Saw IV (2007)

Director:

Darren Lynn Bousman

Writers:

Patrick Melton (screenplay) &
Marcus Dunstan (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

It's a Trap

Plot:

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Autopsy | Corpse | Stomach | Trap

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

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
Sarain Boylan	...	Brenda
Billy Otis	...	Cecil Adams
James Van Patten	...	Dr. Heffner / Coroner
David Boyce	...	Pathologist
Kevin Rushton	...	Trevor
Julian Richings	...	Vagrant
Kelly Jones	...	SWAT Pete
Ingrid Hart	...	Tracy Rigg
Niamh Wilson	...	Corbett Denlon
Janet Land	...	Morgan
Ron Lea	...	Rex
Joanne Boland	...	Crime Scene Photographer
Zoe Heath	...	Lab Technician
Bill Vibert	...	Young Cop
Eric Gores	...	Matt
Devon Bostick	...	Derek
Tony Nappo	...	Gus
Emmanuelle Vaugier	...	Addison Corday
Noam Jenkins	...	Michael Marks
Mike Butters	...	Paul Leahy
J. LaRose	...	Troy
Oren Koules	...	The Man
Alison Luther	...	Young Girl
Kim Roberts	...	Nurse Deborah
David Webster	...	Dr. Steve
Sandra Manson	...	Nurse Patti
Shauna Black	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)
Darrell Dennis	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)
Tracey Ferencz	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)
Catherine Fitch	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)
Christopher Marren	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice) (as Chris Marren)
Christopher Morris	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)
Geoffrey Pounsett	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)

Directed by
Darren Lynn Bousman

Writing credits
Patrick Melton		(screenplay) &
Marcus Dunstan		(screenplay)
Patrick Melton		(story) &
Marcus Dunstan		(story) and
Thomas Fenton		(story)

Produced by
Troy Begnaud	....	associate producer
Peter Block	....	executive producer
Mark Burg	....	producer
Jason Constantine	....	executive producer
Greg Copeland	....	co-producer
Daniel J. Heffner	....	executive producer (as Daniel Jason Heffner)
Gregg Hoffman	....	producer
Oren Koules	....	producer
Stacey Testro	....	executive producer
James Wan	....	executive producer
Leigh Whannell	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Charlie Clouser

Cinematography by
David A. Armstrong

Film Editing by
Kevin Greutert
Brett Sullivan

Casting by
Stephanie Gorin

Production Design by
David Hackl

Art Direction by
Anthony A. Ianni

Set Decoration by
Liesl Deslauriers

Costume Design by
Alex Kavanagh

Makeup Department
Patrick Baxter	....	prosthetics
Damon Bishop	....	key prosthetics assistant
François Dagenais	....	prosthetics makeup
Stephanie Ingram	....	key hair stylist
Neil Morrill	....	prosthetics
Candice Ornstein	....	key makeup artist
Colin Penman	....	assistant makeup artist
Vincent Sullivan	....	assistant hair stylist

Production Management
Matt Cahill	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Hackl	....	second unit director
Joel Hay	....	second assistant director
Nick Lopez	....	trainee assistant director
Elizabeth Scherberger	....	first assistant director
Karen Young	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Sam Agro	....	storyboard artist
Ronald Bunt	....	carpenter
Douglas Catty	....	carpenter
Steven Ciancamerla	....	set dresser
Napoleon Forbes	....	painter
Victoria Hamilton	....	key scenic artist
Brian Lumley	....	carpenter
Jason Lunn	....	leadman
Kari Measham	....	set decoration buyer
Mario Moreira	....	assistant property master
James R. Murray	....	property master
Hubert Peddle	....	carpenter
Frank Perna	....	painter
Sorin Popescu	....	assistant art director
Jamie Pounder	....	painter
Sean Scoffield	....	graphic designer
Cherie Spencer	....	set dresser
Rob Valeriote	....	carpenter
Al Vrkljan	....	weapon specialist
Ian C. Harris	....	daily construction laborer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Steve Baine	....	foley artist
Kevin Belen	....	adr recordist
Tom Bjelic	....	sound effects editor
Keith Elliott	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mark Gingras	....	supervising sound editor
Jamie Gould	....	sound re-recording assistant
Gina Gyles	....	foley assistant
Jason Hopfner	....	boom operator
Kevin Jette	....	adr mixer
Sean Lacefield	....	additional adr
Matthew McKenzie	....	adr recording engineer
Colin McLellan	....	adr recordist
Rick Penn	....	sound mixer
Jason Perreira	....	re-recording assistant
Peter Persaud	....	foley recordist
John Douglas Smith	....	supervising sound editor
Andrew Tay	....	sound re-recording mixer
Marilee Yorston	....	foley assistant
Mark Zsifkovits	....	sound re-recording mixer
Josh Machado	....	assistant sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Warren Appleby	....	special effects coordinator
Tim Barraball	....	special effects key
John MacGillivray	....	special effects
Fiona MacPherson	....	special effects shop coordinator
Daniel White	....	special effects foreman

