Saw 5 (Blu-ray) (2008)

"A cut above its pretentious predecessors; the graphic set-pieces...deliver the gory goods.  John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal
"...has a nice flow to it and is still able to dish out newly designed horrific torture scenes.  Kevin McCarthy, WJFK-FM
"...makes the entire series coalesce a little bit better.  Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

Editor's Note Continuing on with its story despite the death of namesake killer Jigsaw in the third installment, SAW V concerns itself with detailing who will carry on with his bloody work. Director David Hackl, the production designer on the previous three films, retains their familiar charnel house look. Though there are fewer grisly death sequences, faithful viewers will enjoy the creative plot twists. The film opens with a man strapped to a table above a pendulum. As the sharp blade begins swinging over his stomach, he has only a minute to stop it by inserting his hands into a device that will crush them. When the machine malfunctions, it's clear that it wasn't the work of the meticulous Jigsaw. Meanwhile, FBI Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) continues the investigation he began in the previous film, only to wake up to find himself wearing a glass helmet filled with water. With a minimum of self-mutilation, he escapes and continues his investigation with the hunch that Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) is somehow involved in the new rash of killings. Before long, a new group of strangers wakes up in Jigsaw's lair to face a series of brutal tests, and Jigsaw's ex-wife, Jill, is given a mysterious box at the execution of his will. An enormously popular and critic-proof series, SAW gives its fans what they want--creatively executed blood and guts. The fifth installment in as many years, SAW V is more subdued in that department, but the sequences it does contain deliver the goods. Several lengthy flashbacks also allow Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) to make a few appearances. While SAW V isn't the place for beginners to start, those who have stuck with the story this far will find it a fitting entry, happy that SAW VI is just around the bend.

	Scott Patterson
	Julie Benz
	Betsy Russell
	Tobin Bell
	Meagan Good
	Greg Bryk
	Carlo Rota
	Laura Gordon
	Mark Rolston
	Costas Mandylor
	Daniel Jason Heffner - Executive Producer
	Kevin Greutert - Editor
	Charlie Clouser - Composer
	Oren Koules - Producer
	Marcus Dunstan - Screenwriter
	Mark Berg - Producer
	David A. Armstrong - Director of Photography
	Patrick Melton - Screenwriter
	David Hackl - Director

Reel.com 5 of 10
At this point in the Saw series, reviews really don't matter. Frankly, this is one of the few fright franchises where audiences don't care about character development, directorial flair, or narrative invention. Instead, they want more Tobin Bell as Jigsaw, more illogical murders, and a reverse referencing that makes unimportant characters major players in later installments. To that extent, Saw V is definitely no different. Unfortunately, whatever made the first four films tolerable has been whisked away by unimaginative writing and even more pedestrian direction...The final failure comes from the actors. Mandylor appears to be sleepwalking through the part, while Patterson's only highlight comes via a self-induced tracheotomy. The rest of the returning horde--including snippets from victims long ago dispensed--are really nothing special, and Betsy Russell's Jill is reduced to a red herring. About the only actor getting a chance is Bell, and though he is limited to playing flashback versions of the fiend, he brings a brilliant gravitas to the role. Too bad then that Melton and Dunstan give him such God-awful lines...For longtime fans of James Wan and Leigh Whannell's original Sundance stunner, Saw V is the weakest installment so far. It can't claim part two's brutality, part three's closure, or part four's intriguing reboot. Instead, it's the first effort that fails to capitalize on all the invention that came before. Instead of striking out in new or unusual ways, it merely recycles information and individuals we thought we were already done with. If you like the broadening of the Jigsaw scenario, you'll end up partially satisfied. Everything else here is just subpar scares. - Bill Gibron

The Onion A.V. Club 5 of 10
Give the Saw franchise credit for sticking to its original vision, as repugnant and hypocritical as it is. Collectively, Saw's torture-porn series has grossed more than $500 million worldwide, yet its sequels still look like they cost the catering budget of a studio horror film. David Hackl, the production designer for Saw II, III, and IV, graduates from hurling buckets of slime all over the film's grimy torture-dungeon sets to directing, but at this point, the series pretty much writes and directs itself. The driving force is inertia and commercial calculation, not inspiration...Scott Patterson stars as a hard-charging FBI agent who survives one of the nefarious traps set by the Jigsaw Killer (Tobin Bell), then begins to investigate shadowy cop Costas Mandylor, a survivor of the bloodshed that ended Saw IV. For the audience's benefit, Patterson considerately announces the implications of every new clue he picks up, even when he's alone; apparently, he's unfamiliar with the concept of interior monologue...Saw V devotes so much time and energy to flashbacks and recycling footage from its predecessors that it threatens to implode. The film unwisely skimps on the gore in favor of endless scenes of Bell espousing his, um, unique philosophy of self improvement through surviving horrible ordeals--he's like the world's grisliest life coach--and the mystery plot grows less interesting with each passing frame. The death-trap scenes, always the franchise's money shots, feel like half-baked afterthoughts, and the plotting and deaths lack the scuzzy ingenuity of the film's predecessors. Saw V jumps back and forth in time in ways that are confusing to downright incoherent, but chronology isn't the only thing that's hopelessly muddled in this punishingly arbitrary retread. - Nathan Rabin