'Saw X' Welcomes Back Jigsaw With Sentimental Blood Spatter

“Do you want to play a game?”

The latest film in the “Saw” franchise arrived in theaters last weekend and saw the return of John Kramer/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) as well as some new characters, including Cecilia (Synnove Macody Lund), Gabriela, (Renata Vaca), and Parker Sears (Steven Brand).

“Saw X” was brilliantly done, as the storyline did not follow the same plot as other movies in the franchise.

Spoilers Ahead

For those horror fanatics who have already seen “Saw X”, it’s obvious that this movie begins completely differently than many of the others. We follow John Kramer, played by Tobin Bell, as he finds out he has brain cancer. Although he has one small thought of putting a trap on a janitor in the hospital who almost stole from a patient’s drawer, the traps that “Saw” fans are used to seeing do not really begin until halfway through the film.

Instead, we see John Kramer find an “underground” clinic, thanks to a fellow group member (Michael Beach) who has made a remarkable recovery due to the clinic. The Norwegian doctor is not available, however, his daughter is, and she claims she can help cure Kramer’s cancer with her father’s medical concoction and surgery.

However, it’s not long after Kramer’s surgery, he figures out that he didn’t actually have a procedure as there was no scar on his head. Kramer then figures out that the doctors, nurses and even the driver who picked Kramer up from the airport were all in on the con.

That is when he calls an old friend – Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) to help him find the individuals responsible for the con as Kramer claims they need to play his game.

Fans then see the return of Amanda (Shawnee Smith) as she helps Kramer capture the doctors and nurses, as well as stand by Kramer during the game.

Without giving too much away, Kramer ends up in his own trap, however, if you know anything about Jigsaw, it’s that he is always five steps ahead…

The latest film in the franchise falls in the timeline perfectly. Set to be between the second and third “Saw” movies, fans get to learn a little bit more of the time in John Kramer’s life when he found out he had terminal cancer.

The events in “Saw X” set up the third film perfectly, and for those die-hard fans, it ties some loose ends up.

For example, in the third “Saw” film, we find out that the true test subject was actually Amanda, which “Saw X” actually touches upon – but very subtly. In the most recent horror movie, we see Amanda giving one of Kramer’s test subjects, Gabriella, some leeway as Amanda feels for her considering both individuals struggled with drug addiction.

Kramer, of course, notices this and gives him just another reason to test Amanda to see if she truly has what it takes to continue her life, or if she is falling back down a bad path.

Plus, for the first time ever, fans get to see Jigsaw in one of his own traps. The brilliant individual found himself being forced into the neck trap, which he, of course, had planned ahead of time, though viewers did not know that. Watching Kramer in his own trap is pure movie magic.