Saw V

Over the past five years, Halloween has become synonymous with the release of the newest Saw film. The incredibly violent films started out as an incredibly suspenseful, well-written, and authentically terrifying experience that was not to be missed. The first Saw introduced us to Jigsaw, and showed us his warped sense of morality and how he taught his "lessons." Since that excellent film, and the exceptional sequel that followed, the series, since its third release, has continued to dwindle and spiral downwards towards the pointless and utterly disgusting.

Saw V, although not all together horrible, was obviously released just to cash in on the series' target audience that have shelled out the cash to see their favorite "non-killer" traumatize his victims in vicious traps. After the end of the third film, it was difficult to imagine how the series could possibly continue, but through the use of flashback and the introduction of a new accomplice, Jigsaw's work was able to continue for another two movies. In this film, the last living detective that was assigned to the original Jigsaw Case, Agent Strahm, is captured and put into one of the traps. Through great luck and ingenuity Strahm is able to escape from the trap, to tell that, although Jigsaw is dead, someone is continuing his work. He also believes that it is an inside job. The audience is fully aware of the newcomer's identity at the end of the fourth film, so there really is no mystery surrounding the detective's search. 

Also, the traps in this film are rather lackluster, and are not as clever as those from the past. Personally, my standards were set higher with the hair trap from the fourth film. These traps seem rather basic. You may recall the slogan from the trailer or poster, "You won't believe how it ends." That may have been true for films one and two, but this ending, although a tad unexpected, was nothing out of the ordinary, especially for a series that is well known for its plot twists. For fans of the series, this will obviously be a must-see. For everyone else, just re-watch Saw 1 and 2. 

My Grade: C-

Release Date: October 24, 2008

Rating: R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, language and brief nudity.

Running Time: 92 min.

Director: David Hackl