Saw V
Encyclopedia
Saw V is a 2008 Canadian-American horror film directed by David Hackl
and written by Patrick Melton
and Marcus Dunstan
and stars Tobin Bell
, Costas Mandylor
and Scott Patterson
. The film, the fifth installment in the Saw franchise, was released on October 23, 2008 in Australia
and October 24 in North America
.
David Hackl, who served as the production designer of Saw II
, III
, and IV
, and second-unit director for Saw III and IV made his directorial debut with Saw V. Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, the writers of the previous film, returned to write the film. Charlie Clouser
, who provided the score for all previous Saw films, also returned to compose the score for the film. Saw creators, James Wan
and Leigh Whannell
served as executive producers.
The film focuses primarily on the events that led up to Detective Mark Hoffman becoming an apprentice of the Jigsaw Killer
, as well as his efforts to prevent anyone else from learning his secret.
), a convicted murderer, awakens chained to a table beneath a pendulum blade. In order to release himself, he must crush his hands by putting them into two presses and pushing the buttons inside. He does as the video tells him, but the pendulum still swings down and violently cuts him in half. Just before he dies, he sees an eye watching him through a hole in the wall.
In a scene from the end of Saw IV
, Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson
) kills Jeff Denlon (Angus Macfadyen
) in self-defense. After being sealed in the sickroom, he escapes through a hidden passage, where he is captured by a figure wearing a pig mask. He awakens with his head trapped in a glass box slowly being filled with water; he survives by performing a tracheotomy
on himself using a pen to keep him breathing. Outside the meatpacking plant, Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor
) returns Corbett Denlon (Niamh Wilson), Jeff's daughter, to the police. He claims they are the only two survivors, only to be shocked to see Strahm carried out alive as well.
In his will, John Kramer
(Tobin Bell
) leaves Jill Tuck
(Betsy Russell
) a box and a videotape, which informs her that the items in the box are of "grave importance". She opens the box using a key around her neck, then leaves without disclosing its contents. Meanwhile, a memorial service is held for the five detectives killed in action; during the memorial, Hoffman is promoted to detective lieutenant by the chief of police. While taking Strahm's phone, he is informed that Strahm's partner, Lindsey Perez (Athena Karkanis
), died from her shrapnel wounds. He meets Strahm at the hospital, where Strahm tells him that Perez's last words were "Detective Hoffman." Strahm is taken off of duty by his boss, Dan Erickson (Mark Rolston
), and begins researching past Jigsaw victims, now obsessed with piecing together Hoffman's involvement. Through his research, he learns that Hoffman killed Seth Baxter with the pendulum trap after Seth killed Hoffman's sister, and that John used this information to blackmail Hoffman into working with him. The two worked together to set up most of John's tests, most notably the razor-wire maze
and the nerve gas house
. Additionally, Hoffman planted the penlight that framed Lawrence Gordon and provided the files for the victims of the gas house. At the end of his quest, Strahm discovers that everyone was meant to die in the meatpacking plant except for Hoffman, who was to be the hero who closed the case.
Meanwhile, five more victims awaken in an underground trap with collars locked around their necks connecting them to mounted razor blades. The keys to their collars are in glass boxes across the room, but moving for them will set off a one-minute timer. All but Ashley (Laura Gordon) retrieve their keys, and she is decapitated when her collar retracts. In the second room, keys must be found in overhead jars in order to unlock three chambers that will protect them from bombs. Charles (Carlo Rota
) attacks Mallick (Greg Bryk
) and takes his key, but is struck by Luba (Meagan Good
) and is killed when the bombs explode. In the third room, five cables must be connected to a full bathtub to unlock five locks on the door, though none are long enough to reach. Luba attacks Mallick to use his body to close the circuits, but Brit (Julie Benz
) stabs her in the neck and they use Luba's body instead. In the final room, the door must be opened by filling a beaker, positioned in a machine fitted with circular saws, with ten pints of blood. They notice that there are five armholes and realize that all five victims were to work together to survive in every game: In the first test, any of the five keys in the room would have unlocked all the collars; the three chambers in the second test could have easily fit two people; the five victims could have closed the circuit in the third test without receiving a lethal amount of electricity and in the final test the five victims could have provided enough blood to fill the ten pints without experiencing the degree of injury experienced if there were only two. They also realize that all five of them were connected to a building fire that killed eight people. With no other choices, they begin sawing their arms to provide the ten pints.
