Jigsaw is dead, so how can he keep on killing? Well, the writers have found a way and I'm not gonna tell you how.
When I first watched "Saw", I had the distinct feeling that I was watching something innovative and groundbreaking, it really gave me something new that I believed horror needed. Then came "Saw II" which although I enjoyed, seemed to be much of the same thing, "Saw III" was exactly the same also. As a result I didn't want any more Saw films; Jigsaw was dead and I was happy that I wouldn't need to watch any more.
But then they announced "Saw IV" and I wasn't exactly excited, but I was intrigued. I wondered in what direction they could possibly take the franchise seeing that the titular protagonist was dead. However, they found a way and obviously me telling you would ruin the surprise.
The film begins with a pretty disgusting autopsy of Jigsaw in which a tape is found in his stomach, the tape is played and the tagline from the film is repeated, thus follows a few different storylines both involving Jigsaw and his legacy. The main one involves Officer Rigg (Lyriq Bent) as he follows the various clues in Jigsaw's game and has to decide whether to save people or let them die. So far, so same-old same-old, then interspersed we get other plotlines that follow things that I won't ruin here, but that definitely serve to confuse the audience rather than really giving them anything new.
 
This is by far the most complex Saw yet, and I don't see this as a good thing as by the time the final 10 minutes come, chances are you won't have a clue what's going on. The ending feels rushed and haphazardly put together, with elements of "Saw III" being thrown into the mix to tie things together, which all add to more of a sense of bewilderment, rather than of satisfaction. This combined with the fact that some of the actors decide to mumble their lines rather than speak them made it all the more frustrating. Some of you might understand it first time round, but I had to watch the end at least twice before I got it.
Anyway, onto the entire Saw franchise's tour-de-force, the traps. Well, although not as gory as the extreme ones seen in part III, they do offer some interesting demises, I particularly enjoyed the flashbacks to Jigsaw's earlier traps with their slap-dash, amateur feel. The film is definitely gory, more so than most mainstream horror, but it didn't follow the sequel mantra of giving you more of the same, just "bigger and better".
From a narrative point of view, it was very interesting to look back into the reasons why Jigsaw did what he did, and I felt that these were the strongest moments of the film, mainly for the reason that we get to see Tobin Bell again doing what he does best. However, during many of the films flashbacks or scene changes, Darren Lynn Bousman decided for some reason to try all manner of complicated scene transitions which didn't particularly add to the effect, but subtracted from it. This coupled with the HUGE amount of quick/repeat/jump cuts of people shouting and/or doing pretty much anything, made it feel more like a heavy metal video than a horror movie in some parts.
I will say that I did enjoy this film and up until the convoluted ending, I was gripped and excited to a greater extent than Saw III, but not more than the others. It was an interesting addition to the Saw franchise and many questions were answered, but it just seems that too many new ones were raised. Please end on a high(ish) note and stop making the Saw movies! That last comment was pointless however, as Saw V is already scheduled for release next Halloween anyway!
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE: Saw 4
MOVIE YEAR: 2007
DIRECTOR: Darren Lynn Bousman
WRITING CREDITS: Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan
GENRE: Horror
CAST: Tobin Bell, Scott Patterson, Costas Mandylor
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 95 min
RATING: 6/10
Saw IV Website/IMDB Click here
Saw IV Trailer Click here
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