The film starts with Seth in the pendulum trap. The trap is later revealed to be unwinnable, but Seth is made to believe that the aim of the trap is for him to push buttons inside of two devices which would crush both of his hands before a bladed pendulum (intended to slice him in half) descends upon him. Meanwhile, Agent Strahm shoots Jeff and enters the room where Jigsaw died. After investigating and finding Jigsaw’s corpse, the door is locked on Strahm. Strahm manages to exit through
a secret door, and finds a recorder. The recording warns him he can find salvation or die in the room, and urges him to make the right choice. He disregards it, then is attacked by a figure in a pig mask. He wakes to find himself in one of Jigsaw’s traps. His head is in a sealed box, which quickly starts to fill with water. Before he runs out of air, he performs a tracheotomy with the tube of a ballpoint pen in order to breathe. The police make it to the Gideon warehouse, and Hoffman emerges carrying Corbett, claiming that he saved her. Strahm is carried out on a stretcher, still alive, but badly injured. The next day the police hold a service for all the people who have died chasing Jigsaw. The Chief of Police announces that the Jigsaw murders are over. Jill is given a videotape and box from John’s lawyer. The contents of the box, says John, are of grave importance to her. After looking in the box, Jill leaves without telling John’s lawyer what’s inside.
Continuing on with its story despite the death of namesake killer Jigsaw in the third installment, SAW V concerns itself with detailing who will carry on with his bloody work. Director David Hackl, the production designer on the previous three films, retains their familiar charnel house look. Though there are fewer grisly death sequences, faithful viewers will enjoy the creative plot twists. The film opens with a man strapped to a table above a pendulum. As the sharp blade begins swinging over his stomach, he has only a minute to stop it by inserting his hands into a device that will crush them. When the machine malfunctions, it’s clear that it wasn’t the work of the meticulous Jigsaw. Meanwhile, FBI Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) continues the investigation he began in the previous film, only to wake up to find himself wearing a glass helmet filled with water. With a minimum of self-mutilation, he escapes and
continues his investigation with the hunch that Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) is somehow involved in the new rash of killings. Before long, a new group of strangers wakes up in Jigsaw’s lair to face a series of brutal tests, and Jigsaw’s ex-wife, Jill, is given a mysterious box at the execution of his will. An enormously popular and critic-proof series, SAW gives its fans what they want–creatively executed blood and guts. The fifth installment in as many years, SAW V is more subdued in that department, but the sequences it does contain deliver the goods. Several lengthy flashbacks also allow Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) to make a few appearances. While SAW V isn’t the place for beginners to start, those who have stuck with the story this far will find it a fitting entry, happy that SAW VI is just around the bend.
