Saw V (2008)

Following Jigsaw's grisly demise, Mark Hoffman, the final apprentice to the serial killer is deigned a hero. Meanwhile, Agent Strahm continues to track Hoffman while another group of strangers are put through a series of gruesome traps.

Director:

David Hackl

Writers:

Patrick Melton (screenplay), Marcus Dunstan (screenplay)

Stars:

Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tobin Bell	...	Jigsaw / John
Costas Mandylor	...	Mark Hoffman
Scott Patterson	...	Agent Strahm
Betsy Russell	...	Jill
Julie Benz	...	Brit
Meagan Good	...	Luba
Mark Rolston	...	Dan Erickson
Carlo Rota	...	Charles
Greg Bryk	...	Mallick
Laura Gordon	...	Ashley
Joris Jarsky	...	Seth
Mike Butters	...	Paul
Al Sapienza	...	Chief of Police
Mike Realba	...	Detective Fisk
Jeff Pustil	...	Bernie

Storyline

Jigsaw and his young apprentice, Amanda, are dead. But the grisly games continue. 5 supposed strangers find themselves in the midst of the big game, and believe they are in a survival of the fittest competition. Via his now infamous video linked doll, Jigsaw conveys the message that they should ignore there instincts, and ignore his advice at their peril. Meanwhile, agent Strahm wants to prove that Hoffman is an apprentice to Jigsaw, and pursues him as he continues his twisted games. What Strahm does not realize is that Hoffman is testing him all along, and must pass his test in order to stay alive.

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Plot Keywords:

jigsaw | serial killer | head butt | cell phone | blood spatter | 

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Taglines:

In the end all the pieces will fit together

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Lionsgate [us] Metropolitan Films [fr]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

El juego del miedo V

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$10,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£953,397 (UK) (31 October 2008)

Gross:

$56,729,973 (USA) (5 December 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twisted Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 95 min (unrated director's cut)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS DTS (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first film of the series in which Billy the Puppet does not appear in person (excluding flashbacks).

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Goofs

In the film, Erickson is constantly wearing a BlueTooth headset. When Hoffman calls him from Strahm's mobile phone, he answers the phone as normal, not using the headset. He appears to repeat this when he tries to track Strahm's mobile phone.

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Quotes

Charles: I'm an investigative journalist for The Herald.
Mallick: The Herald? That's a massive accomplishment you work for a gossip rag!
Charles: Bite your fucking tongue.

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Crazy Credits

Dust Busters - Stephen Brown, Trevor Pickard, Alison Schouten.

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Connections

Follows Saw (2004)

User Reviews

A stumble, but still on mission.

I watched Saw V with a good opening night crowd here in Sydney. I've enjoyed all of the Saw films, predictably liking some episodes a lot more than others, and Saw V is, again, very watchable, with some intense moments and no shortage of grisliness. But I'd still say it's the weakest entry in the series to date. The trouble is that the main narrative addition for this episode, which has to sustain half the running time, turns out to be a dramatically weak one. I don't think a Saw film ever previously failed to create excitement or new meaning via one of its big twisty revelations, but Saw V's add next to nothing. The knowledge gained doesn't force any re-evaluation of the past events it concerns; you just see and know a bit more about them, and to no great effect, except for the fact that Tobin Bell's performance is always compelling, maybe even more so when he's talking to people who aren't stuck in Jigsaw's deathtraps.

The Saw films have demonstrated an unfeasibly high success rate over time in terms of pulling off twist after twist and having them nearly all hit home. With this track record, it seems inevitable that there'd be a significant stumble at some point. They've never been bulletproof films (and thrillers are the genre that are hardest to bulletproof), but I'd say Saw V is definitely the stumble. In spite of this, it still keeps in enough with the series in general for me to be ready for Saw VI in 2009 - which I hope will be better work.