Reviewed by Alicia Glass

Review Rating: 7

Jigsaw’s legacy lives on in Detective Hoffman, who is being suspected for complicity by the survivor of Jigsaw’s last game, Agent Strahm, while yet another deadly game plays out in the interim.

I am a huge fan of the Saw series, and I have to say, Saw V was downright disappointing. Yes, there are a few standard Saw-like scenes where people have to run through games and tests and they scream and die in the most violently spraying manner possible. But in order to understand the movie you practically have to watch Saw I through IV before sitting down to this one just to be damn sure you got every single last shred of plot connection so you don’t get hopelessly lost. While the series is famous for it’s Memento-style sequences and wrap-up bites towards the end, this particular Saw installment seems almost breathless to get to the end, if for no other reason than to make sure you’re still sitting there glued to the screen.

It doesn’t help that Agent Strahm and Detective Hoffman are rather similar in appearance, matter of fact that makes for yet another confusing part of the movie, when you’re not sure who’s screwing whom over and who they’re really working for. Which is the point right? Sorta. Jigsaw himself makes a return in the movies explanatory flashback scenes, where he takes on yet another apprentice after Hoffman was caught killing his sisters murderer in a Jigsaw-like fashion. Which, while it is great to see Tobin Bell again, once again sets us up for disappointment, because lets face it: Hoffman isn’t worthy to be Jigsaw’s legacy, and we all know it. And all that nonsense with the six people going through the tests to discover what they all have in common? Yeah. It seemed to me that the main if not only reason they died, was to provide cover and anonymity for Hoffman, if he was smart enough to use it that way. Which, if that is indeed the case, is a considerable demeaning for our beloved sensei Jigsaw.

If you’ve watched ALL the previous Saw movies, give Saw V a try – maybe you’ll see something redeeming I missed.