"She Screams, He Screams": Saw V

Welcome to the first edition of “She Screams, He Screams." This is a new horror column devoted to the horror genre, which FilmArcaders Anthony T and Kelsey take on the latest that the horror genre has to offer. Without any more explanation, here’s our take on “Saw V”.

Saw V
Year: 2008
Director: David Heckl
Studio: Lionsgate/Twisted Pictures
Stars: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 89 Mins




Film Synopsis

“Saw V” is a continuation of the four previous films in the series. In this installment, the only person left to carry on Jigsaw’s (Tobin Bell) legacy is Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), who was revealed as Jigsaw’s accomplice in the last film. This time, Hoffman has a problem, as Agent Strahn (Scott Patterson) is finding evidence that points to his direction. While he’s looking for a way to elude the agent, there is another game going on in the warehouse. This game involves five new people who each are connected to an arson. The game involves a real estate agent (Julie Benz), a drug addict (Greg Berg), a reporter (Carlos Rota), a building permits clerk (Megan Good) and a fire inspector (Laura Gordon). They must work together in order to find the reason to why they are there together and find a way out of Jigsaw’s trap.

Kelsey’s Review

Saw V isn’t quite as graphic and extreme in many ways, which might make it seem watered down to most. Yet I would prefer it this way, than the film just focusing on trying to outdo the buckets of blood that was in the previous film. The torture and elaborate traps are still there. The unthinkable and horrifying tasks are there as well, which really keeps the intensity in the film. Many are not quite as gruesome as previous deaths have been. However, watching these 5 people desperately scramble to do whatever they can to stay alive through not just one but several traps was the most enjoyable part of the film. The situations are extreme, but it is really how the victims deal and react with what they are given. The shock and not wanting to accept the horrible task they have in front of them isn’t quite the same as it is in most Saw films.

The Jigsaw murders have been going on long enough for people to know the trap they are in. This really speaks to how big of an impact Jigsaw has had on mankind, which was his intention from the beginning after all. The victims try to think out of the box, like they expect Jigsaw might. They try to think things through before they shut the door, setting the timer off. Once the time starts rolling, they don’t waste any time. They act on their impulses and really show their strength through survival of the fittest. Their numbers do drop, but as they are on their last task it finally hits them what they are there for. They were brought in as a group for a reason, a reason none of them realized for many of the games. Most of the victims throughout all the films just think Jigsaw is an insane murderer. At least towards the end of the film, some of the victims actually grasp the concept that Jigsaw set up for them. Although, they might be about to face their death any second, they still understand Jigsaw in that instant. Through this aspect, they actually seem like the savages while Jigsaw is the insightful teacher. Establishing this extreme reversal of good and evil and making it seem like Jigsaw has a point in his warped thinking is a major accomplishment; the type of reversal in roles that actually helps the film push the original ideals further.

The explanation of how Jigsaw’s games are still continuing upon his death seemed more realistic than other explanations of accomplices have before. With the dirt John has on Special Agent Strahm, working for Jigsaw seems more understandable than Amanda’s case of actually being subjected to the torture they bring on others. It is simple: he didn’t want to go to jail, lose his job, or his reputation. However, there could have been a bit more moral struggle with Strahm as he brought people to their death shown. The agents in general, but especially Strahm were given some very laughable dialogue. There were a lot of moments when one of them was alone in a room, trying to figure something out, and what they would say seemed extremely unnatural and cheesy. This actually serves as comic relief, although I assume it was unintentional. Between this and a heavy focus on the investigating and crime aspects, the film does deviate from the typical brutality one might expect from a Saw film.

Throughout the story line of Strahm and some of his workers who become more and more suspicious of him, the flashbacks are very heavy. In fact, nearly all the story outside of the 5 people trying to escape the traps is told in flashbacks. This begins with the suspicions about Strahm as we are shown how he became involved with Jigsaw and his work. This worked to a degree, but it also seems like a short cut. Someone wonders, “How did he get involved with Jigsaw” and automatically we see the whole story right before our eyes. Suspense and gradual discovery would have been more effective. I loved how they went in to the mind of Jigsaw in Saw IV when he was just John and how they showed how he lost his faith that humans were deserving of the lives they were given. Now it is getting to the point where the flashbacks seem somewhat overdone. Jigsaw is the core of this series, but he is dead now. That doesn’t mean his ideas, motives, and twisted ideas of morality have to be too. The Saw series has been trying to bring this man back from the dead through his mindset, but feel compelled to show him physically rather than just the themes he implemented. The only new element that was shown through the flashbacks was that someone else was involved that we didn’t know about before. This did leave some room to expose the corruption that was going on in the F.B.I., which questioned whether staying loyal to this organization was really worth Strahm’s life. Still, if the Saw series doesn’t move on they will be no more than a flashback, a rehashing in to the brilliant and horrifying mind of Jigsaw. Although, there are interesting moral implications through this, it keeps us stuck in the past rather than giving the series the room to move forward.

