Review of Saw V (2008) by Halfwelshman — 16 Jun 2012

Repeated instalments do little to lessen the impact of Jigsaw's "games", and new director David Hackl (promoted from his previous position as the franchise production designer) makes every scene look appropriately unpleasant.

The new villain, ex-cop Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) who has adopted Jigsaw's mantle, is far less scary, and a little bland in comparison to the layered and complex original Jigsaw and his terrifying protege Amanda.

The explanation for Hoffman's monstrous actions are also not particularly satisfying or convincing - seemingly we're just meant to accept that he kills people because he had a bad day. Tobin Bell's scenes in flashback, a staple of the series since his character's death, are still the highlight, the cherry on top of a rather underwhelming cake.

The victims in this film are all thoroughly unlikeable, two-dimensional and annoying, and you'll probably be begging for them to be killed off more rapidly. The plot generally holds your attention, and meets the quota for grisly thrills, but it doesn't advance the main story of the series very far, feeling more like Saw 4.

5 than an entirely new installment, and the attempts by writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan at social commentary is laughable. At least the ending of the film is decent, and while not as unexpected as the first film's brilliant finale, it is at least visually striking and memorable, and allows Mandylor to to prove he has the potential to develop into a more frightening horror movie villain in the future.

Though it still delivers what you watch a Saw film for - gore and unpleasantness, Saw V is largely forgettable, though it is a step up from the hugely inconsistent Saw IV. I find myself quite sad that series creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell have reduced their involvement to that of executive producers, as their energy, warped creativity and tight control over their intellectual property is sorely missed.