Well the first thing that came in to my mind is the following: on one hand these movies would certainly be a time machine for some. On the other hand times have changed enough to make it accesible. If that doesn't make sense then I'll just be straight. If you had invited me to see a Saw movie when Bush was still president, if not when that great economy crash happened, then I would've told you off extremely hard. If you had invited me in betwixt the Obama/Trump gap I would've gone if you paid me (Though I'd probably charge you a co-pay on behalf of my closeminded Cabin in the Woods mindset). So how can anyone really judge this, if not any, decade so far without remembering the worst from the last one? I bring this up not only to start talking about Saw X but the films it takes place in between: 1 and 2. One thing we can get out of the way is that it pretty much gives you what you should expect from a Saw movie that admittedly, if negatively, transcends horror itself (at least for my subjective tastes). Except much like Ghostface went to New York for the same reason, Jigsaw went all the way to Mexico in order to avoid running into any Dippin' Dots stands with a certain red flavour being sold by a certain Mime clown nowadays. At its worst it seems to have maintained its violently niche aesthetic after two decades. At its best, however, its exactly how this installment plays through during the first and final act: like a sort of Gran Torino, or even Being Boring By Pet Shop boys, of Saw Movies. Much like Mandy or Kids vs Aliens were influenced by movies of their era, Saw X is very much one from its own yet at the same time it isn't. While the first two Saw Movies focus on the survivalist stakes of the victims, Saw X focuses primarily on John Kramer and Amanda in terms of how their eventual future will go. That's not to say it eschews the obvious carnage, but the way it's more introspective now is what ultimately made it all the more...developed (if "fleshed out" triggers your gag reflex). And I suppose that's why it's both a new Saw movie and an old one simultaneously. While the 80s are alot harder to pull off because less and less people remember them as time goes by, the 2000s, while not as fondly looked back at by comparison, are still more possible if for questionable reasons. Only now are people starting to replace/combine their nostalgia goggles with ones that are either immune to cringe or help you aquire a taste for it: guilty pleasure goggles. So although Saw, much like Twilight or Nu Metal, was never for everyone, it still very much had its audience from that decade and celebrates it in spirit here to the point it has evolved into a deranged yet impressive artform.

Or, if I can't say anything else, at least I finally saw Billy the puppet on the big screen (despite having obviously tried those same Dippin dots which made him lose his voice).