User reviews

I watched Saw V with a good opening night crowd here in Sydney. I've enjoyed all of the Saw films, predictably liking some episodes a lot more than others, and Saw V is, again, very watchable, with some intense moments and no shortage of grisliness. But I'd still say it's the weakest entry in the series to date. The trouble is that the main narrative addition for this episode, which has to sustain half the running time, turns out to be a dramatically weak one. I don't think a Saw film ever previously failed to create excitement or new meaning via one of its big twisty revelations, but Saw V's add next to nothing. The knowledge gained doesn't force any re-evaluation of the past events it concerns; you just see and know a bit more about them, and to no great effect, except for the fact that Tobin Bell's performance is always compelling, maybe even more so when he's talking to people who aren't stuck in Jigsaw's deathtraps.

The Saw films have demonstrated an unfeasibly high success rate over time in terms of pulling off twist after twist and having them nearly all hit home. With this track record, it seems inevitable that there'd be a significant stumble at some point. They've never been bulletproof films (and thrillers are the genre that are hardest to bulletproof), but I'd say Saw V is definitely the stumble. In spite of this, it still keeps in enough with the series in general for me to be ready for Saw VI in 2009 - which I hope will be better work.

To say the least, I was NOT disappointed. I enjoyed the film as much as I thought I would. Going in, I had some doubts, what with a new director and this being a fifth installment in a horror series (they usually start sucking by the 3rd).

As soon as the opening credits start, you can already tell that a different director had his hands on the project. Acceptence doesn't take long to sink in though. As expected, the film meets the typical Saw requirements. Multiple traps and more revealing back-story.

Simply put, Saw V should not disappoint the loyal Saw fan. I know I'll be back for the next installment with bells on.

Seeing that this is the fifth film, you simply MUST see 1-4 in order to truly understand all the flashbacks. I don't want to give anything away, so all I will say is this: The very last trap in this film is one of my new favorites. . .

The Saw series has always been a standard of sorts. After what I felt was an iconic debut, the series has always remained consistently interesting, with one of the most compelling and ever expanding plots in film history. People may complain that the series is in decline, but what people need to realize is that each part is astronomically better than the corresponding parts of other horror series (for example, Saw IV is better than Halloween IV, or the 4th Nightmare on Elm Street film). The same holds true for Saw V, though the film definitely shows that the series is in decline and needs to end soon before it descends into pure absurdity.

A universal truth of the Saw series is that every entry, no matter who does it, will always be well written and contain a plot twist or two at the end. Again, Saw V continues the tradition of revealing the 'huge' (if you could call it that) twist whilst "Hello Zepp" by Charlie Clouser plays in the background. The film answers as many questions as it raises, and serves as more of an origin movie, like Saw IV did. Only this time, the origin doesn't focus on John Kramer/Jigsaw, and therein lies the problem.

Why does Saw V fail to impress me? Simple. Not enough Jigsaw. Tobin Bell, who has managed to create an iconic villain over the last 5 years, delivers another sublime performance that is not to missed in the world of horror as perhaps the greatest villain of the decade. It really amazed me how Saw IV had the best acting of the series, but just one movie later, pretty much every performer falls flat on their face. This is especially sad considering most of the cast are returning characters, except your typical "why is this happening to me! AHHH!" type characters (which got unbearably annoying, considering they killed off the two least annoying ones first). Meagan Good and Costas Mandylor are acceptable in their roles, however.

Back to the lack of Jigsaw. Tobin Bell really doesn't physically appear that much in the movie, and that is far and away its biggest flaw. The film is similar to Saw II more than the others. To get my drift a little better, imagine the second film, except reduce Jigsaw's screen time by about half. Yeah. This is the only weakness of the screenplay for me, which appears to have matured from the over the top torture porn in Saw III and the ridiculous attempt to run Saw IV concurrently with its predecessor. The film's biggest flaw is in the acting and lack of Jigsaw. Besides this, I really felt that it fit the mold as a worthy entry to the series.

After watching this, however, I no longer feel that Saw is the standard of excellence in horror as it once was. That said, the film has the advantage of being short and never dragging. It's well paced and will more than deliver the thrills. Another thing I feel obligated to mention is that this is the least scariest film in the series, which is okay, because unlike every other cheap horror film, Saw V doesn't try to be scary. It's more of a thriller with some gruesome images (like the first film) than a full blown horror movie (like parts II & III).

