All film genres are prone to the inception of sequels
but of the whole lot of them horror appears to be the king in this regard. A
simple horror flick can catch on with the fans and the studios will respond with
follow up flicks. There is a certain protocol to the nomenclature here.
Initially you have the sequel which if the potential for profits continue will
become a trilogy. Then, if there is still considered a modicum of life left to
the story it will be elevated to the lofty heights of the franchise. ‘Friday the
13th’ is up to a dozen flicks; ‘Nightmare of Elm Street’ is
restarting after eight movies. One of the newest horror franchises is the ‘Saw’
flicks. This series of movies has pushed the edge of good taste and engendered a
new branch of horror movies, the torture film. They are currently up to number
five with part of the casting of the sixth installment relegated to a reality
television show. It doesn’t look like this batch of films will go way any time
soon. Although the series suffers from the usual degradation of quality with
each subsequent flick it doesn’t seem to matter. ‘Saw’ now enjoys a legion of
fans that will ignore any negative review and go and watch the movie anyway.
This is the case with the fifth flick under consideration here. The first film
was shocking with its premise of a madman challenging his victims to discover a
worth to their lives by placing them in situations where they are about to die a
terrible, blood death. It doesn’t seem to matter that the plot lines get thinner
and thinner over time. What draws people to these movies is to watch people get
themselves killed in horrible ways. In many ways this is no longer in the
classic horror genre. In the old days the masters of the art knew that the best
way to truly scare the audience was in their minds. This psychological approach
is becoming increasingly rare as special effects makeup makes technological
advances. Now, films like this may pretend to have a psychological element but
they are ultimately a visceral experience. This fifth installment is now on DVD
and Blu-ray. Some will want them just for the sake of completeness but others
will be drawn in by the promise of something even grosser than show in the
theaters with this director’s cut. No matter what your inclination or reason
Lion’s Gate has all the torture and bloodshed you can imagine with this home
theater release.
The story was provided by the team of Marcus Dunstan
and Patrick Melton. They can into the franchise with the previous installment,
‘Saw IV’. They are also responsible for another growing horror series ‘Feast’.
That one has two out with another in the works. It may seem like it doesn’t take
a lot to pull together a story like this. While this may hold to at least some
degree as far as a cohesive plot and character development goes there is a
certain level of perverse ingenuity required for some of the now famous traps
utilized in these flicks. They are basically Rube Goldberg like contraptions
with the sole purpose of torturing a person to death. These devices are
something that would make Tomás de Torquemada of the Spanish Inquisition green
with envy. One of the standing traditions of the series was broken here. In most
cases the victim is given one way out of their impending, painful fate.
Typically this entails making a choice to live even if it means doing something
that would normally be repugnant and contrary to their nature. One of the
devices does go real old school taking a page from a classic of horror
literature; Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’. But without some of
the traditional albeit corny lines used in the other films and the break from
the moral dilemma themes this flick is beginning to depart from the formula that
created the fan base. This is a touchy quagmire for a writer particularly in
this genre. They are constantly under pressure to top the previous film with the
all important gross out factor but they have to remain true to the precepts and
rules of the universe they are working with. This team knows how to write for a
torture franchise and do as well as possible under the circumstance. Still, the
facts remain that the vast majority of the audience is not watching this film
for plot development.
This is not only the first time directing a ‘Saw’
movie for David Hackl, it is his initial foray into to the world of directing a
film. He has been involved in the production end of the previous two flicks of
the series though. He starts out the movie with a grabber, the ‘Pit and the
Pendulum’ bit which gives the audience some immediate gratification. He then
faces the challenge of pacing the rest of the movie. He has to balance the
modicum of expository scenes with the shots of the torture. There is the feeling
of padding the film with clips and flashbacks to the previous four movies. This
does dilute the action to some extent and gets a bit annoying after a very short
while. All of the devices are imaginative in a perverse way. One gets points for
degree of difficulty involves a box placed over the head of the victim that
begins to fill with water. In order to survive he has to perform a self
tracheotomy to keep breathing. One plot element that is easily dismissed in this
genre is the death of the main villain, Jigsaw (Toby Bell). It is sort of like
the Sith from the "Star Wars’ franchise. There are always two bad guys in these
flicks; a master and an apprentice. This may seem hackney and it is but it does
ensure some continuity for the movies that are sure to follow.
What passes for a story here concerns a few survivors
of the previous carnage. A few manage to die thereby getting out of subsequent
appearances in the future films The current apprentice is deviating from the
rules set in place by the original Jigsaw. For him it was all about how a person
should appreciate their lives and what they are willing to do to keep living.
The focus is moving more towards killing for the sheer fun of it as seen by the
man behind the scenes. At least that is what I could discern about what was
going on. The acting is on par for this kind of flick which is to say not overly
convincing.
Lion’s Gate has four ways to get this film; regular
DVD widescreen, full screen DVD, collector’s edition DVD and Blu-ray. The
collector’s edition has extras that detail the production and highlights the
traps used for the die hard fan.