Hoffman plants Strahm's phone, which is being tracked by Erickson, and Erickson's personnel file in the fifth room, which is found by Erickson when he arrives soon after. He also finds Brit, who managed to crawl out of the fourth room when Mallick passed out from blood loss, and calls for medical assistance, then places an all-points bulletin for Strahm's arrest, as he now believes Strahm to be Jigsaw's second accomplice. Meanwhile, Strahm follows Hoffman to the renovated nerve gas house and makes his way to a small underground room, which contains a clear box filled with broken glass. Hoffman's tape recorder informs Strahm that he must trust him and enter the box, but Strahm stops the tape short and ambushes Hoffman when he arrives, ultimately sealing Hoffman in the box and causing the room to seal itself. Hoffman indicates the tape, which tells Strahm that if he chooses not to, he will "simply vanish" and Hoffman's legacy will become his own. The glass box is lowered safely into the floor as the walls close in on Strahm and crush him to death while he attempts to escape through the ceiling grid.
and Marcus Dunstan
, and the film went into production after Christmas 2007. Principal photography
took place from March 17, 2008 to April 28, 2008 in Toronto
. By mid–July 2008, there had been three photos released of David Hackl
at the set of Saw V. The first trailer, depicting Agent Strahm's box trap, was released at Comic-Con
08 as a short clip and the trailer was also shown before The X-Files: I Want to Believe
. The website opened on August 6, 2008. On September 17, 2008, a new clip was available on the Saw V website, depicting the Pendulum Trap.
. It grossed $56,746,769 in the United States and Canada, and an additional $57,110,764 in other markets, for a worldwide total of $113,857,533. This was the second film in the series to not be number one at the box office, the first was the first film
. It is Lionsgate's tenth highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada.
reported that 14% of critics gave the film positive reviews, making it the second poorest-reviewed film in the series, losing to the most recent Saw 3D. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus states "If its plot were as interesting as its torture devices, or its violence less painful than its performances, perhaps Saw V might not feel like it was running on fumes." Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 19 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.
Elizabeth Weizman of the New York Daily News believed that the lack of Tobin Bell's Jigsaw character hurt the film: "Bell's deliciously twisted madman was the lifeline of this series, and without him, we're left watching a routine horror flick that might as well have gone straight to DVD. The series began with two major assets that set it apart: the concept of a brilliantly righteous executioner, and the actor who played him. Now, aside from Bell's brief, intermittent cameos, it has neither. So where the original Saw was diabolical fun, this fifth installment is as bloodless as the most unfortunate of Jigsaw's victims." Sam Adams of the Los Angeles Times
wrote that "The virtues of the individual films are almost beside the point, since it's hard to imagine why anyone would want to pick up the thread at this late date, but Saw V is a particularly dull and discombobulated affair, shot and acted with all the flair of a basic-cable procedural".
Some reviews were positive, however. The British website Digital Spy
rated it 3/5 stars and commended the film for its "solid acting, slick direction and suitably filthy cinematography too", while also stating it will "make far more sense to those familiar with the previous installments". IGN
awarded the film with 3 out of 5 stars stating that the film ties up most of the loose ends of the previous 4 installments while also having a more straightforward and less complicated storyline. They also praised the traps for being the most inventive and best that the Saw franchise has had to offer.
David Hackl
David Hackl is a Canadian film director and production designer.-Life and career:Hackl was the production designer and second unit director for Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV. Also the production designer for Repo! The Genetic Opera. He was once in talks to direct Saw IV, however, Darren Lynn Bousman...
and written by Patrick Melton
Patrick Melton
Patrick Melton is an American screenwriter.-Early life:Melton was born in Champaign, Illinois. He attended Evanston Township High School, and graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies...
and Marcus Dunstan
Marcus Dunstan
Marcus Dunstan is an American screenplay writer and director.-Life and career:Dunstan was born in Macomb, Illinois...
and stars Tobin Bell
Tobin Bell
Tobin Bell is an American film and television character actor. After years of work doing stand-ins and background work on films, he got his first major acting job in Mississippi Burning and went on to star in made-for-television films and guest star in television shows throughout the 1990s.Bell...
, Costas Mandylor
Costas Mandylor
Costas Mandylor is a Greek Australian actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Kenny in Picket Fences, and for portraying Mark Hoffman in the Saw films.-Early life:...
and Scott Patterson
Scott Patterson (actor)
Scott Gordon Patterson is an American actor. He is known for his role as Luke Danes in Gilmore Girls and Agent Strahm in Saw IV, Saw V and Saw VI...
. The film, the fifth installment in the Saw franchise, was released on October 23, 2008 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and October 24 in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
David Hackl, who served as the production designer of Saw II
Saw II
Saw II is a 2005 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and co-written by Bousman and the first film's co-writer Leigh Whannell. It is a sequel to 2004's Saw and the second installment in the seven-part Saw film series...
