck." to hammer the point home.

** The trailer includes a sentence spoken via voice-over -- "According to these scans, the tumor was never removed" -- which never surfaces in the film. John simply figures it out by removing his bandage, once the nature of the scam becomes apparent.

** The final trap in [[spoiler:the Control Room has corrosive gas pumped into the room and a single porthole with rubber flaps. The two trapped inside have to fight over whose head goes in the hole. After ten minutes, the trap shuts off. Cecila stabs Parker so she can survive the trap.]]

*** In the film proper, a custodian is put into this trap, who has to make the SadisticChoice of breaking his fingers one by one or having his eyes sucked out of his skull by the vacuuming hoses. [[spoiler:This turns out to be an ImagineSpot of John watching the custodian trying steal things from a sleeping patient, only to back off when he notices John.]]
** [[spoiler: While he appears to be already dead, the poisonous gas in the Control Room appears to blind Parker.]]
* FailedASpotCheck: Neither Parker nor Cecilia notice [[spoiler:that her game is clearly a setup. It is a two-person competition, yet only Cecilia would have been able to participate by the time her game started. Parker finally notices this several minutes later, but by then it is too late.]]
* {{Fingore}}: In John's [[spoiler:imaginary]] Eye Vacuum Trap, the custodian is tasked to twist a dial using his left hand that will activate a device that breaks the fingers on his right-hand one-by-one, in order to prevent the hoses from sucking his eyes out.

* ForegoneConclusion: Being a prequel to Saw II, we know Parker and Cecilia will fail to kill John and Amanda.

* {{Hypocrite}}: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed.]] John claims that his reasoning for putting Cecilia and her team in his latest game isn’t about revenge, a claim that’s dubious ''at best,'' given his track record through the rest of the series. Cecilia even [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls bullshit]] on his claim [[spoiler: once she gains the upper hand.]] However, the fact remains that [[AssholeVictim everyone involved]] in this game ''absolutely'' deserves some kind of comeuppance for the scam they’re pulling on innocent victims.
** [[spoiler: Additionally, John displays his trademark trap-level hypocrisy. While he insists, like always, that he doesn't play favorites, that everyone will be both tested equally and given a fair chance, he is shown putting people he views as more culpable in far more difficult traps. Take Gabriela compared to Mateo. Both traps are still very deadly, but Gabriela only has to damage her hand and foot to escape. Mateo has to perform brain surgery on himself without anesthesia, then complete a logic puzzle that involves 1) dissolving a chunk of his own brain, 2) melting said chunk to increase the density of a glass of water until it triggers a pressure pad, and 3) grabbing and using a key in under three minutes. Furthermore, Mateo isn't given the option of not playing, getting shocked until he proceeds.]]
* ImagineSpot: [[spoiler: The Eye Vacuum Trap turns out to be this, as John imagines punishing the custodian for stealing from one of the patients before the custodian sees John watching him and puts the items back.]]

* TheKillerBecomesTheKilled: A first for the franchise in which [[spoiler: John himself is forced into a trap. Cecilia hoped that this would either kill him or force him to kill an innocent child she put in the trap alongside him (Carlos) simply to spite him. However, [[BatmanGambit John predicted he would get put into the trap]] and escapes shortly after.]]

** The trailer includes a sentence spoken via voice-over -- "According to these scans, the tumor was never removed" -- which never surfaces in the film.
** The trailer's shot of [[spoiler:brain matter in the enzyme tank means that Mateo would succeed in the brain surgery part of the Brain Surgery Trap]]. Sadly, in the movie proper, [[spoiler:the brain matter doesn't disintegrate in time, and Mateo is killed when the mask closes in his face, burning him to death]].

* OffWithHisHead: Valentina's trap involves her having to cut her leg off and extract enough bone marrow from the leg, lest she has her head chopped off by a wire. [[spoiler: She fails, with obvious results.]] The start of her trap has John explaining this outcome to her in a somewhat {{expospeak|Gag}} manner.

*** Similarly, [[spoiler: after Diego, the taxi driver who was working with Pearson, survives his test, John gives him a first aid kit]].

* TimeBomb: [[spoiler:Diego's game requires him to mutilate his arms with scalpels duct taped to his hands]] to remove literal time bombs strapped to him. [[spoiler:He succeeds]].

* YouAreTooLate: [[spoiler: While Valentina and Mateo mutilate themselves and sacrifice parts of their bodies as their traps require, they were too late in getting it done within the time they were given (Valentina couldn't give enough bone marrow in time to pass, Mateo's brain matter took too long to dissolve in order to get the key), and end up being executed by their respective traps.]]

* AtLeastIAdmitIt: Subverted. [[spoiler:Cecilia tells John at the end that at least she knows she's a ConArtist, then proceeds to call John out for using his philosophy to hide behind being a SerialKiller. Of course, she still hides that fact from her clients and is ''also'' a murderer, even killing her own co-conspirators to prevent them from revealing her crimes]].

** [[spoiler: In TheStinger, Mark Hoffman makes his first appearance since he was last seen in ''Film/Saw3D''.]]

** John ''has'' to put people in traps, even if it undermines his long-term goals. Case in point with Diego, who is kidnapped and tested even before John gets the name of his accomplices, even though if Diego failed, John would never be able to avenge himself.

* DidNotThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler:John designed the Bloodboard Trap expecting Cecilia and Parker to place himself and Amanda in it, so he has an OhCrap reaction when she decides to put Carlos in place of Amanda instead.]]
** [[spoiler: He also fails to foresee Cecilia being evil enough to kill her own allies, which sadly leads to her killing Gabriela despite the latter passing her test]].

* DuelToTheDeath: [[spoiler: Both the Blood Board and Control Room traps are these, with their intended and actual targets being Sears and Pederson, who indeed end up fighting it out to survive.]]

** [[spoiler: John lets the hospital janitor go when he catches him in the act of theft, only imagining putting him in a trap, though this may have been a combination of both his imminent death making him feel merciful, and the janitor having a pang of conscience and not going through with the theft after all. He's also disgusted with Cecilia for murdering Gabriela after she survived her trap and putting an innocent child in one of them, and ends up TakingTheBullet for the poor kid.]]
** [[spoiler: This is subtly played out by the traps John puts the con-artists through, in that their severity is seemingly proportional to the level of involvement they played in the scam. Gabriela, who was only loosely involved only has to "break her shackles" so to speak by busting her hand and foot. Her trap, while still deadly, was ''far'' easier than the fake doctors Mateo's or Valentina's traps.]]

%%* HateSink: [[spoiler: Cecilia Pearson is probably one of the most genuinely evil people featured in this series. She’s revealed to be a fraud doctor who uses the fame and achievements done by her father to scam people into

* GoryDiscretionShot: [[When Mateo fails to complete his test in time, the Tlaloc mask closes on his face, roasting his head alive. Aside from his screams and steam coming from the mask, we never see the end result]].