Visual Effects by
David Alexander	....	senior modeller: Switch VFX
Kemal Ally	....	lead tracker: Switch VFX
Don Asido	....	data manager: Switch VFX
Barb Benoit	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Jon Campfens	....	visual effects supervisor
Min Hyun Cha	....	digital compositor
Tavia Charlton	....	digital intermediate coordinator
Peter Denomme	....	visual effects producer: Switch VFX
Amir Eftekhari	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Mike Habjan	....	model maker: Switch VFX
Gudrun Heinze	....	senior digital compositor: Switch VFX
Jason Kozsurek	....	digital compositor
Voytek Kufner	....	animator: Switch VFX
Yoga Kurniawan	....	playback animator
Keren Kurtz	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Jef Lonn	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Beau Parsons	....	visual effects coordinator: Switch VFX
Mag Sarnowska	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Rob Sischy	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Chris Wallace	....	digital intermediate colourist
Geoff Wigmore	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Steve Wigmore	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Greg Zajac	....	digital compositor
Nils Croné	....	digital effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Marco Bianco	....	stunt double
Marco Bianco	....	stunt rigger
Neil Davison	....	stunt double
Billy Oliver	....	stunt double
Dave Van Zeyl	....	stunt rigger

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard Berube	....	electrician
Richard Berube	....	lighting technician
Steve Cocks	....	grip
Ira Cohen	....	gaffer
Sean Dawes	....	electrician
Jamie Hodgson	....	rigging electrician
Kevin Michael LeBlanc	....	first assistant camera
Monty Montgomerie	....	key grip
Philip Charles Whitfield	....	electrician
Steve Wilkie	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Kathleen Howell	....	casting associate
Misha Rasaiah	....	casting assistant
Jane Rogers	....	extras casting
Karen Williams	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ciara Brennan	....	assistant wardrobe supervisor
Karen Eppstadt	....	key costume breakdown artist
Gerri Gillan	....	wardrobe buyer
Roslyn Hanchard	....	costume buyer
Leslie Kavanagh	....	wardrobe set supervisor
Stephanie Lees	....	assistant costume designer
Adam Smith	....	costume prop
Bonnie Sutherland	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Diane Brunjes Robb	....	additional editor (as Diane Brunjes)
Chad Glastonbury	....	first assistant editor
Tom Mayclim	....	negative cutter
Dave Muscat	....	assistant digital intermediate editor

Music Department
Paul Intson	....	music editor
Jonathan Scott Miller	....	music supervisor: soundtrack producer
Jonathan Platt	....	music supervisor
Ruwanga 'Ru' Samath	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
Eddie Bowman	....	transportation coordinator
Regina Petrik	....	daily driver

Other crew
Wendy Benge	....	production attorney
Adam Bialow	....	business affairs
Cristin L. Cornett	....	production coordinator
Tricia Edwardson	....	production assistant
Chris Farquhar	....	photo double
Kathryn Hughes	....	set production assistant
Ryan Hupponen	....	assistant production coordinator
Kaleigh Kavanagh	....	assistant: Dan Heffner
Jane Kim	....	assistant: Darren Bousman
Brad McIlroy	....	on-set caterer
Michael McNaughton	....	photo double
Ashleigh Millar	....	key craft service
Erick Salomon	....	assistant: Mark Burg & Oren Koules
Carla Spizziri	....	first assistant accountant
Bob Tarantino	....	production legal
Elizabeth Tremblay	....	script supervisor
Al Vrkljan	....	tactical consultant
Kris Wood	....	playback coordinator
Kris Wood	....	playback supervisor
Jesse Korosi	....	playback editor (uncredited)

