Saw V
posted October 25, 2008 8:20 AM
Latest installment in wildly successful franchise answers the question: Is it possible to fall asleep committing torture porn?
The only thing predictable about our current bipolar-disordered economy is that even a mediocre Saw picture should gross over $25 million on its opening weekend if it comes out just before Halloween. Saw V is mainly an origin story for the Jigsaw Killer’s latest acolyte, the vigilante detective Mark Hoffman. It also dovetails with previous entries enough to drain a few pints from the diehard fans, with a probable fast fade afterward. If the film doesn’t hit that very low mark, it might be time to pull whatever’s left out of the stock market, close out the bank account, and wait out the coming fiscal apocalypse atop a mattress stuffed with your life savings.
Like all the films in the Saw franchise, Saw V is a cross between Se7en, Survivor and having your eyeballs raped by a rusty Phillips-head screwdriver. Yes, the elliptical “torture porn” formula is an irresponsible one, and critics who think people go to the movies to become better human beings will therefore receive their usual Halloween gift from the Jigsaw Killer, and may now huff and puff within their respective forums, without really blowing much of anything down.
The fan base doesn’t go to these pictures to be ennobled, though. It goes to see a very raw and gory saga that crosses ’70s-era Death Wish vigilantism with contraption-based mutilation sequences—a kind of Rube Goldberg Grand Guignol, by way of Joe Friday. So the real questions for a Saw movie number just two: How good is it at doing what it’s designed to do (i.e., does it scare an audience and satisfy the fan-base)? And: What does the continuing success of this concept say about us, the contemporary audience?
To the first question, let us answer using Jigsaw’s methodology. If Saw V was a cunning trap designed to slice off an arm or a leg, the blades would turn out to be rubber, the locks holding the victim’s head and appendages in place could be picked by a sneezed nose-hair, and the gears wouldn’t fit together well enough to advance their purpose by anything more than a few ineffectual inches. In other words: it ain’t scary, folks. And this despite having the ritualistic flash-forward, flash-back, flash-sideways story structure that used to be a clever way of reflecting the underlying puzzle metaphor but now seems like a device to show either a bloody crime scene, still images of a bloody crime scene or the actual depiction of a bloody homicide every three minutes or so.
With their somnambulant and speechifying master villain, cliché hard guy cops, relentless self-seriousness, sprawling casts and meaningless plot complexities, the Saw pictures have always felt rhythmically like daytime soap operas, and while it might be fun to imagine Susan Lucci getting her hands cut off by a Craftsman bandsaw (perhaps in order to move to the next level of Dancing With the Stars?), in practice, everything about the way this film plays seems to fight against the cheap thrills its supposed to supply.
As to what the Saw series tells us about the rest of us: if it were still three years ago, perhaps I could get my inner social worker to compose a little prose poem about a righteous, post-9/11 America willing to torture its enemies in the name of preserving its values. I admit it: the moralistic inquisitor Jigsaw has always seemed a bit like a demented staff sergeant from Abu Ghraib or Gitmo to me. But this late in the franchise, Jigsaw seems to want to teach people truly generic moral lessons—like that they should learn to work together and/or to trust each other—which is all a bit Thomas the Tank Engine for me. For good or ill, America seems to be ready to move on this election year, and the Saw premise is starting to hit its expiration date—the way Jason, who killed teenagers as they had sex, started to seem old hat as the anti-sensualist Moral Majority-types whose values he reflected began to leave the political stage back in the early ’90s.
But who knows—maybe Jigsaw has remained more relevant than he seems. On the day Saw V opened, Ashley Todd, a passionate 20-year-old supporter of the McCain/Palin ticket, was revealed as a hoaxer who had tried to put across a horrific story about a scary black mugger attacking her, all because she wanted to throw the election by playing to stereotypes of race. Her weapon of choice: self-mutilation.
Like Jigsaw, Todd almost surely felt her cause was just. Or maybe she’d just seen too many movies.
Distributor: Lionsgate
Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Paterson and Betsy Russell
Director: David Hackl
Screenwriters: Patrick Melton & Martin Dunstan
Producers: Mark Burg and Oren Koules
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Rating: R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, language and brief nudity
Running time: 92 min.
Release date: October 24
52 Comments
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Satan said:
Nice review, Ray.
October 26, 2008 12:39 PM
Billy Hopper said:
can't wait 2c it
October 26, 2008 4:27 PM
ahmed said:
welcome saw
October 26, 2008 6:38 PM
mscaldwell1 said:
I felt it was a snoozer and highly over rated its nothing worth running 2 c wait till it comes to video as a matter of fact wait till it's free on HBO cause the movie was horrible and tne ending more horrible than any movie i've ever saw except pootietang! Sorry maybe they'll do better next time around.
October 26, 2008 8:51 PM
Christy_21 said:
This movie is the greatest horror movie...I'm a big fan of the Saw movies and I think that the directors and producers did a great job with this movie. I personally think that they did a perfect job making this movie within a year....I can't wait for next year when they do part 6. I just can't wait! I give them five stars for all the Saw movies.
