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Last Updated: Nov 14, 2008 - 12:49:26 PM |
** 1/2 out of five
With the ghosts and goblins coming out this weekend, what Halloween would be complete without the latest installment of the Saw franchise? First-time Saw director David Hackl continues the Halloween trend with the series’ latest offering Saw V, showcasing Jigsaw’s latest bag of tricks. After four previous outings, however, this bag is feeling more than a little empty.
Opening with a flashback scene showing events taking place before the first film, Saw V jumps back to the present where Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) must escape from the room that Jigsaw died in. After escaping, he is attacked and wakes up with his head in a sealed box that begins filling with water. Performing a tracheotomy on himself, Strahm survives, later discovering that Jigsaw had blackmailed Lieutenant Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) into helping set up his traps.
While Strahm is investigating Hoffman’s involvement in the previous murders, five people awaken in the sewers to find themselves caught in a necktie trap. They eventually make their way through a series of traps, losing a member of the group each time until two are left to face down the final trap. As they play their final game, Hoffman plants Strahm’s phone at the house where the game is being played, implicating him as the other accomplice of Jigsaw.
In any sequel that hopes to make money, directors must walk a fine line between moving the plot forward with a gripping new chapter and ensuring that those new to the series can follow the plot enough to enjoy and the movie and want to check out earlier installments. Hackl seems to have only noticed the first part of that equation, doing a fantastic job of tying up loose ends from previous movies but completely alienating anyone who hasn’t seen the other Saw films. Although fans will have plenty of “ah-ha!” moments as flashbacks help piece the franchise together, everyone else will only see a confusing, muddled mess.
Fans may also be a bit disappointed here as there is much less focus on the franchise’s selling point, the traps. In working to tie up loose ends, Hackl forgoes the prevalent use of traps seen in previous installments in favor of Strahm’s investigations. However, the traps that are shown are well-done and prove that Jigsaw still has plenty of tricks left up his sleeve.
On the plus side, most of the performances are passable, especially by Patterson and Mandylor. The cinematography is also impressive – if graphic – giving fans that disturbingly gruesome violence they so desperately crave. The attention paid to moving the story along works well to set this franchise apart from most other gore-heavy flicks.
While fans of the series will undoubtedly lap this one up, newcomers might want to acquaint themselves with the previous incarnations before jumping in here. Otherwise, they’ll be walking into the theatre with no frame of reference, feeling more than a little out of their element.
Saw V has a runtime of 88 minutes and is rated R for violence, torture, language, and brief nudity. It was viewed at Carmike 10.
nderatto@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421
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