Saw IV (2007)

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to ... See full summary »

Director:

Darren Lynn Bousman

Writers:

Patrick Melton (screenplay), Marcus Dunstan (screenplay),

Stars:

Tobin Bell, Scott Patterson, Costas Mandylor

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tobin Bell	...	Jigsaw / John Kramer
Costas Mandylor	...	Lt. Mark Hoffman
Scott Patterson	...	Agent Peter Strahm
Betsy Russell	...	Jill Tuck
Lyriq Bent	...	Lt. Daniel Rigg
Athena Karkanis	...	Agent Lindsey Perez
Louis Ferreira	...	Art Blank (as Justin Louis)
Simon Reynolds	...	Lamanna
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Eric Matthews
Angus Macfadyen	...	Jeff Denlon
Shawnee Smith	...	Amanda Young (archive footage)
Bahar Soomekh	...	Lynn Denlon
Dina Meyer	...	Detective Allison Kerry
Mike Realba	...	Detective Fisk
Marty Adams	...	Ivan Landsness

Storyline

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grisly remains and piecing together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | fbi | murder | coroner | police | 

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Taglines:

You think it is over...but the games have just begun

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

18A

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [France] Official Fan Club

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Décadence IV

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,482,889 (UK) (26 October 2007)

Gross:

$63,270,259 (USA) (7 December 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twisted Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 96 min (unrated director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS DTS (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The seamless transitions between separate scenes in the movie were not created using (digital) visual effects, but were done practically. For these transitions, the sets were build in such a way that two separate scenes could be filmed in one shot without interruption.

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Goofs

During one of the interrogation scenes a boom mic is visible in the reflection of the 2-way mirror.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pathologist: Subject's name is John Kramer. 52 year old male; Caucasian. He's seen better days.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Education: Christmas (2013)

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Soundtracks

I.V.
Performed by X Japan
Written by Yoshiki Hayashi (as Yoshiki)
Published by Extasy Music and 901 Highland Music

User Reviews

Nothing that we haven't already seen

So I went to see Saw IV yesterday night. What do we actually gain from this movie? Basically it shows nothing new, it's like a reprise of Saw III. And the question is, do we prefer Saw III or Saw? Saw started with only two guys, chained in a bathroom, wondering where they are and what's this all actually about, and those questions are typical for existentialism. The point of this movie reminded me a lot of "No Exit", written by Jean-Paul Sartre.

Both Saw II and Saw III distinguish from the first Saw but Saw IV doesn't bring anything new. It sticks to its prequel. We get to see the same scenes (flashbacks), the same places and again we face those Jigsaw traps that never seem to end. I think that we all know by now what Jigsaw really wants and how we are supposed to play. But the detectives and agents seem to lack intelligence and don't listen to his rules. That's how we face again the catastrophe of this spectacle. We also get to see a bit of John's past and his ex-wife, Jill. I thought she was there to reveal something new about John but she never does.

Actually, Saw IV offers quite a lot, many traps, many people who got into them, many stories and also a lot of blood and violence. The truth is, I don't want to see those things anymore. I have already seen all of that in Saw III. It's like the creators of the movie are falling with every sequel deeper and deeper into meaninglessness. They have forgotten a long time ago about the meaning of this whole thing and rather decided to focus on blood and violence. Too bad the team Leigh Whannell and James Wan, the founders of Saw, does not any longer exist. Nothing can save Saw anymore.

But the director Darren Lynn Bousman keeps on trying, which is actually a big plus. He really can create the atmosphere that fits best to the movie.

I have also nothing against the new actors that appear in Saw IV, p.e. Costas Mandylor and Scott Patterson, who played really professionally for those two roles that they got.

I guess I still hope that they will save Saw, because I'm a big fan, although I already assume that the situation is hopeless. They have sunk too deep.

Good luck with the next sequel. You will definitely need it.

7/10