Remember high school or college biology? There was the theory of natural selection, developed by Charles Darwin. In it he described survival of the fittest. What this tells us is that in certain situations, one would do whatever he or she could to survive. After almost 150 years of titillating the fascinating minds of high school and college students, the concept took to the silver screen.
“Saw V,” the latest installment in the “Saw” Saga, directed by David Hackl and released by Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures, incurs the moral dilemma of “how far would one go to save oneself.” From the opening sequence and the film’s coined phrase “I want to play a game,” “Saw V” takes twists and turns that would satisfy the taste of a genuine “Saw” fan.
For the general audience, the movie is complete with blood, guts and angst. Jigsaw, Detective Hoffman and Agent Strahm return to the fifth film for a roller coaster ride from start to finish. Two plots run deep throughout the film: one based on the lives of five deeply connected people and the other drawing each of the previous films together. Those who have no prior knowledge of the films should make an attempt to watch them prior to seeing “Saw V.” Although it skims over the plots of the prior films, the background is meant to show progression of Detective Hoffman as an assistant to Jigsaw.
Hackl earned monumental success from the previous four films. Each one built on or ran parallel to the next. This installment does not disappoint in that manner. On the other hand, “Saw V” spends much of the 88 running minutes of the film backtracking and retelling the Jigsaw story from a different perspective – that of Detective Hoffman. The constant back and forth of the storyline did get confusing, and, unless you were a fan of the previous films, the back plot seemed tiresome and unnecessary.
The other portion of the film was devoted to the ultimate game of survival of the fittest. Five people awoke in a room to find dog collars, keys and nail bombs and the actual death trap of razor blades. The games progress and the numbers dwindle – each person capitalizing on the fact that life means more than death. This segment of the film exemplifies the intelligence of screenplay writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. After leaving the 10:30 a.m. showing, this “game” of survival was something my friend and I had lots of conversation about. Not about the gore or death scenes, but about how true it actually is. If anyone were put in a situation like the characters in “Saw V,” he or she would inevitably act in the same manner as the characters of the film.
Does the slasher-flick mentality run wild through this film? Yes, but the film continues to exploit the moral undertones to the body count and the games that contribute to it. I would tell you to see the film if you are interested. If it doesn’t look like something for you, then it probably isn’t.
As for the constant question that this Halloween bombshell has asked for the past five years – was it the conclusion? That is something you will have to see to believe. Let’s just say that Halloween 2009 will probably see a “Saw VI” in the box office lineup.