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If ever there were a horror franchise that had run its course, it's the "Saw" series. It may have started the horror porn movement that emphasizes cruel and twisted death scenes, but this latest installment feels like a pale imitation of its groundbreaking predecessors.

With the death of series villain Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) in "Saw III," the creators have somehow managed to keep the filming the franchise for two more installments. It helps that Bell continues to appear in the series via flashbacks.

In this outing, we learn the story of Jigsaw's secret apprentice, police detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor, "IV"). This is nothing new, since "IV" delves into why the kindly John turned into the murderous Jigsaw.

Meanwhile, FBI Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson, "IV") begins to suspect Hoffman may have been Jigsaw's partner and seeks to uncover the truth.

Director David Hackl makes his debut, but diligently follows the "Saw" formula. With the constant jarring camera shots and splicing edits, he doesn't offer a new spin on the series.

Screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, who penned the convoluted and confusing "IV," once again seem less interested in the story and more concerned about coming up with new ways to kill people.

The first two sequels were entertaining and kept audiences guessing to the end, but once screenwriters Leigh Whannell and James Wan left the series, all pretense of storytelling was axed.

Melton and Dunstan slap together hasty connections between the five characters Jigsaw ensnares. But it doesn't matter since they are likely to get killed anyway. If the writers don't care about the characters, why should the audience?

This time out, Jigsaw challenges the five self-absorbed victims/participants to do what they've never done before in order to escape his traps: work together to save the group. Yet for some reason, they continue looking out for themselves, making them unsympathetic victims.

Mandylor and Patterson attempt to develop their characters, but end up playing good cop and murderous psycho cop.

Some of the death scenes are impressively demented, but it's all been done before.

Saw V

Rated R. 98 minutes.

Horror.

Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Julie Benz, Meagan Good, Carlo Rota, Greg Bryk.

Director: David Hackl.