Saw IV (Unrated Widescreen) (2007)

"...doesn't deviate from the stylistic formula, which includes grinding industrial music, frenzied editing and a blue-gray color palette.  Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
"...bloody proof that Jigsaw may be dead, but his well of corporeal abuses has yet to run dry.  Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
"Fans know exactly what they're in for, while everyone else knows to stay far away.  Nathan Rabin, The Onion A.V. Club
"...more frenetically cut...more dimly lit...more madly packed with micro-incidents and action, and more brazen...  Robert Koehler, Variety
"...the dark lensing, twitchy editing and anatomy-lesson displays of viscera give it a grim, nihilistic edge...  Total Film

Editor's Note The fourth SAW film takes fans into uncharted waters. Now that John/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dead, screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (writers of the Project Greenlight-produced FEAST) give us Jigsaw's "origin" story--finally showing us why he does what he does. Along they way, they still find time to work in the usual dose of elaborate Rube Goldberg-like torture devices and heaps of MPAA-defying gore in what plays like an extreme version of CSI. During his (extremely graphic) autopsy, Jigsaw's final tape (swallowed in SAW III) is found in his stomach. Promising that his work will continue despite his passing, his message sets off a series of grisly tasks for anxious SWAT team leader Rigg (Lyriq Bent), who is given 90 minutes to rescue detectives Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), who are to be dispatched via blocks of ice and high voltage wires. Trailing Rigg are FBI agents Strahm (Scott Patterson of GILMORE GIRLS) and Perez (Athena Karkanis), who get some unexpected blood on their hands along the way. A series of flashbacks details a pivotal event between Jigsaw and his girlfriend, Jill (1980s beauty Betsy Russell, PRIVATE SCHOOL), which inspired him to devote the remainder of his life to the creation of his signature puzzles. Darren Lynn Bousman, director of the previous two sequels, returns once again to ensure that the series retains its trademark desaturated look. Though viewers starting with this installment may find the brief glimpses of characters from the previous films confusing, fans should be pleased with how the films link together. They are also sure to appreciate that, like FRIDAY THE 13th carrying on sans Jason in PART IV: A NEW BEGINNING, the death of Jigsaw won't keep the franchise from evolving into SAW V and beyond.

	Angus Macfadyen
	Betsy Russell
	Costas Mandylor
	Donnie Wahlberg
	Lyriq Bent
	Scott Patterson
	Shawnee Smith
	Tobin Bell
	Anthony A. Ianni - Art Director
	Charlie Clouser - Original Music By
	Darren Lynn Bousman - Director
	David A. Armstrong - Cinematographer
	David Hackl - Production Designer
	James Wan - Executive Producer
	Kevin Greutert - Editor
	Leigh Whannell - Executive Producer
	Marcus Dunstan - Screenplay
	Patrick Melton - Screenplay
	Thomas H. Fenton, et. al. - Based On Story By

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he dark lensing, twitchy editing and anatomy-lesson displays of viscera give it a grim, nihilistic edge..." 01/01/2008 p.62

ReelViews 5 of 10
Horror films are like candy corn: familiar, bland, and sickening if consumed in large quantities. They're both ubiquitous at this time of year and there must be a large group of individuals who appreciate their dubious charms because they never go away. I like a good, scary horror film - something that raises the hackles and keeps me on the edge of my seat. It's been a while since I have seen one, however...Saw IV will likely sate the appetite of long-term, hardcore fans of the franchise, but it offers nothing to anyone who does not fall into that category. The movie's dense plotting and frequent flashbacks demand familiarity with the previous installments to make any sort of sense, and even then there are some sizable gaps. Did I piece everything together? No. Do I care? Not really. There are no human beings in this movie - just blood bags waiting to be popped. It's a depressing experience to view something like Saw IV. It's not just the soullessness that's dispiriting, but the lack of invention. When a movie does little more than repeat what its predecessors accomplished with grotesque effectiveness, it's past time to tip this corpse into its grave and bury it. - James Berardinelli

Fangoria 7 of 10
How do you startle the audience for the Saw movies, who have by now seen just about everything in terms of horror, gore and torture? In the opening scene of Saw IV, the answer is: Give 'em a lingering look at Jigsaw's genitalia, as his dead body lies on a morgue autopsy table. Whether or not these are Tobin's balls or the cadaver is a prosthetic mockup is uncertain, because the movie very quickly demonstrates how advanced the state of the art is when it comes to makeup FX, as the deceased villain's scalp is peeled off, his skull cut open and his brain removed. Francois Dagenais, who created this wet work and also contributed to the previous sequels, has been an unsung hero of this franchise...[The film has] a better pace than the third film and a few individual setpieces that, even at this point in Saw's history, can still get you squirming. Series regular director Darren Lynn Bousman utilizes some really nifty visual transitions that help all the crosscutting go down a little easier, and it's nice to see Bell up and about in those flashbacks...And of course, there's a big twist ending, which isn't as cool as those in the first and second films but is a lot cleaner than the one in part three. The revelation does beg a few explanations--but of course, those will no doubt be addressed in the inevitable Saw V. - Michael Gingold