In the end, what it comes down to as far as your ability to enjoy the movie, you have to ask yourself this question: "why do I watch the Saw series?". If you watch it for the story and plot twists, you should be at least satisfied, if not entertained. If you watch the series for pure shock and awe and disgust, you'll be disappointed, because Saw V does not try to be a horror film outside of a few scenes. It's a decent entry to the series that is tolerable, despite a lack of the iconic Jigsaw, horrid acting, and a somewhat predictable plot twist (easily the most predictable of the series).

After so many sequels, one should expect a series to be driven to the ground. Although it's getting a bit tiring, Saw fans, & for that matter, fans of gore, shouldn't be disappointed with the fifth movie. Saw 5 still follows the same routine of the cat and mouse game... but of course, as always, telling you too much of the plot is a ruining the game for you. Let's keep it at the thin plot description already given: a detective goes out of his way to make sure that his secret is kept, before an agent uncovers his identity. The subplot involves 5 individuals who are somehow connected, and must work their way out of traps.

The traps still prove to be especially cruel, perhaps a little too cruel, but even that is worked into the story. It involves quite a bit of the past, much like Saw 4, it will give you more of the origin of the characters, whether it's needed or not. Minimizing flashbacks, it instead will fill in a number of plot and character holes.

This is David Hackl's directional debut. Considering he's been around since Saw 2 as production designer, this is a solid step forward. There's no doubt that these somehow ingenious, if not over the top story lines that interconnect were made up well after the fact, but that doesn't change the fact that the scriptwriters were keen on at least making an effort to do exactly that. Tie things in, making the package look neater, & hoping you don't think about it too much that you start to see the implausibility of it all.

If you have not seen the previous Saw's, you will be lost here, as you will be left with confusing tie in's and past incidents that mesh too well with the present. It's just not kind to new viewers.

All in all, I can't complain about Saw 5, because I got exactly what I expected. Clever, deadly traps, uncomfortable situations, & of course, the "twist" at the end. There's no denying that one particular actor that's been in all the Saw's is especially good at what he does.

For the most part, I would suggest waiting for a rental. I think that some viewers may grow tired of the series because it comes out every year. The nature of an audience viewing sequels is that it dwindles in number over time, as "sequelitis" sets in. But if you enjoyed the previous Saws & all their abusive, bloody, cruel, & heartless drama, you don't need me to suggest anything to you.

Given that the Saw films are notable for their unexpected plot twists, the fact that this was the most predictable one makes it difficult to see why it scored the "You won't believe how it ends" tagline. Otherwise, it's decent. It blows Saw III out of the water, but I don't feel it really compares to the other three. I can appreciate that they're trying to bring it back to what the original was all about; a brilliant plot with a couple of gory scenes (the previous two have been somewhat gore-laden with little story for my liking), the problem being, unfortunately, that the plot is fairly weak. The intensity of the torture scenes is greatly increased, though, by the rest period between them.

As a horror film, this works, but don't expect Saw - and don't expect to be blown away by the ending, because it is nothing special. That said, if you're addicted to the Saw saga as so many of us are, there's no harm in going out to see it.

Yes, the Saw-franchise is beginning to get a bit tiresome. I'm still a fan of it thought but it needs some new fresh ideas fast.

Of course in essence all Saw movies are more or less the same. However all previous movies still knew to keep me interested and guessing throughout the entire movie. It still featured some surprising and interesting elements, while "Saw V" really doesn't feature any. No big surprises or twists here, not even at the ending, which in my opinion was a bit weak and disappointing. Normally the end of a Saw movie provides a big twists that will leave you shocked and stunned in your chair, for a few minutes after the movie has ended. I missed this in "Saw V".

The movie is also the least interesting Saw movie as of yet because it features some lazy writing. Normally Saw scripts are airtight ones but not this one sadly. It often takes the obvious paths.

Like always it is also featuring lots of different plot-lines and characters again, although in this case not all are connected well enough to each other. Seriously, what have all those people going to the Jigsaw-trails have to do with the rest of the movie its plot? It just seems to be there because its a Saw movie and it needs to feature all these sick and twisted games. The story lines don't ever really get together well enough. The movie again is also featuring lots of flashbacks, which shows events that happened in the previous movies, often seen from a different side this time but some of these flashbacks however are quite pointless for the movie once you start thinking about it.

I also blame Hoffman for it that this movie doesn't work out as good and interesting as any of the other sequels. He's the new Jigsaw and as of yet he also is the least interesting one. It probably also has to do with the fact that he is featured a lot in the movie, while Jigsaw normally always remain on the background. Also the reasons why he became the new Jigsaw, as gets shown in this movie, are a bit shaky and not exactly believable.

The movie itself is perhaps also lacking in one clear good main hero and character.