, III
Saw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
, and IV
Saw IV
Saw IV is a 2007 Canadian-American horror film and midquel to 2006's Saw III. It was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by newcomers Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton. The film was released in North America on October 26, 2007...
, and second-unit director for Saw III and IV made his directorial debut with Saw V. Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, the writers of the previous film, returned to write the film. Charlie Clouser
Charlie Clouser
Charles Alexander "Charlie" Clouser is an American musician whose activities include playing keyboard, synth, theremin, and drums. He is known for his abilities in music programming, engineering, mixing, and remixing. He was a member of the band Nine Inch Nails 1994–2000. Before he was in Nine...
, who provided the score for all previous Saw films, also returned to compose the score for the film. Saw creators, James Wan
James Wan
James Wan is a Malaysian-born Australian producer, screenwriter, and film director of Chinese heritage. He is widely known for directing the horror film Saw and creating Billy the puppet. He also directed Dead Silence, Death Sentence and Insidious.-Life and career:Wan was born in Kuching, Sarawak,...
and Leigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell is an Australian screenwriter, producer, and actor, best known for his work on the Saw franchise.-Life and career:...
served as executive producers.
The film focuses primarily on the events that led up to Detective Mark Hoffman becoming an apprentice of the Jigsaw Killer
Jigsaw Killer
John Kramer is a fictional character and the central character of the Saw franchise. Jigsaw made his debut as the primary antagonist in the first film of the series, Saw, and he's later portrayed as an antihero in Saw II, III, IV, V, VI and 3D...
, as well as his efforts to prevent anyone else from learning his secret.
Plot
Seth Baxter (Joris JarskyJoris Jarsky
Joris Jarsky , also known as Joris Jorsky, is a Canadian stage, film and television actor who has received recognition for being a versatile actor, and is known for his role as Marty Strickland in the series Vampire High....
), a convicted murderer, awakens chained to a table beneath a pendulum blade. In order to release himself, he must crush his hands by putting them into two presses and pushing the buttons inside. He does as the video tells him, but the pendulum still swings down and violently cuts him in half. Just before he dies, he sees an eye watching him through a hole in the wall.
In a scene from the end of Saw IV
Saw IV
Saw IV is a 2007 Canadian-American horror film and midquel to 2006's Saw III. It was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by newcomers Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton. The film was released in North America on October 26, 2007...
, Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson
Scott Patterson (actor)
Scott Gordon Patterson is an American actor. He is known for his role as Luke Danes in Gilmore Girls and Agent Strahm in Saw IV, Saw V and Saw VI...
) kills Jeff Denlon (Angus Macfadyen
Angus Macfadyen
Angus Macfadyen is a Scottish actor.Angus Macfadyen was born in Glasgow and was brought up partly in Africa, France, the Philippines and Singapore. His father was a doctor in the World Health Organisation. He was once engaged to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.Angus attended the University of...
) in self-defense. After being sealed in the sickroom, he escapes through a hidden passage, where he is captured by a figure wearing a pig mask. He awakens with his head trapped in a glass box slowly being filled with water; he survives by performing a tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
on himself using a pen to keep him breathing. Outside the meatpacking plant, Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor
Costas Mandylor
Costas Mandylor is a Greek Australian actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Kenny in Picket Fences, and for portraying Mark Hoffman in the Saw films.-Early life:...
) returns Corbett Denlon (Niamh Wilson), Jeff's daughter, to the police. He claims they are the only two survivors, only to be shocked to see Strahm carried out alive as well.
In his will, John Kramer
Jigsaw Killer
John Kramer is a fictional character and the central character of the Saw franchise. Jigsaw made his debut as the primary antagonist in the first film of the series, Saw, and he's later portrayed as an antihero in Saw II, III, IV, V, VI and 3D...
(Tobin Bell
Tobin Bell
Tobin Bell is an American film and television character actor. After years of work doing stand-ins and background work on films, he got his first major acting job in Mississippi Burning and went on to star in made-for-television films and guest star in television shows throughout the 1990s.Bell...
) leaves Jill Tuck
Jill Tuck
Jill Tuck is a fictional character in the Saw film series. She is the ex-wife of the series' main antagonist John Kramer, a.k.a. the Jigsaw Killer. She first appeared in the one-shot comic book Saw: Rebirth as John's ex-girlfriend, however her backstory and appearance were altered significantly in...
