Saw V

Note: This review is written assuming you've seen the other flicks in the franchise, as Saw V is definitely the least standalone of the lot and it stands and falls (mostly falls) on the strengths and weaknesses (mostly weaknesses) of its brutal brethren.

Usually, I enjoy the spirited, off-kilter work of scripting team Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton. In fact, they wrote the screenplay for my favorite Saw film to date, last year's IV. (Although I admit, the first one will always be a sentimental fave to me on some level.) So what happened here..? A quagmire-like committee of hotshot suits calling the shots? Were they painted into a corner after killing Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) off so undeniably in IV? Running out of ideas? Jaded? Just cashing in?

I won't hazard a guess, but I do know without doubt that I was bored to the point of pinwheel-eyed numbness during the never-ending mouse machinations of Saw V. Just the mouse — there is basically no cat this time around. Gawd forbid I should spoil anything, but let's just say that the usual dynamic of Jigsaw stalking his prey and the tension leading up their life-or-death decisions is a piece of the puzzle that's sorely missed in V. In sum: we've got the usual Saw assembly line, but no punch line.

The first line in the film is familiar: "Hello, Seth. I want to play a game." Thus it starts pleasingly enough, with the promise from one of the posters fulfilled (a man's head encased in a watertight glass box). There's a breath-stealing tracheotomy (something that always gets me! See: my reviews of everything from The Princess and the Warrior to this year's French freak-out Inside); a much gorier reenactment and embellishment of the most famous scene from the Vincent Price classic The Pit and the Pendulum; and justice is severed when Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) rescues a  little girl from Jigsaw's lair… but while he may be lauded a hero in the papers, his troubles are far from over in the real world.

As is de rigueur in the cinematic Saw setting, flashbacks abound. But more than ever, they seem like a well-worn crutch and are akin to one of those sucker-punch clip shows you sometimes see from your favorite TV series. Annoying. There's also an awful lot of sitting around talking, and a lot less killing. The traps are wicked, but there is something lacking: namely the trademark Saw sadism and suspense. The main problem is that for all intents and purposes, judicious Jigsaw and his aggressive apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith) are gone. The new villain is about as exhilarating as an empty flytrap.

Falling into the moshpit of mayhem this time around are five strangers who are all, of course, somehow connected. The most intriguing and entertaining of them all is killed off far too soon, so all that's left toward the end is Julie Benz (whose black wig seems to have sapped, Sampson-like, all of her acting talent) and Greg Byrk (as an irritating tweaker who's the fastest-moving thing in the movie).

Most missed are Darren Lynn Bousman's (director of Saws II, III, and IV) smashing segues and innovative edits. New helmer David Hackl (who was the production designer on those aforementioned Saw movies) takes a much more procedural, placid approach to the events. The Saw franchise is already inherently weak once you know the game — so without all the razzle-dazzle to at least keep your eyes and emotions engaged, that leaves the brain… and Saw V is about as brilliant as a bag of hammers.

One very welcome improvement, in my opinion, is the change from the gritty, gloomy green color palette. Even though DP David A. Armstrong has been on the Saw train from the very beginning, he and (I'm assuming) Hackl decided to do something different with the visuals. Finally!

Green isn't gone, but now everything and everyone is chiefly bathed in shades of warm yellow and deep gold, with vibrant pops of blue and red strategically placed throughout the film. It's genuinely appealing, and so refreshing. The skillful use of darks is also lovely — there's a particularly velvety black scene accented with just a few key lights. It takes place inside a detective's office (totally unrealistic, of course — what police precinct looks like Vitto Corleone's lair?) and it's really lush.

While Saw V may be prettier than any of its predecessors, pretty is as pretty does. And Saw V does squat.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson

• Be sure and check out Horror.com's exclusive report from the Saw V World Premiere in Hollywood, CA. October 21, 2008