It still is a superior genre movie of course. It's concept alone is already good and interesting enough to please the genre fans and provides the potential for an infinitive amount of Saw-sequels. All Saw movies have a great look and atmosphere over them, though this one works out as the least effective one when it comes down to its atmosphere and horror/thriller elements because of the reason that this movie features very little new elements.

The Jigsaw games themselves also seem less innovative and clever. It's still gruesome and lots of bloods and guts can be seen flying around but it's just less surprising and shocking all.

Lets hope "Saw VI" will have some fresh new good ideas and a better script with some better- and more interesting characters in it.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Saw V was just as good as all the others ones. It does have the same amount of gore. It does start right away with a bang just like all the others. The story was very good in this one as well. It didn't have the best acting but was okay. It wasn't that jumpy or to scary but did have a few scares and jumps. It is a great movie to go see during Haloween. It did have a few boring moments but for the most part keeps you entertained. The movie does go very deep into the story with this one. Some of the games were fun and some were bad. This saw was more like the second one. The ending was led up very well for a great finale. The whole movie was fun though and intense for the most part. Overall would recommend seeing this saw if you have seen all the others.

Like everyone else, I was expecting this movie to live up to the hype and be absolutely horrible. Since though I have seen SAW I-IV, I had to go see this at the midnight showing. What started it off, I was already impressed with that I saw. As the movie was going forward it was hard to tell how it would all add up. By the end though I was expecting to be disappointed and it really did not.

While SAW fans will appreciate this, it really depends on what you like. If you are expecting a SAW II - III where it is mainly gore and such, maybe not so much. If you are like the few who want to know more about the story, then it is a must to see this.

Now while every question is not answered, it makes up for it in its own ways. Do not be like me or most of the people who were hesitant to see this film due to people not enjoying it. I think many people would be surprised on just how great this film really is. To me, it was the best since the first one, despite the weak twist and sometimes cheesy kills. Then again, name a film that has been perfect because everyone has a fault.

As I sat down to watch the 2008 movie "Saw V" again here in 2023, it was my second time of watching it.

The storyline in "Saw V", as written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, is actually a fairly enjoyable script and storyline. "Saw V" carries on the legacy of the previous four movies in a good way, so the writers managed to carry on the torch nicely. I was adequately entertained throughout the 92 minutes that the movie ran for.

The cast ensemble in "Saw V" was good, withScott Patterson, Costas Mandylor and Tobin Bell returning to reprise their characters from the previous movies. And that was a good thing, because it definitely was in the spirit of the continuity of the franchise. And "Saw V"saw new performers make an entrance in the franchise, with the likes of talents such as Mark Rolston and Greg Bryk.

The amount of visceral scenes, mutilations, gore and deadly contraptions was good in the movie. And there were some rather brutal moments as well. So as a life-long gorehound, I was entertained.

If you have been enjoying the previous four "Saw" movies, then you certainly should carry on with this 2008 fifth movie in the franchise, because it is an enjoyable and entertaining movie from director David Hackl.

My rating of "Saw V" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Saw V is clever. It knows what the audience wants, and after four solid films, it still continues to fill in the cracks of minor plot inconsistencies and even manages to link itself all the way back to the first movie. The genius of these films is finding out more about the past that directly links to the events in the future. In this respect, Saw V may just be the best film in the whole series, utilizing plenty of flashbacks, insane traps, and a plethora of returning characters. The fifth film stars series regulars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, and Scott Patterson, as well as newbies Julie Benz, Meagan Good, and Greg Bryk. David Hackl, who served as production designer on Saw II through Saw IV, now takes over the director's chair for Darren Lynn Bousman.

This time around, Hoffman, Jigsaw's last remaining apprentice, is trying to tie up all the loose ends, following instructions Jigsaw gave him on his deathbed. Agent Peter Straum is quickly piecing together clues and suspects Hoffman as being tied to Jigsaw. At the same time, five people, Brit, Luba, Mallick, Ashley, and Charles, wake up in a trap and must work together to reach the end. It all builds up to an astounding conclusion that sets the scene for Saw VI in a fantastic fashion.

As always, one of the most enthralling things about the Saw films are the traps, and this one doesn't disappoint at all. It doesn't go too over-the-top with the gore, and yet stays intense and absolutely enthralling the entire time. We get explosions aplenty, a water tank, a falling pendulum, a trap involving electrocution, and several others. There is a particular one involving a glass box that was especially disturbing and crazy.