(Betsy Russell
Betsy Russell
Betsy Russell is an American actress who is best known for her role in Private School, and as Jill Tuck, the ex-wife of the Jigsaw Killer in the Saw film series.-Early life:...
) a box and a videotape, which informs her that the items in the box are of "grave importance". She opens the box using a key around her neck, then leaves without disclosing its contents. Meanwhile, a memorial service is held for the five detectives killed in action; during the memorial, Hoffman is promoted to detective lieutenant by the chief of police. While taking Strahm's phone, he is informed that Strahm's partner, Lindsey Perez (Athena Karkanis
Athena Karkanis
Athena Irene Karkanis is a Canadian actress best-known for her role on The Best Years as fictitious Dominican-American actress Dawn Vargaz.-Filmography:*Chappelle's Show .... Caller...
), died from her shrapnel wounds. He meets Strahm at the hospital, where Strahm tells him that Perez's last words were "Detective Hoffman." Strahm is taken off of duty by his boss, Dan Erickson (Mark Rolston
Mark Rolston
-Career:Rolston played PFC M. Drake in Aliens , Hans in Lethal Weapon 2 , Stef in RoboCop 2 , Bogs Diamond in The Shawshank Redemption , J. Scar in Eraser , Chief Dennis Wilson in Daylight , Wayne Bryce in Hard Rain and Special Agent in Charge Warren Russ in Rush Hour...
), and begins researching past Jigsaw victims, now obsessed with piecing together Hoffman's involvement. Through his research, he learns that Hoffman killed Seth Baxter with the pendulum trap after Seth killed Hoffman's sister, and that John used this information to blackmail Hoffman into working with him. The two worked together to set up most of John's tests, most notably the razor-wire maze
Saw (film)
Saw is a 2004 American independent horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay, written by Leigh Whannell, is based on a story by Wan and Whannell. The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Whannell and Tobin Bell...
and the nerve gas house
Saw II
Saw II is a 2005 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and co-written by Bousman and the first film's co-writer Leigh Whannell. It is a sequel to 2004's Saw and the second installment in the seven-part Saw film series...
. Additionally, Hoffman planted the penlight that framed Lawrence Gordon and provided the files for the victims of the gas house. At the end of his quest, Strahm discovers that everyone was meant to die in the meatpacking plant except for Hoffman, who was to be the hero who closed the case.
Meanwhile, five more victims awaken in an underground trap with collars locked around their necks connecting them to mounted razor blades. The keys to their collars are in glass boxes across the room, but moving for them will set off a one-minute timer. All but Ashley (Laura Gordon) retrieve their keys, and she is decapitated when her collar retracts. In the second room, keys must be found in overhead jars in order to unlock three chambers that will protect them from bombs. Charles (Carlo Rota
Carlo Rota
Carlo Rota is a British-born Canadian actor, best known to Canadian audiences for his role on Little Mosque on the Prairie and to international audiences for starring on the FOX series 24.-Early life:...
) attacks Mallick (Greg Bryk
Greg Bryk
Greggory Michael "Greg" Bryk is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for playing the role of Mallick in Saw V, Vickor Harris in the 2006 film Living Death, Commando #1 in The Incredible Hulk film, Lone Man in Shoot 'Em Up, Keith Rose in Poor Boy's Game, Abel in Weirdsville, Neil...
) and takes his key, but is struck by Luba (Meagan Good
Meagan Good
Meagan Monique Good is an American film and television actress and occasional film producer. Beginning her career at the age of four, Good has appeared in numerous commercials, television shows, feature films, and music videos....
) and is killed when the bombs explode. In the third room, five cables must be connected to a full bathtub to unlock five locks on the door, though none are long enough to reach. Luba attacks Mallick to use his body to close the circuits, but Brit (Julie Benz
Julie Benz
Julie M. Benz is an American actress, best known for her roles as Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and as Rita Bennett on Dexter, for which she won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television...
) stabs her in the neck and they use Luba's body instead. In the final room, the door must be opened by filling a beaker, positioned in a machine fitted with circular saws, with ten pints of blood. They notice that there are five armholes and realize that all five victims were to work together to survive in every game: In the first test, any of the five keys in the room would have unlocked all the collars; the three chambers in the second test could have easily fit two people; the five victims could have closed the circuit in the third test without receiving a lethal amount of electricity and in the final test the five victims could have provided enough blood to fill the ten pints without experiencing the degree of injury experienced if there were only two. They also realize that all five of them were connected to a building fire that killed eight people. With no other choices, they begin sawing their arms to provide the ten pints.
