Saw V (Movie Review)

Updated May 2026

Saw V is the worst film in the franchise’s history, and yet its disturbing, gory, self-parodying nature still pulls an audience like nothing else in its lane. Bad acting and a horror of a script add to the strange mystique of why moviegoers keep showing up for this kind of thing.

Jigsaw is dead. Detective Strahm is trying to get to the bottom of who is continuing his deranged games.

A Franchise Coasting on the First Two Films

The Saw movies are no longer frightening. They are living off the reputation of the first two installments, hoping audience memory does the work the script does not.

Director David Hackl pulls back on the bloodshed compared to earlier chapters and tries to make this a more character driven feature. That choice leaves the audience more time to sit with the actors’ performances. Why would you put us through such a thing.

The Traps Get More Inventive as the Story Gets Weaker

The kills are where the film tries hardest. Hackl and his team push the inventiveness of the traps, from homemade nail bombs to guillotine contraptions. The mechanics are fun for gorehounds. The story around them is not.

Skip Saw V. Rent The Strangers Instead.

If you are looking for a real fright, save your money on Saw V and rent The Strangers instead. That film does what Saw V cannot. It was built to scare the skin off you through a slow build of suspense that keeps you screaming to the final frame.

---