Saw X Director Promises More Jigsaw Than Ever Before

While Tobin Bell’s John Kramer has been a key component of the Saw franchise since the debut film, the character’s presence is often felt much more than the character is central to the story, but director of the upcoming Saw X Kevin Greutert teases that Kramer is back and more integral to the narrative than ever. Not only is Bell reprising the role for the first time since 2017’s Jigsaw, but the filmmaker hints that we’ll be seeing more of the figure than we’ve seen in previous movies. Saw X is slated to hit theaters on September 29th.

“Kramer is the center of the story,” Greutert shared with Empire Magazine. “They tried to make the last Saw without Tobin, and to me, that was a pretty gutsy move.”

In the debut movie, Kramer was a figure who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he took on a new perspective of life. Kramer’s mission was to put people who have questionable morals into situations where they would have to make a violent sacrifice in order to survive. With Kramer dying in Saw III and earning an autopsy in Saw IV, Bell appeared in subsequent films thanks to flashbacks.

The most memorable component of the original Saw was that two characters were chained in a room with seemingly no escape, but they were provided with handsaws that would allow them to cut off their own feet in order to escape. Greutert teased that the upcoming film will embrace a more primitive premise.

“This one has pulled back to a somewhat more realistic level,” the filmmaker expressed. “Not maybe Saw I-level simplicity, but close. The more that the audience can get the sense that a smart engineer — which he is — could figure out what to do with these parts and make it work, the better.”

He added, “[Saw X] is an emotional journey that you go on with John Kramer, and less a slaughterhouse that you experience from the point of view of the victims. Obviously there will be people that can’t handle it, but I think it has a good chance of appealing to people beyond gore freaks.”

Saw X is described, “John Kramer (Tobin Bell) is back. The most disturbing installment of the Saw franchise yet explores the untold chapter of Jigsaw’s most personal game. Set between the events of Saw I and II, a sick and desperate John travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer — only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through devious, deranged, and ingenious traps.”  

Saw X is slated to hit theaters on September 29th.

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