As someone who's only grown decreasingly fond of the Saw franchise (at least since the second one) and still marvels at the fact that we as a world find ourselves facing the prospect of a fifth (and possibly sixth!) one this coming Halloween and the next, I must attest to being weirdly admirable of how creatively macabre the series' marketing campaigns have been.

Case in point: the first revealed poster for Saw V, included in full after the jump and courtesy of IMP Awards. Following up the magically MPAA-approved acts of amputated limbs, dislodged teeth, and bent fingernails is the face of actor Tobin Bell acting as a mask on another body entirely, in spirit with the films' perpetual acknowledgement that Bell's character, John Kramer/Jigsaw, kinda died at the end of Saw III and sorta went through an autopsy at the beginning of Saw IV.

As Bell remains flaunted and credited in equal measure - as does the similarly deceased Shawnee Smith - I think it's safe to expect A) more flashbacks, a la #4, and B) more exceedingly gruesome demises, a la #1-4. However, at a combined worldwide gross of $553 million to date, it's also safe to say that there are many who'd hope -- who'd pay -- for nothing less.

Just in case dating a serial killer and hanging out with Rambo wasn't enough horror for Julie Benz, The Hollywood Reporter posts that she's got herself a starring role in the next Saw movie -- Saw V. The film, which is currently filming in Toronto, is being directed by David Hackl, from a script by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (as Scott mentioned back in February). Tobin Bell is returning as Jigsaw, but this latest victim isn't quite to his liking. As THR describes it: "Benz has been cast as a Brit with clothes and hair too proper and elegant to be a pawn in Jigsaw's latest games."

Well, at least she gets to be elegant. But really, when I see an actor like Benz who could be great on one show (or two, as in Buffy and Angel), top it off with a pretty notable gig on Dexter, but fill in the blanks with eh roles, I wonder if the real magic was just contained within one show or role. (The same could be said for Alyson Hannigan and her drama talents.) Is it just too hard to find a role similar to a snarky, strong, and in-control vampire woman? Benz can play a weak or troubled woman well, but she's at her best when she can command the screen and show her edge.

It's great that she's getting work; I just wish it was work that showed off more of what she can do, in roles that would give her some genre-free cred. At the very least, maybe she'll give Jigsaw a run for his money, even in fancy garb.

Saw V will be released on October 24.

If it's Halloween, it must be Saw. And it is. So it must be. Cinematical attended a press junket this week for Saw IV. It consisted of three interviews, with reporters from various outlets throwing out questions. The first was with Jigsaw himself, Tobin Bell (phoning in because he lives in Malibu, so wish him and his family well). The second was with Lyriq Bent (Rigg), Scott Patterson (Agent Strahm), and franchise producer Mark Burg. The third was with Costas Mandylor (Hoffman), Betsy Russell (Jill -- Mrs. Jigsaw), and franchise producer Oren Koules. Lionsgate hadn't screened the movie for critics (or even the actors!) as of this junket, as the representatives are extremely secretive about its plot, particularly a final twist. All we know is, despite having seemingly died at the end of Saw III, Jigsaw is back. Oh yes, and we know that there will be blood. Lotsa blood. We discussed what makes the franchise so popular, the phrase "torture porn," and the future of the Saw series.

Can you tell us what attracted you to the role yet again?

Tobin Bell: He's a big character. There could be nothing better for an actor than to have an opportunity to play a role where the character is sort of a multi-faceted guy. I mean, he is a scientist and a very well read guy and a man of conviction and passionate about what he does. There is something Shakespearean about him in a way. And there is a lot more story to be told. I feel like the Saw story doesn't play out in a linear way. It doesn't happen in sequence, necessarily. Whenever you have the opportunity to develop a guy like this, it's a blessing. It's what actors become actors for.

It's interesting to hear you talk about the thought process that goes into creating his back-story. Because if you ask an audience after they see a Saw film, they were there for the gore. They want to see someone's guts spill out on the floor. Are you rationalizing the character for yourself? Or do you really care about the characters in these films?

TB: I think that anybody who goes to one of these films wants to care about the characters. I think you can accomplish the same thing in the horror genre that you can accomplish in any other genre, whether it's a period piece, or a romantic comedy. I think there is an opportunity in a drama of any kind for the viewer to get involved with the characters. If you sell out completely on that, and I think that is what the horror genre has done for many years, people will not think of it very highly as a genre. Many genre films of the fifties and sixties were interested in the special effects, or interested in the scare factor, or the sci-fi factor. Jacob's Ladder is a very smart, well-crafted script. It is very scary. The Dead Zone with Christopher Walken. On its face, you have a man that looks at things and lights them on fire with his eyes. Look at the film. Christopher Walken draws you in. He makes you care about him. That's what makes the film work.

