 |
|
|
Saw V (2008)
 |
 |
|
|
|
The scariness has vanished along with the grisly booby-trap inventiveness in the fifth entry of the continuing splatter franchise. The main concerns of this convoluted episode from first-time director David Hackl are why Jigsaw (the ever-compelling Tobin Bell) is mentoring a new murder-game protégé, and how FBI profiler Scott Patterson attempts to unmask this latest acolyte. Meanwhile, five people are trapped in torture chambers to cloak the obvious twist ending. Flashbacks within flashbacks, reused footage from all the previous movies and constant camera movement to give hints of style, produce little of substance, except as a prelude to Saw VI. Nods to Edgar Allan Poe aside (The Pit and the Pendulum, The Raven), Hackl fails to maintain the creepy and mysterious atmosphere necessary to elevate this gory but weak instalment above the TV-thriller norm. However, fans of the genre might still get a familiar buzz. AJ
|
Tell us what you think
Email us at rtfilmcomments@bbc.co.uk to tell us what you think of this film. Your comments may appear in Radio Times magazine.
|
Running time
|
91min
|
Country of origin
|
US / Can
|
Genre
|
Horror Thriller
|
Original language
|
English
|
Screenplay
|
Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan
|
Theatrical distributor
|
Lionsgate
|
UK cinema certificate
|
18
|
UK cinema release date
|
October 2008
|
|
|
|
|
Film certification logos reproduced by kind permission of BBFC |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Radio Times is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
|
|
|
|
|
|
