It has just been announced that Betsy Russell (above w/ Bell & below) will be returning to play Mr. Jigsaw’s wife once again in SAW V (due October 24th 2008). She joins already-announced cast members, Tobin (Jigaw) Bell, Scott Patterson, Costas Mandylor and Mark Rolston. First-time director, David Hackl (production designer for parts 2, 3, & 4), will be overseeing this latest lesson in torturous redemption. Part 4’s scribes Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton (the FEAST trilogy), hammered out this one as well.
I’m a big fan of the SAW series, having thoroughly enjoyed my theater experiences with all four! I know that’s kind of hard to believe, but Lionsgate knows what it takes to make these flicks enjoyable: cool traps, extreme gore, twists and turns, the puppet, and most important, a logical continuity to the storyline and its characters. These sequels aren’t merely out to make a profit off a recognizable name (okay, maybe they’re partly out for that). There is ALWAYS a connection from the next sequel to all of its predecessors, which gives me the impression that SAW respects its fanbase. So far, I couldn’t honestly say that parts 2, 3, & 4 were unnecessary from the way that they all worked to add to the sadistic mythology that is John “Jigsaw” Kramer (and they f*cking killed him off in part 3!).
So as you can probably guess, I’m eagerly counting down the ticking clock till this Halloween when the yearly SAW tradition will continue! Wait a minute, that isn’t a clock ticking… it’s some kind of machine attached to my leg… and there’s this weird puppet opening his mouth. “Hello, Mike. I wanna play a game.” Oh NOOOOOO! (Shit, I’m such a geek.)