SAW IV

(2007) ***1/2

Jigsaw and Amanda are dead. Saw IV wastes no time reminding us that this generation’s most famous cinematic serial killer has departed this world. During the opening credits we’re shown Jigsaw’s graphic, vomit-inducing autopsy. This is no Friday the 13th installment where Jason is brought back to life for the 10th time. It’s difficult to come back from the dead once your head is sawed open and your brain is plucked out of your head and tossed onto a scale to be weighed. So how is the franchise able to go on, you ask? During his disgusting autopsy, Jigsaw’s stomach is sliced open revealing among other stomach contents a mini-cassette tape. When Agent Strahm plays this unusual find he learns that Jigsaw’s sadistic games continue. As Agent Strahm and his partner Agent Perez attempt to piece together the events of SAW III, SWAT commander Rigg is abducted and placed in another “game”. He learns via video of Jigsaw’s creepy puppet that he has 90 minutes to solve Jigsaw’s latest puzzle before two cops, including Donnie Wahlberg and another detective from SAW III fall victim to more traps.


In this “trap” Donnie Wahlberg is standing on a block of ice and the detective sitting next to him is wired to a high voltage generator. Once the ice melts, Donnie will hang and the collected water from the melted ice will be released down a ramp into the high voltage machinery. Also, if someone opens the door to this room prematurely two giant blocks of ice will swing together from the ceiling squashing Wahlberg’s head like an ATST being taken on by Ewoks with lumber.



Once aspect of SAW IV that I really enjoyed was the flashbacks involving Jigsaw’s life prior to becoming a psychopath. Tobin Bell is a good actor and you will find yourself sympathizing with some of the disappointing things that happened to him that led to his road to ruin. However, like Anakin’s ultimate turn to the dark side, the motivation for Jigsaw's turn to evil seems a bit of a reach and comes off extreme given the nice guy we’re introduced to via flashbacks. This is a minor complaint, however.



I know that I’m in the minority, but I really dig these SAW movies. If you’re able to look beyond the extreme graphic nature of the violence, you’ll find a very clever, highly engrossing film series that will keep you glued to the screen. You want to see Jigsaw’s victims get out of the traps but you’re secretly hoping they’ll fail. As has been the case in previous installments, SAW IV wraps up with a series of quick cuts summing up all the clues we probably missed during the course of the film (think The Sixth Sense). The “twist”, however, is very confusing and it is highly recommended that SAW III and SAW IV be watched back-to-back in order to fully comprehend what’s going on. Like previous installments SAW IV leaves the door (literally) wide open for SAW V, which will be reviewed here next year!