"Saw V" review

Saw V (2008)

Director: David Hackl
Writers: Patrick Melton Marcus Dunstan

Tobin Bell ... Jigsaw/ John
Costas Mandylor ... Mark Hoffman
Scott Patterson ... Agent Strahm
Betsy Russell ... Jill
Julie Benz ... Brit
Meagan Good ... Luba

Jigsaw is dead but the "Saw" movies live on. Tobin Bell and his legacy of psychotic life affirming lessons continue because there is never a shortage of loyal disciples to carry on his sadistic work. Thankfully there are plenty of morally flawed people out there who need to be taught the value of life by subjecting them to hideous torture and pain. It's for their own good mind you. Nothing makes people see the errors of their ways better than threatening them with decapitation or disembowelment.

There's also no shortage of people who will watch this carnage as I find myself back in the movie theater every Halloween to see what new traps Jigsaw and his band of devoted fiends dream up next. There seems to be no end in sight for the "Saw" movies. It's unique brand of socially redeeming slaughter and twist endings make for a fun and wholesome night at the movies.

"Saw V" focuses on two survivors of Jigsaw's mayhem from "Saw IV". The FBI agent is convinced that the "hero" cop is one of Jigsaw's true believers. He investigates the cop as a new set of people are put through another deadly cycle of traps for our enjoyment. Tobin Bell keeps showing up in flashbacks so we can relive his greatest kills and learn how he recruited his Jigsaw Padawan.

While "Saw V" is clearly the weakest in the series, I still liked it. There's a twisted mind set in these movies that gives them an authentic horror vibe. The "Saw" franchise is the only active horror series that continually delivers the shocks and gore for horror fans. The other monsters are in hibernation as Jigsaw and friends live on to torture people for prosperity.

Although I'm not sure how many more secrets they can reveal about Tobin Bell's past as this installment revels a little too much in old glory. The movie started to feel like a rush job, (which it is), after seeing the eighth or ninth scene from a previous "Saw" flick. But then the movie went back to the people fighting the traps and all was right with the world.

So Tobin Bell seems to have made an endless supply of cassette tapes and a whole warehouse full of traps for people to be taught a lesson with. His list of flawed humans must be immense. He'll probably need a few dozen more devotees to finish his work. It'll be hard work but I have no doubt that the filmmakers will find a way to keep Jigsaw's twisted legacy alive.

SCORE: 3 out of 4 trapped heads