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Saw IV (2007)

DVD Cover (Lions Gate Unrated)
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> Nirrads Best of 2007
Overall Rating 61%
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Ranked #1,129
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Connections: Saw

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grisly remains and piecing together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences. --IMDb
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Review by Tristan
Added: October 27, 2007
It's Halloween again, and we're treated to yet another entry in the Saw franchise. Love them or hate them, these movies are drawing some huge crowds, and making some huge bank. Darren Lynn Bousman is yet again in the director's chair, but this time the writers of the first three have left, and replaced by (relatively) newcomers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, the boys responsible for the Feast movies. Is this a nice fresh take on the series, or are the new guys going to destroy what little it had going for it? Jigsaw is dead, Amanda is dead. How do you make a Saw movie without these two major players? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Our film begins with an FBI team discovering the body of Kerry in one of Jigsaw's elaborate dungeons. Only according to what FBI agents Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Perez (Athena Karkanis) have clued into, is there wasn't any way for Jigsaw or Amanda to get Kerry's body into the cellar, and then rigged into the trap. The physics of it don't line up. Now they can only suspect that there is a third person out there, carrying on Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) work. This is good news for Officer Rigg (Lyrig Bent) who after the disappearance of Detective Mathews (Donnie Wahlberg) 6 months prior has become obsessed with stopping Jigsaw's reign of madness and rescuing his fellow officers.

It is at this time that Jigsaw's body is brought into the autopsy room, and the doctors begin their usual routine of opening the body and inspecting the organs. Inside the stomach, they find another tape from Jigsaw. After Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) arrives, they play the tape and discover that even though Jigsaw is dead, his games have only just begun. It is Officer Rigg who finds himself in the middle of one these games, starting in his very own home. His obsession with stopping Jigsaw has led him to make the wrong choices in his life for some time now. This is his chance to save the lives of innocent people, as long as he can pass his numerous tests.

As he plays his game, agents Strahm and Perez must play a game of their own. After tracking down Jigsaw's ex-wife (Betsy Russell), they learn what triggered John Kramer's transformation into Jigsaw. As they piece together bits of the puzzle, they begin to suspect that Rigg has become that third person, carrying on Jigsaw's work. So while Rigg is trying to save more lives, he is also being hunted by the FBI who thinks he is responsible for all these murders. What none of them can know, however, is that they are all inside one big game that they can never hope to get out of alive.

Considering I was no fan of the third movie I expected this to be complete garbage. Boy, was I wrong. To say the least, this was a complete mind fuck. Like the first movies, none of it makes any sense until the very end. It's not even something you can guess at, or piece together, because it just doesn't add up. Even after the movie was done, I was still left dumbstruck. It took about 40 minutes, and some serious discussion with a friend before I could piece together what really happened, and how it coincided with the events of the first three films.

As far as the traps and bloody deaths are concerned, this movie contained almost zilch. The writers all but abandoned this idea, and for good reason. After the second film, nobody really cared about the idea of people trying to work their way out of these grisly deaths. It was far more interesting to focus on one character, and learn his/her back story along the way. This entire movie was based around tying together events from mainly the second and third films, but like I said, not until the very end. That in mind, the entire movie really serves no purpose until the final 10 minutes or so. I'll do my best not to spoil anything, but you'd better know Saw II and III pretty well before you dive into this one. Otherwise you'll be completely lost, as I could observe in the theater. I'd say almost everybody I overheard leaving that room was talking about what happened, and asking all kinds of questions. Like I said folks, complete mind fuck.

