Saw IV (2007)

 

Saw IV would mark the third film of the series to be directed by Darren Lynn Bousman.  This is the first film in the series that Leigh Whannell did not have a hand in writing.  The same for James Wan.  The two were listed as executive producers with Whannell stating that he had final say in what was in the film.  Instead, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and The Collector) co-wrote the script along with Thomas Fenton (I Spit on Your Grave 2).  Tobin Bell is back once again as John Kramer.  Costas Mandylor (Mobsters and Virtuosity), who had a small part in the third film, stars as Detective Marc Hoffman who is the latest in a long line of police on the trail of the Jigsaw murderer.  Scott Patterson (The Gilmore Girls and Batman: Gotham By Gaslight) plays FBI agent Strahm who is also investigating the murders.  Betsy Russell (Cheerleader Camp and Avenging Angel) plays Jill Tuck who is John Kramer's ex-wife and was with John when he began to construct his traps.  Jill is the focus of Agent Strahm's investigation.  Lyriq Bent (Nappily Ever After and Pay the Ghost) is back as well playing SWAT Commander Rigg who has also been seen in the previous installments. 

 

 

This time it is Rigg who is playing the game with Jigsaw.  However instead of Rigg being the focus of the traps it is another party that Rigg is led to.  It is up to him to help the people he comes in contact with or let them deal with their tests on their own.  His decisions all come with their own set of consequences.  The budget for Saw IV was ten million dollars, the same as it had been for Saw III.  The film moves the story line along picking up where Saw III left off.  It also gives us more backstory for John Kramer and what led him to become the serial killer known as Jigsaw.  I know this is going to sound odd but the movie is very green.  Meaning the lighting has a lot of green and yellowish green light.  It definitely lets you know from the opening minutes that you are watching a Saw movie as the film continues with the same look as the previous three.  There is the same quick jackhammer edits of scenes that we are accustom to but there are also some odd slow fades that happens when attempting to switch scenes which do not blend together well.

 

The parts of the film I enjoyed the most this time is the back story we get from John's ex wife Jill.  She explains what happened in the past when they were a married couple and she was pregnant with their first child.  We also see what could very well be Jigsaw's first kill.  As I believe it is the earliest trap chronologically we have seen in the first four films.  Saw IV earned nearly 140 million dollars but as we know big box office doesn't necessarily mean good film.  For a film that runs a little over ninety minutes it certainly has parts that drag.  It certainly feels longer than ninety three minutes which isn't a good thing.  We are introduced to some great traps as we have come to expect from a Saw film.  There is also the usual twist ending Saw films deliver.  But here I will say the series experiences it's first stumble and for the first time I wasn't left waiting eagerly for another film in the series to tell me more of the story.  Saw IV is twisted and disturbing; as well as scary, bloody, and cringe worthy.  It's Saw.  But for me it's the worst of the series so far and I will give this two and a half metal spikes out of five.