October 27, 2008 8:24 AM
Big Frasca said:
The director and producer of Saw V did to the horror genre what MTV did to music what Kentucky Fried Chicken did to chicken...they let it down and ****ed it all up
October 27, 2008 8:31 AM
josh g said:
was an ok movie there has been better saws ending was nice
October 27, 2008 8:46 AM
desi said:
it was the wost ever......i fell a sleep during the movie so yeah
October 27, 2008 9:23 AM
Santanna said:
This movie was awesome...I have been a fan of the saw movies for a while now and its everyones personal opinion that they dont like the ending and that they fell asleep..well i think that the ending was the best part! I loved this movie..and no dought it wasnt the best saw movie...but it was really good..it was good enough to pay money to see it..
October 27, 2008 11:00 AM
Anonymous said:
vbbncmn
October 27, 2008 12:25 PM
mike said:
saw 5 is horrible just like part 4. should have stopped at part 3. just getting worse when making more
October 27, 2008 5:13 PM
mike said:
santanna is an idiot. movie was not awesome, was very bad. they need to know when to stop making them
October 27, 2008 5:15 PM
Rag said:
I just watched it long ago.Basically, this one just ties up loose ends.Other than the Gore start with the pendulum thingy,everything else is just what the other saw movies do but just with long talk and elaborate investigations.After the first 3 installments,the 4th and now the 5th just explains what happened and why.Well, As you may have guessed a sixth installment may just be out,so lets hope its more Saw than talk and explanation.
October 27, 2008 9:51 PM
Eve said:
it was a great movie, will be waiting for saw 6.. However i dont get it, how come Jigsaw's body was still in the room when FBI agent got locked in, when in saw 4 his body was taking by police
.
October 27, 2008 10:17 PM
KATIE said:
YOUR REVIEW JUST DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE IM NOT STUPID BUT GOT BORED AFTER THE FIRST PARAGRAPH OF YOU TRYING TO SOUND SMART. YOU WOULDNT SPEAK TO SOME ONE LIKE THAT SO WHY REVIEW SOMETHING LIKE IT. THE FILMS RUBBISH .. THERE YOU GO EASY
October 28, 2008 5:04 AM
Amanda said:
Ok people I have said it once, maybe more. If you dont like them quit watching them. If you like Horror movies the general premise of SAW and SAW II, SAW III, SAW IV, SAW V, will appeal to you. Everybody has a taste in what they like but please don't go telling people what they should or shouldn't do. Come On people all you made the decision to go watch it, so why don't you let us make the decision to go see it too. Plus All of you complaining That all SAW IV did was tie up the first three movies, were you not also the same people who were asking at the end of the movie what happend to Doctor Gordon, Dectective Mathews, and The Daughter? If your not answering yes, Your not being truthful! It is in human nature to be curious. Unless you are a Psychic who knows the ending of each movie and knows what is going to happen at the beginning of each movie, why go see it if you have seen it all.
For the writier of this main critical view of the movie, Well you made it very apparrent you resented being asked to view this movie in the first place, so you hated it from the get go, let a critic who liked it critique it and get out of the way. For all of you who say it was rubbish becasue it tied all things together you are a bunch of hypocrits! You got the gore and blood which is what you came for. It is Murder Mystery type thing that as it unravles pulls you through to keep you up to date. For all of you who hated it. DON'T GO SEE SAW SIX MIGHT BE MORE OF THE SAME! Sheesh its a movie its not supposed to make sense the JigSAW was a psychopath who went crazy becasue his son was killed by a druggy and then he found out he had cancer. Then when he tryed to kill himself he found out he really wanted to live, so he found out he really did not know what he had, til he almost didnt. Thus he trysto offer the others to do just that also. While it is sick an twisted and psychotic he views he was doing the greater good, what evil psychotic who thinks they are doing the right thing does not? He has always used morals to cover what he did, from the very beginning and played to fact that as a society we are not Morally Working for the greater good. Yes we all like to be scared yes we all like to be grossed out, we went to the movie for fun. So if you had fun GREAT, if you did not SHUT UP and let people choose what they want to do!
Ok Im down off my soap box! Can't wait to SEE SAW V!
October 28, 2008 7:59 AM
MikeTheGreat said:
Amanda is dead on.
This was a good movie, and if you liked the other Saw movies, you need to see this.
I can't wait for part 6!
October 28, 2008 12:00 PM
melissa said:
I love the saw movies....cant wait to see this one...
October 28, 2008 2:30 PM
Robyn said:
yea reading all these i agree with amanda, but what did happen with his body? i couldn't figure that out either ... like how can the poliece have it and at the same time he is locked in the room with it. Unless it is part of this next movie which will explain it...?
