The tenth installment of the Saw franchise finally sees the movie formula broken and subverted. Jigsaw and Spiral seemed to promise to take the series in a new direction, but in reality, they rode down the same old road. Saw X delivers on these promises, which leaves long-time fans pleasantly surprised and newcomers excited about a horror movie that will have them recoiling in their seats.

Aside from the “opening trap” that occurs in a dreamlike sequence, the games don’t begin until almost halfway through the movie. Instead, we get the exposition that provides John Kramer with his victims. The slower pace allows the audience for once to be on Jigsaw’s side. Past installments have always gone for society’s archetypal “bad guys.” This time around, while the bad guys are still morally reprehensible, we are actively rooting for their demise—and in a strange turn of events, we are also rooting for Kramer.

It’s short-lived, as once the games begin, we see tension between him and his apprentice Amanda. There is a bit of contention on the decision to have one of the members of the con job included in the game. Gabriela is a drug addict whose role was to play cancer-free from Cecilia’s treatment. Amanda defends her position as being a person needing help with their addiction who got dragged into bad business. Kramer, of course, pushes back and continues, but the soft spot Amanda has for Gabriela remains. In a time where we are accustomed to hearing Jigsaw’s philosophy about not murdering anybody and how he selects his victims, it is a breath of fresh air to have someone (even better that it comes from his apprentice) question his methodology. Furthermore, the victims are keen to work together and try to win, even poking jabs at John Kramer for his shtick of using a voice.

The only thing lacking would be further exploration of John Kramer’s character, diving into more of his past and his relationship with his wife. But we do see a different side of him, interacting with characters we’d never imagine and in ways that subvert expectations of a Saw movie.

With a smart cast and a twist that isn’t recycled from at least four previous movies, this film marks a high point in the franchise that it hasn’t hit since the first in the series. A must-watch.