Hoffman plants Strahm's phone, which is being tracked by Erickson, and Erickson's personnel file in the fifth room, which is found by Erickson when he arrives soon after. He also finds Brit, who managed to crawl out of the fourth room when Mallick passed out from blood loss, and calls for medical assistance, then places an all-points bulletin for Strahm's arrest, as he now believes Strahm to be Jigsaw's second accomplice. Meanwhile, Strahm follows Hoffman to the renovated nerve gas house and makes his way to a small underground room, which contains a clear box filled with broken glass. Hoffman's tape recorder informs Strahm that he must trust him and enter the box, but Strahm stops the tape short and ambushes Hoffman when he arrives, ultimately sealing Hoffman in the box and causing the room to seal itself. Hoffman indicates the tape, which tells Strahm that if he chooses not to, he will "simply vanish" and Hoffman's legacy will become his own. The glass box is lowered safely into the floor as the walls close in on Strahm and crush him to death while he attempts to escape through the ceiling grid.
Production
Saw V was written by Patrick MeltonPatrick Melton
Patrick Melton is an American screenwriter.-Early life:Melton was born in Champaign, Illinois. He attended Evanston Township High School, and graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies...
and Marcus Dunstan
Marcus Dunstan
Marcus Dunstan is an American screenplay writer and director.-Life and career:Dunstan was born in Macomb, Illinois...
, and the film went into production after Christmas 2007. Principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
took place from March 17, 2008 to April 28, 2008 in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. By mid–July 2008, there had been three photos released of David Hackl
David Hackl
David Hackl is a Canadian film director and production designer.-Life and career:Hackl was the production designer and second unit director for Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV. Also the production designer for Repo! The Genetic Opera. He was once in talks to direct Saw IV, however, Darren Lynn Bousman...
at the set of Saw V. The first trailer, depicting Agent Strahm's box trap, was released at Comic-Con
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
08 as a short clip and the trailer was also shown before The X-Files: I Want to Believe
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a 2008 science fiction-thriller directed by Chris Carter and written by both Carter and Frank Spotnitz. It is the second feature film based on The X-Files franchise created by Carter, following the 1998 film...
. The website opened on August 6, 2008. On September 17, 2008, a new clip was available on the Saw V website, depicting the Pendulum Trap.
Release
The film was released in Australia on October 23, 2008, in North America and the United Kingdom on October 24, 2008, and in New Zealand on October 30, 2008.Box office
In its opening weekend, Saw V grossed $30 million in 3,060 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking number two at the box office behind High School Musical 3: Senior YearHigh School Musical 3: Senior Year
High School Musical 3: Senior Year is a 2008 American romantic musical film and the third and final installment in the High School Musical trilogy. Its theatrical release in the United States began on October 24, 2008...
. It grossed $56,746,769 in the United States and Canada, and an additional $57,110,764 in other markets, for a worldwide total of $113,857,533. This was the second film in the series to not be number one at the box office, the first was the first film
Saw (film)
Saw is a 2004 American independent horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay, written by Leigh Whannell, is based on a story by Wan and Whannell. The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Whannell and Tobin Bell...
. It is Lionsgate's tenth highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada.
Critical reception
The film received generally negative reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 14% of critics gave the film positive reviews, making it the second poorest-reviewed film in the series, losing to the most recent Saw 3D. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus states "If its plot were as interesting as its torture devices, or its violence less painful than its performances, perhaps Saw V might not feel like it was running on fumes." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 19 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.
Elizabeth Weizman of the New York Daily News believed that the lack of Tobin Bell's Jigsaw character hurt the film: "Bell's deliciously twisted madman was the lifeline of this series, and without him, we're left watching a routine horror flick that might as well have gone straight to DVD. The series began with two major assets that set it apart: the concept of a brilliantly righteous executioner, and the actor who played him. Now, aside from Bell's brief, intermittent cameos, it has neither. So where the original Saw was diabolical fun, this fifth installment is as bloodless as the most unfortunate of Jigsaw's victims." Sam Adams of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
wrote that "The virtues of the individual films are almost beside the point, since it's hard to imagine why anyone would want to pick up the thread at this late date, but Saw V is a particularly dull and discombobulated affair, shot and acted with all the flair of a basic-cable procedural".
Some reviews were positive, however. The British website Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
rated it 3/5 stars and commended the film for its "solid acting, slick direction and suitably filthy cinematography too", while also stating it will "make far more sense to those familiar with the previous installments". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded the film with 3 out of 5 stars stating that the film ties up most of the loose ends of the previous 4 installments while also having a more straightforward and less complicated storyline. They also praised the traps for being the most inventive and best that the Saw franchise has had to offer.