Saw V - 2 Disc Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

Hoffman continues as the killer.
I will not tell all the surprises in this film.
It is very important that you have seen SAW 2, SAW 3 and SAW 4 to understand what is going on here. If you missed SAW 4, you might pick up on what is going on in SAW 5, but then again, you don't know about the "death" of Jigsaw John and how and why the "games" and traps continue.
Returning for another go around is Tobin Bell as "Jigsaw John" who you will see in new footage of "flashbacks".
Also returning is Costas Mandylor as "Hoffman" who we met in SAW 3 as "Forensic Hoffman" and SAW 4 as "Detective Hoffman".
Scott Patterson returns as "Agent Strahm" from SAW 4 and Besty Russell returns as "Jill" whom we met in SAW 3 and SAW 4.
Mike Realba returns as "Detective Fisk".
Also in new footage of "flashbacks" is Mike Butters of the first SAW (2004) and Tim Burd as "Obi" and Tony Nappo as "Gus" from SAW 2 (2005).
Bill Vilbert returns as a cop.
Niamh Wilson returns as the little girl...

Game in Overtime
"I want to play a game." Well, we all knew that. But with Jigsaw dead, how does the Saw series keep the game from becoming overtly predictable? The answer is not revealed in "Saw V," which shows the series becoming an utterly predictable Halloween event.

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell, weirdly malevolent as ever) is still dead. That minor fact, however, does not negate his being in "Saw V" in various states of criminal commission, with or without Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) as his accomplice. Still hot on the case FBI Agent Pete Strahm (Scott Patterson) is on Hoffman's trail, and there are five hapless but interconnected folks now secured in one of Jigsaw's traps.

The traps are, as usual, freaky. The FBI cops are trying to figure out who dunnit. Mrs. Jigsaw discovers she has inherited a mysterious box from her dearly departed, but we aren't allowed to see the contents after she peeks in (hmmm, preview of the plot for "Saw VI"?). What is missing is any sense of...

How Many Times Can You Play the Same Game?
For starters, if you are a follower of the "Saw" series, you know what to expect in terms of plot for "Saw V". There are some interesting new torture devices and some new faces in "Saw V", but it didn't matter much seeing how the majority of them were victims anyway. The film reveals more information with flashbacks of the previous four that ties everything together.

Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) return for the fifth installment, which takes place exactly where the fourth left off. What you can expect is trademark "Saw"...the gore, the plot twists, the extreme camera angles, much of the same from any other film in the series. Lets face facts, "Saw V" doesn't break new ground, but if you're a diehard "Saw" fan you should check out the latest installment to see the next chapter in the series. As I mentioned before, more is revealed, so it's best to understand the other four.

"And you won't believe how it ends."...open...

Click to Editorial Reviews