October 28, 2008 7:33 PM
dee said:
well the body the police had in 4 wasn't john's body the body was still trapped with the guy from 3 as he killed john his wife's head blew off and the door closed but where is his daughter john said he had his daughter and can someone tell me what happened to the docter from saw 1 he cut off his foot and crawled out what happened to him
October 28, 2008 8:04 PM
LRC said:
To the Amandas of the world, and anyone else going "OMG, don't watch it if you don't like it" -- if you don't watch it, HOW are you supposed to know if you like it or not?
This argument becomes sillier every time I hear it.
October 29, 2008 2:34 PM
Me said:
So Should I watch it or not? haha
October 29, 2008 3:45 PM
big boi said:
dat **** is crazy make saw 6 7 8 9 10 lol 4 realzzzz
October 30, 2008 6:21 AM
dee said:
you should watch it but i must warn you from 1 to 5 excluding 2 they have got unbeleavably worse i think everyone should see it and form your own opinion of it but seriously it seems like they are making it up as they go along if your a fan of the franchise then watch it if not than this one just give saw haters more amunition like friday the 13th or halloween or nightmare on elm street i just saw the last 2 saw movies because it's part of the franchise and it me me want to throw something at my tv it adds nothing to the first 3 withc where pretty good but like signing reggie brown to the cowboys who already have terrel owens and roy williams it adds nothing or like attending a keg party where everyone drinks bud and you bring a six pack or coor's it adds nothing or like putting salt on a peace of bacon wich is already salty on it's on it adds nothing
October 30, 2008 6:34 AM
sanya said:
it was good and sick
October 30, 2008 7:45 AM
noone said:
i thought that saw 5 was good. i wished that it was like 30 minutes longer becuase it felt way too short. I think that 5 was building up to 6. sorta like star wars epidsode 1 excellant, 2 boring love story building up to 3 which was freaking awesome kick butt!
October 30, 2008 10:31 AM
mr noname said:
whos this saw character?
October 30, 2008 11:16 AM
th blitz said:
um saw V was the greatest movie ever... little too much on flashback though,....
October 30, 2008 12:38 PM
JigSaw said:
I am JigSaw..
October 30, 2008 3:57 PM
Loriann Torres said:
Imma watch it. Like really
October 30, 2008 4:39 PM
bj said:
i think it was ****en sweet
October 31, 2008 7:54 AM
Anonymous said:
qwwerstfttrrtffffdrsssssdf
October 31, 2008 10:55 AM
mr noname said:
me again just wanna say i know what a jigsaw is now it cuts shapes its electic powered but still havent seen no movies on it!!! use are all nuts peice out
October 31, 2008 12:43 PM
Steven Pierce said:
Y'all are TOO funny.
November 1, 2008 9:44 PM
Ahmed said:
i didnt watch it yet hahaha
November 3, 2008 6:50 AM
Anonymous said:
eyo wats gewd the movie lols kind of scary so wtf iz gewd anyway
November 3, 2008 8:37 AM
Diana said:
This movie was great!!....the ending was bit confusing but I so have to agree with Amanda if you ppl dont like the movie then either stop watching them or just shut up and move on! and to LRC well then we arent telling you not to watch it we are just telling you ppl to stop saying things like what Mike said "Saw 5 was horrible just like part 4"...Well if you didnt like part 4 then why go see part 5!!I mean seriously how stupider can you get.(No offense).Well my opinion was that they did a good job in trying to put all the pieces together.I want more explanations so I want SAW 6!!=]
November 3, 2008 7:28 PM
robbie said:
this is a good film out now it must of been awsome to make the film
make 6
November 4, 2008 1:29 AM
janet said:
amanda is so right i belive in her so should u
November 8, 2008 12:51 AM
ALITAGER said:
It was rubbish!
November 9, 2008 8:58 AM
Frequenxy said:
I can't believe how many people didn't like this movie!!! I thought it was fantastic! I HATED the cliff-hanger ending, but will most likely be resolved in Saw VI! I think people have their standards too high for this movie. And as for the review, what a bunch of crap! This guy has no taste. I thought it was excellent and I can't wait for Saw VI!!!
November 9, 2008 9:11 PM
ayacamatuka said:
i enjoy the twists all in them all
November 9, 2008 10:58 PM
evil said:
im frome hell of iran.i love it
November 10, 2008 6:24 AM
ladan said:
i'm in rush to watch it!!!
November 11, 2008 4:45 AM
rashel said:
i fink the film is excellent!!!!!!!
November 19, 2008 3:53 AM
rashel said:
i wnt to f.... adrian
November 19, 2008 3:55 AM
Big l hates it said:
one of the worst movies of Saw. it is the dumbest thing ever. Saw 4 such=ked but Saw 5 was even worst. Dont fricken watch it!!!!!!!!!!
November 22, 2008 7:02 PM
i siadso said:
the film is rubbish
November 26, 2008 6:20 AM
lil matt said:
the movie is wkd
November 26, 2008 6:22 AM
jon said:
y don't all of u shut the **** up:) thanks
November 26, 2008 6:35 AM
dennis said:
sav VI has to came fasy
November 28, 2008 11:44 PM
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December 1, 2008 12:09 AM