SAW V
2008 | Dir. David Hackl | 92 Minutes
"Tonight, you'll see the difference between killing and rehabilitation."
After narrowly surviving a Jigsaw trap, FBI Agent Strahm closes in on Detective Hoffman who is carrying on Jigsaw's work. In the latest Jigsaw game arranged by Hoffman, a group of strangers discover their secret criminal connection as they are subjected to a series of lethal traps.
Series production designer David Hackl makes his capable directorial debut with Saw V, but unfortunately for him it's the least compelling Saw yet due to Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan's script giving Hoffman a rather hackneyed origin. Following up on the twist ending of Saw IV in the most uninspired way, most of the feature is spent filling in story gaps explaining Hoffman's involvement with Jigsaw by shoehorning the corrupt detective into the overarching narrative going as far back as the first Saw. Hoffman's backstory is a sad one, but his role in Jigsaw's plans just isn't as intriguing as Amanda's due to its foundation on blackmail rather than a twisted sort of surrogate familial bond. Making this story thread even worse, the conceit of Strahm's present day investigation as a vehicle for Hoffman flashbacks gets tiresome fast. The picture clearly telegraphs Hoffman's plan to frame Strahm for his crimes, and Strahm's FBI supervisor Erickson just comes off as the biggest federally employed idiot for taking the bait. It's almost insulting that the movie presents this frame up as its big twist, truly the least satisfying ending for a Saw film yet. Even the climatic glass box trap is a bit too straight-forward for a Saw showstopper. The best thing about this installment is the multi-trap game similar to the one in Saw II but with a better, more organized structure, focusing on a seemingly unrelated party of five who discover they were selected by Jigsaw due to their involvement in an arson plot gone horribly wrong.
Saw IV art designer Tony Ianni takes over production design and does a fine job of maintaining aesthetic continuity with past entries. Nothing looks out of place for a Saw film, particularly the series of cleverly designed catacombs trap rooms. The water cube trap for Strahm is notably impressive on a technical level, and the pendulum trap that opens the picture is an all-time Saw classic. Charlie Clouser's remix of the main theme for this installment's climax is a back-to-basics take that makes the weak sauce ending slightly better.
Though his role is now limited to flashback scenes with Costas Mandylor's Hoffman, Tobin Bell’s imposing but engaging presence as Jigsaw makes the homicidal detective's involvement in Jigsaw's work seem a bit more credible. Mandylor is mostly fine as Hoffman, but outside of a handful of emotional flashbacks his character is too busy running around the city covering his murderous tracks for the audience to invest any real interest in him. Scott Patterson's Strahm returns and makes for a poor protagonist, offering nothing appealing to the audience, though Strahm's makeshift tracheotomy at least gives Patterson something to work with, allowing him to add some raspy voice flavor to the role. The cast also features Joris Jarsky as pendulum victim Seth; Julie Benz, Greg Bryk, Meagan Good, Carlo Rota, and Laura Gordon who are all much more memorable than much of the cast as the players of the catacombs trap games; and Mark Rolston as the rather dopey senior FBI Agent Dan Erickson. Betsy Russell's Jill appears rather briefly, her only purpose to set up the next sequel, one of her two short scenes shows her open a literal mystery box.
A well-structured central game isn't enough to elevate Saw V out of being a rather dull origin story for Hoffman, and his scheme to cover up his crimes comes off as pedestrian compared to the intricate machinations that made past Saw films so enjoyable. It's a lesser sequel designed to validate the existence of a replacement for the franchise's iconic boogeyman, and unfortunately this rogue cop just isn't nearly as interesting as the original Jigsaw. For a horror series built on its excellent twist endings, it doesn't help that this one ends with the weakest twist so far.
BEST TRAP
Though it's another unwinnable game, the pendulum trap inspired by Edgar Allan Poe that opens the film is as appropriately terrifying as it is captivating to watch. You can't say the asshole who murdered Hoffman's sister isn't one of the more deserving death trap victims in the series.
FRAGMENTS
- The police press conference announcing the close of the Jigsaw case while addressing the deaths of so many officers always comes off as totally bonkers to me -- besides Hoffman, is there anyone left in their police department's homicide unit do detective work unrelated to Jigsaw?
- On that note, just how many buildings did Jigsaw own as a civic engineer? What's going on in this city?
- Perhaps best known for playing Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, it's a bit odd to see Julie Benz do a Saw movie, though she is one of the best features of this not-so-great sequel
- Strahm revisiting the nerve gas house from Saw II, now cleaned up and looking quite nice, is quite a trip
- The Saw series is definitely a guilty pleasure for me and my siblings, we refer to the ending of this one as Hoffman turning Strahm into a "pa-Strahm-i" sandwich, our silly macabre reference to a classic scene from the original Capcom survival horror video game Resident Evil
SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
- Video: Dead Meat - Saw V (2008) KILL COUNT
