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Was this better than the last 3 movies (Saw 3D, Jigsaw, and Spiral)? Sure. But it was a 4/10 rather than the 3/10 those movies were. Hardly a return to form.

The setup was revealed in the summary you read when you choose whether to rent this movie, so they spoil the reveal before you even start watching. This is not a scary movie, but a revenge story. It might as well be a subpar John Wick with traps instead of guns. There are no jump scares and rarely any tension.

The main "bad guy" being tested ends up being a sociopath - not an even slightly interesting character and not a single hint of moral ambiguity. It's not unprecedented in the series to have an evil or irredeemable person die in a trap, but literally none of the tested in this movie turn out to be remotely likable. You don't root for their "redemption," you're just waiting for the blood spray and screams to end so the plot will move on. There was no journey the characters went on where you wondered will they/won't they change. The characters are just...flat.

The twist at the end is weak. I am literally the worst at figuring out reveals, and even I knew what it was (even if I didn't know all the details). It was not a shock and had no emotional weight. And we don't even find out how the final trap ends...or even exactly how it works!

I also spent a lot of the movie trying to figure out what the hell they did to the lovely Shawnee Smith's face. I can't tell if it was awful CGI de-aging, if she's had plastic surgery, or if she had some kind of allergy she was suffering from during filming, but it really did not look quite like her. I am not trying to be critical of her looks - it just looked differently enough from her previous films that it was distracting. It would have been less weird if she'd just looked her current age, despite this being a prequel.

Honestly, this movie was a major disappointment. Even Saw 6 was twice as engaging as this movie and had similar themes related to greed and taking advantage of the ill and dying without conscience. By the end of that movie, the main character was human, with complexity and an emotional journey that changed him. Not so with Saw X. It misses the mark and I cannot for the life of me understand why I keep hoping for a return to the compelling storytelling we used to get from this franchise. Shame I can't return it.

I enjoyed Devil and other enclosed space movies that generally aren't rated too highly. So I was hoping the concept would work in this one, but it's far too boring. I've never seen a horror movie or a thriller with so few elements of tension. I don't want to spoil what happens at the end so you're more likely to read my review but you will not come out of this movie scared, caring about any of the characters, or feeling like anyone learned anything at all or had any sort of development. There are a couple of long extended scenes where you may even wonder if the recording stopped working but no, they just padded the run time with just a black screen.

I've now seen this movie twice because I forgot I'd already seen it until about halfway through when I went to IMDB to double check the rating to see if I'd misread the numbers. Apparently I'd already rated this a 2/10 so I'll keep that rating even though a second viewing has me thinking that was too generous. Save your two hours and watch literally anything else instead.

I hate rating this movie so low because the acting was excellent, there is so much depth to the themes, it was creative as all hell, and it's visually very pleasing. I feel weird about feeling like it was technically, objectively a very good movie and yet still not much fun to watch. I can't quite put my finger on why either.

I went into the movie blind, only knowing that it was supposed to be a horror movie. While it was tense and violent in some parts, I genuinely didn't ever feel scared. They tell you relatively early in the film what the ending is going to be, so I didn't really feel the same dread as I think I would have if it hadn't been explicitly and repeatedly stated. Or if I had cared at all about 98% of the characters. (And yes, I get that I wasn't supposed to like them.)

It still was interesting to watch, but for a movie that has themes about passion and joy, I just didn't find it much fun. That's where it missed the mark for me. Well crafted? Yes. Smart? Yes. Fun? No. And that's what I want out of my movies, and my food for that matter. Simple enjoyment. And maybe that's the point.

I think it is worth a watch. I think for a lot of people this will be an 8/10 or higher. I just personally don't think it should be rated highly just because it had something intelligent to say.