Outside of the Baby Geniuses pictures, I can't think of a more joyless, humorless, lifeless movie series than the Saw films. I watched the previous three alone at home, and each just sucked the life right out of me. But since I'd be seeing Saw IV with an audience, I expected to finally understand why people love these grisly flicks so much. I thought I'd hear yelling, cheering, people shouting "Gross!". I thought it would be fun. But the crowd remained completely silent until the credits rolled. Then everyone quietly got up, quietly walked to the doors, and quietly headed for their cars. How has this become the most successful horror franchise of all time?

Jigsaw is dead, and the film opens with his naked corpse laid out on a slab. Yes folks, I don't know why this hasn't been mentioned more in the marketing, but you do get to see 65 year-old Tobin Bell's genitals. That oughta sell some more tickets! What follows is an autopsy scene so astonishingly graphic that I removed the organ donor sticker from my driver's license. Seriously, if you had trouble with the brain surgery sequence in Saw III, get to Saw IV 15 minutes late. A new cassette recording is found in Jigsaw's stomach, and the games begin all over again. Two FBI profilers (played by Scott Patterson and Athena Karkanis) join Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) to put together the Jigsaw puzzle (nice little play on words there, if I don't say so myself). SWAT Commander Rigg (Lyriq Bent) is abducted and has 90 minutes to overcome the usual series of traps and save an ex-New Kid on the Block (Donnie Wahlberg). In other words, it's exactly like the other Saw flicks.

According to Bloody-Disgusting, Lionsgate is planning to shoot Saw V and Saw VI back-to-back, perhaps to make sure they have two sequels in the can prior to any sort of Hollywood strike. Either that, or they're just testing director David Hackl and his crew to see how fast they can write and shoot these suckers. Of course, I won't be happy until they write, shoot and have a Saw film in the can in one month, with 12 sequels to watch each year. Maybe by that time they'll figure out a way to clone Tobin Bell before the guy gets so used to being Jigsaw, that he winds up going on a mass killing spree for real. Screenwriters Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton (Feast, Project Greenlight) wrote Saw IV, and they're also signed on to write two more sequels. Good for them! At least someone came off that Project Greenlight show ready to kick serious ass.

The most interesting note to come attached to this Bloody-Disgusting story is that, apparently, Lionsgate may skip a year with the Saw films. Yup, that means October 2008 would come and go Saw-free. This has not been confirmed yet, and folks are on it as we speak, but that's what's being reported. Should Saw IV absolutely demolish the box office, I imagine Lionsgate may re-think that strategy. But if Saw IV doesn't put up big numbers, then maybe it would be a good idea to take a year off, let the fans breath, and then come back with a Saw V and Saw VI that absolutely rock. What do you think? Are you ready for the Saw franchise to end? Do you want to keep seeing one installment each year? Or, would you be down with them taking a year off?

I've been a horror fan since before the first Friday the 13th, but I'm definitely in the "loves the tension, thrills and release, but has a weak stomach" wuss category when it comes to the increasingly detailed anatomical level of blood and latex that's splashed on the screen nowadays. So imagine how I felt when presented with the latest clip from Saw IV, which actually begins with the explicit autopsy of Jigsaw (Tobin Bell, or a reasonable facsimile thereof). Yup, you get the whole deal: medical saws a-cutting, body parts laid open, internal organs sliced and diced.

If your reaction was stomach churning disgust, you can skip to the next article. On the other hand, if you just said: "More, please!" head straight over to the Saw IV web site, where, after entering your name, street number, zip code, date of birth, and next of kin (just kidding on that last one), you may go directly to "video" and click "autopsy." As our resident horror expert Scott Weinberg reported earlier this month, the teaser trailer is there too, along with various graphics and production notes. If you just want a quick look at the teaser -- not the autopsy clip -- you can also head over to Moviefone for a look in glorious HD.

At the Saw IV site you can also take a look at some of the puzzle traps from Saw III and click on "commentary" to watch video clips on how they were realized, with director Darren Lynn Bousman and production designer David Hackl talking about the technical challenges involved. Other site goodies are still marked "coming soon," but if you get bored you can always watch the autopsy clip again. Unless you work in a slaughterhouse, the entire site is NSFW. Saw IV buzzes into theaters on October 26.

Some more exciting news coming out of Comic-Con yesterday. This time around I had the fortune to attend the special preview of upcoming Lionsgate releases and a panel convened for just such a purpose. Some of the films discussed during the panel include upcoming releases 3:10 to Yuma, Good Luck Chuck, Midnight Meat Train and the inevitable Saw IV. An interesting and eclectic mix of genres and talent represented at the panel to be sure. Ok, settle in because here's the scoop.