So did the new writers destroy the series? Hell no. While I was sorry to see the original writers/creators leave, it was about time some new ideas were introduced into these movies. The new writers put a whole new spin on the entire franchise. I now have to go back and watch each movie with the new twist in mind, and see how the whole thing plays out. Right away, I felt that they'd butchered all the earlier ideas, and it made no sense. But when I really stopped to think about it, and said it allowed, it actually made sense. And of course, the ending is a huge cliffhanger. Part V is going to have to answer a lot of questions, and hopefully they handle it the same way as this one. As far as the grisly deaths and the red stuff go, I'd give it a 6/10. As far as the story goes, there isn't much there until the ending, but I can't stress it enough people, it all comes together, and you realize that these writers are fucking brilliant. For that, I give them a 7.5/10.

The events of this movie totally re-invent not only the Jigsaw character, but the entire story, and I'm sure there will be tons of new twists in the remaining two films. When I took my seat in that theater tonight, I expected a continuation of part III that would play much like part II did off of the original. More or less the same film, with a few different ideas, and more elaborate deaths. Not at all. I can't wait for part V to hit theatres, and to see what these new writers have in store for us next Halloween. So a 7.5 and a 6. That averages out to an 6.75, but I'm giving them an extra point and a bit for not only completely shocking me, but doing something original with the series.

8/10.
Nirrad #1: Nirrad - added October 27, 2007 at 5:02pm
I agree with this review. I thought it was a nice improvement over Saw III, and even though I wanted it to end here, I actually really wanna see more Saw films.
bluemeanie #2: bluemeanie - added October 27, 2007 at 10:52pm
Why would I subject myself to "Saw IV"? First off, I didn't like the first one that much. Had its moments, but no. I thoroughly loathed the second and third films with an unrivaled passion. They just kept beating a dead horse. Shocker -- I didn't like "Saw IV" either. I hated it. Did I hate it as much as the second or third films? No. It was better than those two. But, it was still a piece of garbage. I went to see the film hoping to prove myself wrong, but didn't. So, if you liked the previous three films, you'll likely love this. I'll recommend it to those who did. Otherwise, skip, skip, skip it. 3/10.
grain of sand #3: grain of sand - added February 22, 2008 at 8:50pm
yeah, this made me want to see 5.
I can't say I'm exactly a fan of this series of films, but wow are the torture methods cool and inventive! lots of plot holes and shoddy acting though, fun for what it is!
can't argue that.. 7/10
Ginose #4: Ginose - added August 4, 2008 at 2:32am
Billy Ray, why do you insist on seeing them? For all quality, they're not bad movies (well, the first is pretty shit-tastic in it's performance standards, but still a good movie all the way) and the only reason people keep coming back to them is to see where they could POSSIBLY continue the story, thus far, it has worked-out well. I've been thoroughly impressed with each entry (though, I actually felt this to be the weakest, not for plot, just for lack of interesting action) and they've officially got me hooked to the point where, yes, I will keep watching them, all the way until they run into the ground and then some.
7.8/10
bluemeanie #5: bluemeanie - added August 4, 2008 at 9:57am
I watch them because I try to watch everything, no matter how bad. They are the same film, over and over again. They have zero value to me. They have single-handedly ruined Halloween.
Rik #6: Rik - added August 4, 2008 at 12:30pm
Once the Saw series ends for good, everything will probably start to piece together like one ginormous puzzle and Jigsaw will be the best villian the world has ever seen.
bluemeanie #7: bluemeanie - added August 4, 2008 at 3:26pm
The greatest villain the world has ever seen. Comical. Absolutely comical.
Tristan #8: Tristan - added August 4, 2008 at 10:31pm
I enjoyed the movie, and even I think that was a lame comment. Best villain? Pathetic.
Nirrad #9: Nirrad - added August 4, 2008 at 11:52pm
^^ Agreed.
Lucid Dreams #10: Lucid Dreams - added October 6, 2010 at 2:34pm
I remember watching this back in the Navy because it was the only movie they were playing on the ship at the time and I don't remember enjoying it. A few cool death scenes like the others, but like meanie said they are just beating a dead horse on this one. Which is funny because most people would say the same thing about Fred, or Jason, but for some reason the Saw series is very hit or miss with me. 4/10
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