The acting in this installment is on-par with Saw II, which is actually saying a lot. It seems as if in all of the films, there is always a weak spot except for Saw II, and now this one (Cary Elwes in Saw, Bahar Soomekh in Saw III, and Justin Louis in Saw IV). Julie Benz is an effective heroine, one that is fun to root for throughout the course of the movie. Likable characters abound, with few even approaching annoyances from this viewer. Scott Patterson was great to watch in his race to piece things together. Costas Mandylor shines in his scenes, and takes over Jigsaw's reign quite well. Tobin Bell is in a league all his own, and in all of the flashback scenes (and there's plenty of 'em), he comes nothing short of an absolute pro. After five films, he has 100% nailed the Jigsaw character.

In terms of directing, David Hackl does an excellent job taking over for Darren Lynn Bousman. There is lots of flashy editing and awesome camera angles, and the constant close-up shots that fans of the series have come to love. Hackl's visual style is very similar to that of Bousman's, and that's saying something. Both directors bring an incredible amount of creativity to the screen, and Hackl sprinkles a little flavoring all his own that makes this new Saw flick a feast for the eyes. There's no arguing that's it's well-made, in terms of both acting and directing.

The latter half of the movie is super intense, and although the runtime is very short, the length is perfect. It lays out the carpet for the next film in the series with amazing bravado, perfected after five films. It seems like they finally know how to leave us with a cliffhanger at the conclusion. As promised, the ending is stunning and shocking, but don't expect it to be on caliber with the first movie, an ending which will be hard to ever top. Even after five films, Saw has not grown stale, and continues to enthrall and thrill fans of the series. It is probably the best movie series ever in terms of continuity. As much as I thought I knew what was coming, the fifth entry in the Saw series threw out shock after shock and never ceased to surprise me. Once the credits start, you are left craving more, which will make the next and final entry in the Saw series one that this particular fan will very much be looking forward to.

Being a huge Saw fan I can say without a doubt I look forward to each and every offering but this years installment was by far the worst of the bunch. I never claim Saw movies feature terrific acting( besides 1 and 3) but 5 featured some atrocious performances. On one hand you have the wooden Strahm who is literally dictating his thought to... well no one, on the other is Julie Benz, normally a fine actress in Dexter, spouting of ridiculous lines that sound meant for trailers (ex. " It's our next nightmare"). On top of that the movie is just full of sloppy film-making. Let's start with Strahm, he's just unnecessary, he seems only to be there as a vessel to fuel the flashbacks. On to the main trap, The best of the characters is killed in just the second room. Why did they even have to kill him? He was savvy and sharp but I guess the director just wanted to remove all intelligence from this movie. Finally the ending. This might be the worst evidence of a cash-grab I have ever seen. There was no ending, as my friend put it " It's like they ran out of ideas for 6 movies so they cut five in half", and thats really how it felt, INCOMPLETE.

My excitement for this film could only be compared to my excitement and expectations for The Dark Knight. The outcomes, however, are extremely different. The Dark Knight was not a letdown...

Saw V was quite well acted, however the plot was nothing but an explanation or a recap that didn't answer any of the questions I know many people have on their minds regarding the series. It lacked that famous Saw twist that we were all hoping for. It seemed like they just took a bunch of filler and turned it into a film while waiting for the next twist to come along. The traps were repetitive and uninteresting, though they made plenty of blood to make up for the lack of cleverness. There is an explanation for this though. New writers and director. If you noticed none of the writers or the director from the first IV were involved in the making of this film so you couldn't expect this film to be at all like the first films. The movie wasn't all bad, however. Like I said, there was PLENTY of blood to spare. The acting was once again impressive and Tobin Bell's performance is unmistakable.

All in all I was disappointed in the plot of the movie but quite entertained by the film as a whole. I really, really hope that this was the only stumble in the Saw series and that Saw VI brings more to the table.

While this is still a watchable, well acted movie that continues on the Saw tradition well I have to give it a lower rating because it just was not as good as the previous installments. The plot and the traps that we have come to be surprised by seemed to be a more predictable and rushed along by the makers of the movie. It seemed like this movie could have just been tossed in with part 4 to make one big movie as the prequel to the next part. So to me it seemed like the studio just split up 1 movie into 2 parts to capitalize on the profits....which they have done well I might add because myself and many other movie goers packed the theater for the 5th Saw installment. So in closing I think this movie may be adequate for the die hard saw fans, not nearly good enough for new comers, and winds up lacking far more than it gives. That is why I can only give this movie a 5 out of 10

Here we go again. I was so excited to see Saw V just as I was to see any other sequel of Saw. But in the end every part let me down. I'm starting to wonder where does this excitement come from, especially when at the same time I know I'm already looking for Saw VI to come out. And there's nothing I can do to save me from this obsession. Anyway, I wasn't surprised at all of what I saw yesterday night. We faced this brutal, gory, gruesome performance just like we did in previous 3 movies. What got into them? How can they show this on screen? That's not human anymore. But then again, it never was. The only thing I can't believe is how much blood they shed to record a movie like that. That's really unbelievable. And disgusting. They should forbid putting on screen scenes like that. And the end... Oh, how I feel sorry for every victim that we got to know a little bit more. The sympathy for them just kept rising until they... died. Every one of them. And how we wish they would come back, but they never will.