First up was the very amusing Dane Cook and the supremely attractive Jessica Alba -- looking fantastic in a tight black dress and her, as Dane Cook joked "C-3P0 shoes" -- discussing their upcoming film Good Luck Chuck. We've talked about this film before here at Cinematical, but this time around I got a chance to see some exclusive footage from it -- including a scene where Alba takes a bubble bath and tries to have phone sex with Cook's character.

Of course, that clip was met with huge approval by the entranced attendees. Sadly, as much as I like Dane Cook and Jessica Alba (who doesn't?), I had a hard time getting too excited about the film -- Alba and bubbles notwithstanding. The crowd, however, mostly reacted positively to the previews, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Or, maybe I'm just jaded from seeing too many less-than-stellar movies? Either way, we'll know for sure if the film is good or not when it hits theaters on September 21st.

In all the horror movie hype of controversial billboards and pointing fingers, Saw IV might have gotten lost in the shuffle. There hasn't been a lot of news about the film so far, other than a few glimpses at a teaser poster. Plus, the latest photo to appear on MTV.com isn't giving anything up about what to expect from the latest installment of the series. The image consists of what looks to be a woman strapped to a chair with an ominous countdown clock presumably ticking away -- familiar terrain, I'm sure, for fans of the films. Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, the film reportedly was going to pick up where number three left off, with one of the survivors (Angus Macfadyen) still trapped in Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) "house of horrors." Armed only with a videotape starring Jigsaw, he must solve a mystery to save his daughter. But, Bousman has already discounted that storyline with Bloody Disgusting, saying that "Every plot synopsis you've read online is false and untrue. The thing with Macfadyen looking for his daughter? Believe it if you want. But no one knows what this story is."

Erik gave us the news a couple of weeks back that the horror movie had just finished shooting, and I'm guessing that expectations for the film's box office take are probably still pretty high despite the much-discussed horror backlash. Especially when you think back to the highly profitable opening that Saw III had, Lionsgate is probably hoping that lightening is going to strike twice. We will have to wait and see until October 26th, when Saw IV hits theaters.

Once you become a horror icon, it's pretty tough to find work outside the genre. Case in point: Longtime character actor Tobin Bell hit the jackpot when he appeared as the villain of the Saw series, and now he's just signed on to portray Satan himself in an indie flick called Highway 61. We're not entirely sure if this is a full-bore horror movie, or simply a dramatic piece with an occult twist -- but if you need someone to play The King of Darkness, you could do a lot worse than Tobin Bell. (Like many horror icons, Mr. Bell was a well-established and recognized character actor long before the horror genre suck him in.)

Written and directed by Luke & Jeremy Jackson, Highway 61 is about a floundering rock band that decides to sell its collective soul to you-know-who. According to Variety, Nick Thune is also on board as the band's lead singer. As far as Mr. Bell is concerned, here's what he's appeared in since the first Saw movie: Buried Alive, Decoys 2 and the upcoming Boogeyman 2. Someone please get this guy and Robert Englund in the same movie already. (Oh wait, they already were.) Here's hoping Highway 61 is a solid flick. It's not like Mr. Bell needs the money these days.

Saw sequel maker Darren Lynn Bousman has posted production blogs on several movie sites over the past few years, but this year he's settling down at FEARnet. His inaugural blog entry doesn't deliver any new casting notices or shocking surprises, but he does dole out an explanation as to why he recently signed on to direct a third Saw sequel. (As if you'd walk away from such a profitable -- and clearly enjoyable -- movie gig.) The guy's locked up for Repo: A Genetic Opera and a remake of Scanners, but for the next several months, DLB is all about the Saw sickness.

With production on Saw 4 set to begin in Toronto next week, Mr. Bousman is prepared to give us twice-weekly updates on how his third sequel is going. To kick things off he expresses a lot of affection for the Saw production family, makes no apologies for sticking with the sequels, and offers an insightful breakdown of the Saw flicks' genre-bending ways. (He also promises to chat about non-Saw-related topics, which might mean some early info on his future projects.)

In related news, Dread Central is reporting that Lyriq Bent will be returning for his third Saw installment, while Bloody-Disgusting.com indicates that Justin Louis (Dawn of the Dead) has joined the (rapidly growing) Saw 4 cast. (The backward-hat-wearing guy from Gilmore Girls has also been signed up.) Meanwhile, every horror-friendly website on the planet reminds us that Saw-master Tobin Bell will also be back for some more punishment. Unfortunately, I think it's safe to assume that the lovely Dina Meyer will not be showing up in the next sequel.