If it’s Halloween, it must be Saw. And for the fifth installment of a franchise, it really continues down the right track to keep demented fans like me entertained.
Image courtesy of Impawards
Director: David Hackl
Notable Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Scott Patterson, Julie Benz, Meghan Good, Mark Rolstan
Picking up right where Saw IV left off as these films usually do, we see Detective Mark Hoffman exiting the abandoned building with the little girl (Jeff’s daughter) in his arms and letting his fellow officers know that no-one else survived. Little did he know that Special Agent Peter Strahm happened to find a way to survive one of Jigsaw’s traps and is still alive. Hoffman’s work was already cut out for him and now he has more left to do with the death of Jigsaw looming over everyone. A new problem has arisen though since Strahm survived and believes that someone on the inside with access has been Jigsaw’s accomplice all this time and he’s determined to figure out whom.
Saw V has a much more complicated plot then that, but I really don’t want to give anything more and risk giving it all away. Let’s just say that a different approach was taken to this film then the first four in the franchise. Expect a lot more storyline and explanation then tons of traps like you’ve seen before. With the rumor that the sixth film coming out in October of 2009 being the last one; they are starting to tie up all the loose ends and fill in all the holes. Little pieces (pardon the pun) of the puzzle are being put in place and things are beginning to make more sense. Things that you may have wondered about since the first film are beginning to make sense now while all the time you just forgot about them thinking they’d never be explained.
That’s what makes this franchise so awesome is the continuity.
As I said in my most recent Making Movie History column, Saw has done a phenomenal job of making sure every film in the franchise is relevant. Even with new writers and different directors; they’ve managed to connect everything together and keep the ball rolling on what is essentially one storyline spread out over a number of films. So many past characters from the first four films make small cameo appearances in Saw V, mostly in flashbacks, to oddly enough set things in motion. My God this is hard to explain without giving anything away which is why I urge everyone of you to go see it. But I also insist that you have seen the first four films beforehand because this is not a franchise that will allow you to catch up just by jumping in whenever you please.
The only thing that I could possibly complain about is the lack of traps that is synonymous with this particular series of films. There are some in there, and one that may be my favorite so far out of all of them, but still a lot less then we’ve all grown used to seeing. Those of you with weak stomachs can’t expect to go in and be able to watch it with ease because there are a few traps that even had me queasy with my hands over my mouth in shock. Can you imagine slicing your arm open and losing blood just in order to open a door? Yeesh, that freaks me out just thinking about it, but I’m not going to say another word about it because you deserve to be disgusted and disturbed on your own.
On the Saw scale, this one would have to go up near the top as one of my favorites because it’s the same but it’s also very different. I love the traps, disturbing images, and the gore. But I also love the story and how it is all coming together while leaving other things for us to wonder about until next year with the “finale.” Those involved with Saw just continue to get everything right and it all starts with keeping the cast intact for which I loudly applaud them. Things just wouldn’t be right seeing someone else playing Jigsaw other then Tobin Bell….even though he’s been dead for two films now. But I couldn’t see someone else being the mastermind behind all of these traps and trying to make sure everyone appreciates their life.
Yes, I know he isn’t the one exactly doing it anymore, but it’s still him. Piss on it, it’s a good flick so go see it. You know what I mean.
FINAL RATING (ON A SCALE OF 1-5 BUCKETS):
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Thank God! You’re the first real review I’ve seen to actually praise it rather than shit all over it. I loved the fact it was more story and dialogue-centric. Strahm vs. Hoffman was great heel vs. face dynamics and I can’t wait for the 6th film. I’ll wait until I see it to decide whether I want it to be the last one or not. I don’t want them to become a shell of themselves and start churning out crap, but they haven’t let me down yet.
Thank you Matt!
I praised it because it was really that good, but I’ll agree with you that I’m not quite sure yet if I want the sixth film to be the last.
One year to go though for us all to find out!
Terrific review. I wrote a review which cites a similar opinion over at http://www.horrorwatch.com.You should give it a read. Glad to see someone else is enjoying the attention to story this series has. I was born in 1971, which means that I was the target audience for the franchise horror craze of the 1980’s. So, generally, what mutiple sequels mean to me are repetitive storylines , non actors and cheesy villains in hockey masks. Nothing against those movies – they have their place and I enjoy them as well – but this series is different. It’s got an actual story and it requires more than a minimal amount of attention to detail in order to follow the plot. Kudos to this review and kudos to “Saw V” for proudly continuing the tradition, making the impending part VI seem like a reasonable idea.
[...] 9.) Saw V [...]