SAW IV

Starring:
Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Athena Karkanis, Betsy Russell, Lyriq Bent and Justin Louis

Director:
Darren Lynn Bousman

Running Time:
95 mins

Out to buy on DVD/Blu-Ray 03/03/08

"The games continue"

Jigsaw is dead but as his body lies on the autopsy table, FBI agents Strahm (Patterson) and Perez (Karkanis) interview his ex-wife Jill (Russell) to try and locate this workshop, the place where he created the traps for his games. As the FBI follow their own leads, SWAT Officer Rigg (Bent), takes matters into his own hands and sets out to find missing officers Hoffman (Mandylor) and the long missing Eric Matthews, who he believes is still alive. But even with Jigsaw dead, the games are about to begin.

Since 2004 October has seen the release of a 'Saw' movie but now that the lead character is dead can the franchise continue?

When 'Saw III' ended we witnessed the death of the franchises lead character John AKA Jigsaw, the serial killer who never actually killed his victims but made them chose their own fate but with Jigsaw dead, how can the story continue? The death of the lead character in a horror movie however doesn't mean that he doesn't have an influence on what is about to take place.

The 'Saw' franchise is all about two things, the gore and the twist. With 'Saw III' raising the bar with some of the most gruesome games we have seen in the series, 'Saw IV' was going to find it really hard to push the envelope again and unfortunately its doesn't succeed. While the traps and games are as fascinating as ever, the gore level is not as gruesome or graphic as the third outing but fans will revel what has become the franchises new biggest selling point, the twisting story.

Killing off Jigsaw in the third movie could have meant the death of the franchise but the serial killer still has a major influence on the proceedings. Even with his body lying on the autopsy table, we discover through flashbacks as the FBI interview his ex-wife Jill, the reason why he became Jigsaw and wanted to dispatch his own kind of justice to those not worthy of the precious gift of life. The main revelation is the presence of another Jigsaw disciple besides Amanda and how the mystery person is continuing the master's work.

As with all 'Saw' movies, the budget is very low but they deliver so much gore for the dollar. This means that most of the money is spent on the production of the games and not on the cast. With only Tobin Bell been the biggest star, the rest of the cast are made up of unknowns or actors and actresses you have seen before in minor roles. This means that anyone can be a victim or be Jigsaw's accomplice, adding the twist and turns of the plot.

The 'Saw' movies are the most consistently imaginative horror movies coming out of Hollywood at the moment. The fourth movie in the franchise continues the story of Jigsaw, even though the character is dead, the games are still relentlessly painful to watch and the twists and turns are a plenty. The 'Saw' franchise continues and it is one that still has a good level of terror.

Not Available

Saw

Saw II

Saw III


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2007