First thing's first: I cannot stand modern horror movies. I'm tired of watching trailers for these horror movies that are aimed squarely at the idiocy of the teenage demographic and our growing bloodlust. Recently, horror movies have migrated outside the realm of "horror" and into the realm of "snuff," with directors purposley throwing in more and more sheep's blood to boost that rating up to an R. It seems to be that all these stupid kids (I'm one of them so I'm allowed to say that, kind of like the whole "you can make fun of your own race" rule with comedians), for some reason, think the barometer by which a movie's greatness should be measured is by the number of innocent people brutally slaughtered. And all for no apparent reason...because "horror" movies (and I will continue to put "horror" in quotes to emphasize my point) in modern American cinema are no longer about being scared but about having a strong gag reflex...which I don't...which is why I did not for the life of me want to see, or especially pay to see, Saw V.
Alas, women usually conquer all, and for the sake of making one happy, I volunteered my time to this movie. And...miraculously...I didn't hate it.
Going into the theater to watch the latest in the newly-annual series of people getting tortured mercilessly, I had no intention of actually "watching" any of it. In fact the plan was to sit close enough to the front of the theater so that I could stare straight forward and focus on the blank wall below the screen. I hate gore. I always have. In fact before attending college this semester I had to get shots and, the wuss that I am, had to cover my eyes and look away, humming.
I soon became entranced, though. You see, unlike most mainstream "horror" movies out nowadays that throw a bunch of teenagers against either A) vengeful serial killer or B) vengeful ghost and then let the bloodbath begin, Saw V, and all the Saws as a matter of fact, actually try to incorporate a pretty intriguing story. At its core, it's about a man who kills people, but not really, he gives them a choice by trapping them in escapable situations that usually demand self-mutilation, yet at the same time the pathway to freedom is always clear, it's just up to the victim, who is usually a shady character, to be willing to take it. It dives deeper into the human pysche than possibly any "horror" films ever pro
duced (besides maybe Signs, which I think is awesome).
duced (besides maybe Signs, which I think is awesome). Saw V is no exception. While difficult to put together at first without seeing the previous installments, the story quickly becomes less confusing and more like a puzzle, but the difference is that all the pieces are there, it's just up to us (or me, since I watched it) to put it together. It involes a corrupt cop-turned-apprentice to Jigsaw, the killer, played by Tobin Bell. Though most of the acting in Saw V is stiff and probably wouldn't even be good enough for the WB, watching Bell play the philisophical killer is hypnotizing. His words are so meaningful and his quotations and logic and philosophy so entrancing that when he talks it's difficult to imagine the ruthlessness of his kills. Saw V goes a little deeper than previous installments, actually showing how he set up his numerous traps in previous films, and it's actually very satisfying seeing the human side of Jiggy, of seeing him talk casually as if he was chatting over coffee while he sets up a revolver that moments later will fire a bullet into someone's eye.
Bell's performance is the shining point in Saw V. The best part in the movie, actually, may be the 5-minute conversation he has with his soon-to-be-apprentice in which we see glimpses of humanity mixed with a satanic aura.
The ending is a mixed bag. While it wraps up all the loose ends in a 30-second montage like any traditional mystery, the climax can be a little depressing and falls right into the land of cliches that so plague "horror" movies, and left me with an empty feeling of dissapointment, and even resentment, that the filmmakers would hurt what at that point had been a pretty decent movie.
Saw V is not nearly as bad as I was waiting for it to be. The gore is few and far between compared to other films and Bell's performance is about as transcendent as Ledger's in The Dark Knight or Javier Bardem's in No Country For Old Men. Though far from being great considering its amateurish acting and flippant directing, Saw V is actually one of the biggest surprises I've had in recent memory. And that means a lot coming from a guy who cries after shots.
Score: 7/10
