You can say what you like about the Saw movies, you either like them or hate them, but nobody can deny they are treading the bounds of history. Several years on from the original movie, each year sees the return of this justice effected individual just in time for Halloween. Echoing back to the 80's where the hallmark of how good you are in the annuls of horror was judged by the number of roman numerals you had behind your movies title, Saw is now in its fifth instalment. Then it echoes back even further, right back to the dawn of serialised cinema offerings, the likes of Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and King Of The Rocket Men, the reason for this comparison will become more evident later.
Turning the clock back to Saw III, it seems odd that the movies are still being made because our vicious killer Jigsaw also known as John (Torbin Bell) died in the third movie offering. But in a rather clever spin on things in movie number four the movie moved into parallel storytelling, looking at the present (post Jigsaw demise) and the past in which a series of despicable acts that Jigsaw put into place now play out in the present. This fifth offering goes one step further looking
far back, to yesterday, and the present and manages to keep three time streams going along quite nicely at the same time. This is my comparison to those cinema Republican serials like Flash Gordon in which at the end of episode one you would see Flash crash in his ship to the ground, however in episode two you'll see he actually got out just prior to the crash, while not being quite so lame brained, Saw V uses this philosophy and delivers a movie that looks at that instant of time just before the events you have already become accustomed too happened.
It's obvious from the movies beginning that this story is all about passing the mantle of Jigsaw from one person to another, somehow in the 4th offering Jigsaw had put in place a sort of passing of power as he hands down the position of judge and executioner to another, that other being Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) who since Saw III has been patiently waiting in the wings to take over the title of The Jigsaw Killer. Saw V does a clever job of tying up all the ends of the original movies as far back as the Danny Glover and Cary Elwes characters in the original, while at the same time delivering a brand new story, officially Hoffman's first proper outing as Jigsaw; Hoffman's big task is to make sure all those loose ends are dealt with before he can carry out his new role unhindered, and the movie allows both this, the story of how he came to be the successor of the original Jigsaw, and the build up to Jigsaws final days. And as if this was not enough, added to the mix a blend of five characters chucked in a series of four puzzle rooms trying to figure out how to get out alive, while the rules of the game pretty much state that in order to get out one of them must die in each room.
It may be wrong but I'm rather partial to the Saw movies, no horror offering has successfully got to a fifth instalment while keeping its blockbuster status since the mid 80's, and whether you like them or not the Saw movies to launch each year off the back of a wave of publicity, as well as getting big screen cinema offerings rather than previous incumbents that either go straight to DVD or worse still, straight to television. The publicity for Saw V began as far back as Easter so this is no small fry delivery, and in typical style fans of the movies flocked to the cinema to see what despicable acts would be performed on people because there dirty little secrets have come to life. In Saw III, and IV it became clear why Jigsaw picked his victims, all of whom are placed in bizarre contraptions and given pretty painful solutions on how to free themselves, justice with Jigsaw has always been reasonably fair, you make the right decision and you escape with your life, the key to the Saw movies secret however is more often than not the victims die and realise just a little bit too late that they made the wrong choice. Saw V however is a brand new breed, its opening victim Seth makes all the right moves in order to secure his freedom, but death quite literally swings his way anyway, could it be that our new Jigsaw has brand new criteria?
Not as gross out on the gore front as Saw III and IV, Saw V does however still deliver a few moments where you flinch because your body is reacting to what is happening onscreen. This time the movie plays more on raw emotion picking out these five "contestants" and weaving a terribly good story on what links them, and the solution to their release from this terror; say what you like about the series each movie brings a moment of brilliance in the connecting of both the stories but the aspects of the victims impending fate, the solution to the puzzle in this movie is by far the most impressive of the series, and the story weaving from three different points in time deserves acclaim too. As with all the movies Saw V ends with this most melodic weaving of all the storylines together with the Saw Theme playing out in slightly louder variations with each new chapter, this time round it's a very FINAL weaving, but not final as in the death of the franchise, Saw VI is already on the cards due for release Halloween 2009, what Saw V does however is closes the door on what has gone before, the question being can good prevail over evil, and how can you truly tell which is which?
Spencer Hawken 11/08
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A very impressive in depth review of Saw V. Thoroughly deserving of the 'E'. I am not being biassed as I love the Saw movies. It really is an Exceptional review.
Nov 22nd, 2008
exceptional by (3%):
very helpful by (97%):
