Saw X director Kevin Greutert explains how the movie was much longer than its final runtime. Releasing on September 29, the tenth installment of the Saw franchise will be the series’ longest movie yet, clocking in at 118 minutes. Most installments in the horror movie franchise have run within the 90-108 minute range, with the upcoming sequel surpassing the record set by 2006’s Saw III, which ran at 108 minutes.
In an interview with The Direct, Greutert reveals that Saw X was initially much longer than the record-breaking finished cut. Stating that they spent lots of time writing and shooting the tenth installment, Greutert also hopes the movie never feels bloated or drags in any place, even if it runs almost two hours. Check out what he had to say on the matter below:
Well, believe it or not, the film was a lot longer at first. And this is very new for me because every film I’ve ever directed came in a lot shorter than I wanted it to. So, in the case of this one, we spent so much time writing it and shooting it… the first cut of the film was super long… This film came in longer than I had intended it to, we shot a lot on the set. There were a lot of script pages and just a lot that we wanted to capture. So, I had to trim the film down and take out some scenes and shorten some scenes more than I wanted. So, I’m hoping that even though the film is almost two hours long, it doesn’t feel bloated or that it drags anywhere. You know, because this was sort of the cream of the footage that we shot.
Saw X’s Runtime Promises A Huge Installment
With the Saw franchise historically running most of its movies in the 95-minute range, Saw X‘s almost two-hour-long runtime promises a big installment, especially because it is bringing back Tobin Bell as John Kramer once more. Instead of being a direct sequel to the events of Jigsaw and Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Saw X is a prequel to Saw II. The storyline occurs weeks after the original movie, where Kramer learns of a potential treatment for his cancer diagnosis.
Not only will Bell return as the Jigsaw Killer, but Shawnee Smith will also reprise her role as Amanda Young, who was last seen in the third installment. Audiences will likely learn more about her arc and relationship with Kramer as the franchise sheds new light on the character before the events of Saw II. Additional cast members include Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, and Michael Beach.
Greutert is no stranger to the Saw franchise, having previously helmed Saw VI and Saw 3D as well as editing the first five installments and 2017’s Jigsaw. While his directorial efforts weren’t critically well-received, Greutert seems confident that this new movie will be one to remember and could hopefully launch more installments should it prove successful. However, with his recently admitting to being uncertain of any “obvious new direction” to take the Saw franchise, it will be interesting to see whether any story threads will be left unresolved come the end of Saw X.
Key Release Date
Saw 10
Release Date:2023-09-29
