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It's only been two years since the last Saw movie which, when you consider the pandemic, it's not all that long. It's been a while, though, since we've seen its original antagonist on screen; something that Saw X is set to rectify.
The upcoming tenth chapter, directed by Kevin Greutert, will see the return of John Kramer AKA the original Jigsaw killer – and the filmmaker says it's going to be a "surprisingly emotional" comeback.
"We've learned, one way or another, that John Kramer as played by Tobin Bell is what it's all about," Greutert tells SFX magazine in the new issue, which features The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon on the cover. "This was an opportunity to really focus on him and his story and a really key incident that happens in his life. So it led us to a story that is, surprisingly, pretty emotional compared to the other Saw movies.
"Not that there isn't emotion in the other ones, but it's mostly the emotion of fear. There's other stuff in this one. There's hope and there's hope destroyed. People will really be surprised because, as good as the trailer is, it doesn't convey a lot of what the actual film is."
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Those familiar with the long-running horror franchise will already know all about Kramer's tragic backstory, which led him to become the trap-setting revenge seeker he's known as today. While he was killed off in Saw III, he's appeared in several movies since, in flashbacks that recount his dark descent into murderous madness.
In said scenes, it's revealed that Kramer was once diagnosed with an inoperable frontal lobe tumor before a suicide attempt unexpectedly led him to discover a new appreciation for life. Irritated by those who disregarded their own, he began kidnapping people and forcing them to take part in "games" and "tests" that would determine their will to survive. Saw IV details how Kramer's wife Jill used to run a clinic for recovering drug addicts, and was once injured by her patient Cecil during a robbery attempt. The incident led to Jill and John suffering a miscarriage, and Cecil ultimately became Jigsaw's first victim.
Kramer's vendettas didn't stop there, however. Later, it becomes clear that Saw's Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) was the dismissive doctor who first diagnosed John's cancer. (Though Gordon ultimately, like Cecil's ex-girlfriend Amanda (Shawnee Smith), became one of the Jigsaw's apprentices).
"The arc John goes through is more grandiose in a way, and emotionally deeper, than what we're used to," Greutert continues. "There are extended sequences that are not the normal kind of thing you see in a Saw movie. Really, it's more of an emotion-driven epic than anything else."
Saw X releases on September 29. The above just a snippet of our interview, available in the latest issue of SFX Magazine, which features The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon on the cover and is available on newsstands from Wednesday, September 6. For even more from SFX, sign up to the newsletter, sending all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox.
