“It’s Halloween and while some bore themselves with tricks, treats and haunted houses, movie fanatics are flocking to the fifth installment in the Saw horror movie franchise with high expectations. The Saw series, beginning in October of 2004, has released a new film every Halloween season, making this year no different.”
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It’s Halloween and while some bore themselves with tricks, treats and haunted houses, movie fanatics are flocking to the fifth installment in the Saw horror movie franchise with high expectations. The Saw series, beginning in October of 2004, has released a new film every Halloween season, making this year no different.

While some say the series belongs to a genre of torture-porn, fans continue to be entertained by what the horror series has to offer. Saw V has managed to land second place in the box office this past opening weekend by bringing in $30.5 million, causing the series to gross nearly $316 million over the past five years and making it one of the largest horror movie franchises of all time.

While most horror movies maintain the stereotypical theme of nude-teen-gets-murdered-doing-a-vile-act, the Saw movies offer demonic plots of torture and mayhem that leaves everyone with a sick sense of satisfaction. The series has managed to engrave in us fears of torture with its countless inescapable traps within the past four films, and while the fifth is no stranger to gore and sadism, it manages to maintain independence among the other films in the franchise.

While Tobin Bell reprises his role as the demented Jigsaw, the fifth film begins to step away from his previous work and focus on that of his successor Detective Hoffman, played by Costas Mandylor. While Bell has little screen time and appears in flashbacks throughout the film, Mandylor offers a new odor to the series. Following in Jigsaw’s footsteps, Detective Hoffman develops new traps and surprises similar to those found in Saw II, where five strangers wake to find themselves trapped within a deceitful game of life and death.

Where the series is notorious for leaving fans hanging, Saw V manages to answer all of the questions left unanswered by the previous four films. Fans may find this somewhat disappointing as part of the excitement from the series is wondering what’s left to discover. The motives of the film’s protagonists are explained in detail, and little is left to the imagination. Some might find Jigsaw’s lessened appearance as a loss to the film, but where Jigsaw gave us a human representation of evil, Hoffman embodies pure hatred.

Throughout Saw V there exists more dialogue and character development than the previous four films leaving gore to take a backseat to suspense. With decapitated heads, decimated bodies, self-inflicted wounds and betrayal around every corner, the film still maintains the series’ violent appeal but places more emphasis on the plot.

Though almost a stand-alone film in the series, Saw V offers entertainment to both new and old fans alike. It manages to capture all of the pain-inducing pleasures that were found in the previous films while giving it an enlightened sense of finality. In October of 2009, Saw VI is expected for release as the last film in the series. While the loose ends are tied in knots and with the approach of the final film next year, we can only wonder what lies in store for the end of this monumental film franchise.

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