Although Saw V ends on a pessimistic note, it has the potential to satisfy Saw fans. It exerts the thought that everything is a trap and you are never done proving yourself. Even Jigsaw himself died, perhaps by karma for what he was doing. If the mastermind of this seemingly everlasting set of traps can be defeated than is there really much hope for anyone else no matter how secure their position or how tough they think they are? This is a terrifying thought, but given the grimness that Saw embodies, it also makes the film thrilling because we know that no one is safe. The only question is when and what trap will be the one to kill them. None of the films have come close to the original, but that is just the nature of sequels. Saw V is flawed and has more strength in one side of its’ story, it still keeps the elaborate traps, the twists, and the twisted mindset that has been the groundwork of the series since the first film.

Anthony’s Review

This film was very disappointing, as a critic and fan of the series. Going into this, I was surprised that both the third installment and fourth installments were decently good, but after watching this one, I thought “Saw V “didn’t have the suspense or the characters that made me hooked and invested in the previous films. I left the theater with many questions, which I hope will be answered in, yes, “Saw VI”.

David Heckl’s direction felt off at times. The reason for this was every time the action picked up, the film became boring with the needless flashbacks scenes, which I’ll talk about in a bit. It also doesn’t help that he didn’t make this film intense, as the previous films in the series did. The acting was not great at all. Besides Mandylor, Bell, Rota and Patterson performances, Heckl’s direction of everyone else was either dull or flat out annoying, as I wasn’t interested in any of those characters. That includes Julie Benz and Betsy Russell, as they seemed lifeless in the way they portrayed their characters. The performances really slowed down the film for me, to the point that I wanted Jigsaw to somehow rise from the ashes and go after the filmmakers. It shows the inexperience Heckl has when it comes to directing a feature film, because you need the performances to be intense and engaging, for a horror film like this.

Even though David Heckl’s direction wasn’t that great, it’s the screenplay that makes this film a major disappointment. I’ll give Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan credit, as the film had a very good opening fifteen minutes and an ending that in some ways makes you interested, in the inevitable “Saw VI”. That’s all the credit that I’m giving the duo; as if they are going to write the next installment, let’s hope the middle part of the film is a lot better than this film. This is the reason why “Saw V” was a disappointing movie, as it hurts this film a lot. The middle part felt like “Saw IV” all over again with all the flashbacks. It felt like the film’s sole purpose at times was to get Jigsaw into this film, which makes this entry drag on. What also makes this film different from the previous films was the fact that the people that are playing the game weren’t interesting, as I really didn’t care for the people, like I did in the previous Saw films. The reason for that was that the screenwriting duo spent way too much time with flashbacks, as it’s the second film in a row that flashbacks mostly dominated the film. The reason it worked, in the last film was the fact that they tied it into Rigg’s character and gave a backstory on Jigsaw and what triggered his madness. I was also familiar with the characters in the last film, unlike in this film, which had many new characters. With the exception of how Hoffman meets Jigsaw for the first time, the flashbacks weren’t needed, as it took away from developing any of the new characters. They don’t spend enough time developing them, which hurts the film’s story, as I really didn’t care from that point until the last ten minutes. Also, they wasted the Agent Strahm character, as he’s just there going over what previous happened in the other films of the series, which triggers all the needless flashbacks that this film had, which slowed down the action that’s taking place, with the new characters in the series.

As much as I’m a fan of the Saw series, I find it hard to say this, but I can’t recommend this film for the reasons above. It’s not one of the worst horror films of the year, but if Melton and Dunstan are going to write “Saw VI”. They need to get this series back on track, by developing the characters and putting them in intense situations, like in previous films, which makes the “Saw” series shocking and intense.