The director David Hackl really messed up things. He didn't convince me that he's sure about the chronology of acts. It sure didn't seem like that. What's done is done, we can't go back. Unfortunately this movie is already made and everybody we care about is dead. When the last person died, I was left numb. And what's shocking is that he died only because he was supposed to die. So every victim was supposed to die? Because none of them is alive. Not anymore.

Saw V failed.

I have to admit I did feel that the first 30 minutes or so were very slow, and I was starting to believe that this was the beginning of the end for the Saw franchise, but the story becomes a heck of a lot more engaging from that point on.

Just to note, this fifth installment does explain the motives behind the actions committed in the fourth, however this does not change my view of that sequel, as those actions really should've been clarified there and then. As a result of not doing so, it made it an unsatisfying ending to say the least.

But as for this sequel, I have to say, surprisingly, the ending actually shocked me. I say surprisingly since in hindsight when I watched it back, the closing sequence was actually super obvious, in fact I shouldn't have been astonished by it at all, but fair play to David Hackl, because the way everything played out made the twist *seem* surprising when it really wasn't.

One significant aspect of this movie was the 5-person game that our antagonist menacingly created, and one particular thing that I extremely disliked was when one of the victims towards the end had what was made to seem like a big realisation that was meant to blow us away but really it was already so blatant to me that I assumed from the moment we were introduced to the game that the players were also aware of this fact. I just thought that the reason they acted so heedlessly was due to their personality, not because they genuinely thought that was how the game worked. The writers made these characters so unrealistically stupid that it actually annoys me. Any person in that situation would've made that realisation as early as the 2nd stage if not the first, and I think plenty of others would agree with me on that. It's like the writers forgot that we have brains too. It's like they thought we were just as idiotic as their creations.

But on another note, one positive when it comes to the game side of things is when we finally find out why these 5 people were chosen. It honestly astounded me and I really wasn't expecting such a revelation to come from something that I didn't even believe mattered that much! That's something that I can actually *commend* the writers on rather than critique.

The other side of the story is our protagonist's solo investigative hunt for our deadly killer, and as I briefly mentioned in my opening paragraph, it started off slow & relatively boring, but as it got closer and closer to the impending climax, I actually found it very exciting, and I thoroughly enjoyed the flashbacks of our murderer's initiation. It's these that explain to us the reasons behind why they commit such gruesome acts. Also, I truly admired the performance of Costas Mandylor, who was excellent at showing the heartlessness and cruelty of his character.

One thing that needs to be touched upon is that this film is very difficult, if not impossible, to understand if you are not watching this as part of a marathon. By that I mean, if you choose to watch this even just weeks after seeing the previous films, then you will be utterly confused at certain points. This is due to the fact that this movie refers back to minor characters and events that occurred all the way back in the first *Saw* film, so there will likely be times when you think "wait who's that again?". You'd think that they'd do some sort of flashback to remind us who that person is (especially considering that's what this franchise loves to do so much) but for some reason no. For once, they've actually given *too* much credit to the audience and made the big assumption that everybody remembers every little detail from all of the previous prequels. Luckily for me though, since this was part of my marathon, I had no issues whatsoever getting a grasp on those elements of the picture.

In conclusion, even though every fiber in my body tells me that, objectively speaking, this feature definitely deserves a lower rating, I've got to be honest and say that somehow, I managed to completely relish in this sequel, and so this rating is mainly based on personal enjoyment more than anything else. The latter hour of it was highly engrossing and I was totally duped by what was really such a simple ending, as the execution of it was pretty superb, so overall it left me with a lingering feeling of amazement, hence my extremely high rating.

Starts off with 2 sadistic bits then more cop stuff and then mysterious trapped group of fairly interesting people. The main people are always the best in these movies. I feel off lately but these movies are awesome! Saw V is the first one directed a not as known director although his style is still nice for what it is and more money has been put in each time you can tell by the colors and how more effed up death traps or at least bigger scenery. Interesting new stuff it seems more sickos set up everything. Less good acting in this one but enjoyable regardless, solid enough for a 6; I defiantly love the main group!