Thanks
Laura Bousman	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Twisted Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2007-2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Asmik Ace Entertainment (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Benelux Film Distributors (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Cascade Film (2007) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Lionsgate (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Lionsgate (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Maple Pictures (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Showtime (2007) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Viva International Pictures (2008) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Deltamac Entertainment (2007) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Eagle Films (2007) (non-USA) (all media) (Middle East)
• Gativideo (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Independent Film Channel (IFC) (2008) (USA) (TV)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Maple Pictures (2008) (Canada) (DVD)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2008) (Finland) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Acme F/X (special effects)
• Switch VFX (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Artists' Addiction Records  soundtrack
• Canada Film Capital  tax incentive consulting services
• Complex Studio, The  sound post-production
• Deluxe Post-Production  post-production facilities
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Film Finances Canada  completion guarantor
• Hand Prop  props
• Kallista Marketing & PR  international publicity
• Movie Armaments Group  weapons supplied by
• Soundtrack  ADR Facility (as Soundtrack Boston)
• Urban Post Production  sound post-production
• William F. White International  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture throughout, and for language

Runtime:

93 min | 96 min (unrated director's cut)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS | DTS (Dolby 5.1)

Certification:

USA:R | UK:18 | Ireland:18 | Hong Kong:III | Australia:MA (re-rating on appeal) | Australia:R (original rating) | Denmark:16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:R21 | Taiwan:R-18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-18 (self applied) | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 | Austria:18 | Germany:18 (cut) | Italy:VM14 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | France:-16 (with warning) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | New Zealand:R18 | Brazil:18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Portugal:M/18 | Peru:18 | South Africa:16LV (DVD rating) | South Africa:18 (theatrical rating) | Japan:R-15 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Canada:18+ (TV rating) | Chile:14 | Malaysia:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Twisted Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed in 32 days.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Rigg is watching the interrogation video of Jigsaw's ex-wife he is looking at several books and magazines about Jigsaw. The book he picks up is titled "Jigsaw: Is He The Murderer The Police Say He HIS?"

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Welshy Reviews: Saw Retrospective Introduction (#2.8)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

I.V.

Do you Saw what I Saw?

Without a doubt, Saw has become an absolute phenomenon. I find it quite impressive how a small $1 million horror film garnered strong word of mouth and made it big, spawning a franchise which has become Lionsgate Films' yearly bread and butter. I've really enjoyed the Saw films and have been there since the beginning, viewing the first film on opening day in the UK. It was refreshing to see something original and to my surprise, the sequel, Saw II was just as good. However, the third instalment (still good) showed signs of clutching at straws.

SWAT Commander Rigg (Lyriq Bent) has become obsessed with finding Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), particularly since his fellow officers have died via his sadistic games. However, Jigsaw finds Rigg and has him play his own game. With two of his colleagues, Officer Matthews and Hoffman (Donnie Wahlberg, Costas Mandylor) held captive in one of Jigsaw's traps, Rigg has 90 minutes to try and find them. Meanwhile FBI Agents Strahm and Perez (Scott Patterson, Athena Karkanis) question Jigsaw's ex-wife Jill (Betsy Russell) in an effort to uncover Jigsaw's mysterious accomplice.

Saw IV is a sequel that is struggling to stay consistent with the numerous plot strands and filling up of plot holes. It almost feels like an extreme connect the dots puzzle as one tries to piece together all the characters and incidents from the previous instalments. Even when watching it, I could already imagine Internet forums swarming with hundreds of questions.

What made the first film so unique was that the victims are often people who essentially deserved to be punished, be they drug dealers or con artists frantically trying to save themselves from the macabre situation they were in. With Jigsaw as judge, jury and executioner, do we as an audience side with his objective, or do we sympathise with the wrongdoing victim during their last few seconds before they die a fantastic death? As the sequels have progressed, saving oneself appears to have been completely abandoned, for in the third instalment as well as this one, some victims simply have to wait to depend upon someone to help them. Also some supposedly innocent (?) people are dragged in (the guy with his eyes sewn shut is involved in the film's best trap, but who the hell was he?), while some injured victims are merely swept aside and we never know if they live or die.

In an effort to try and make a bigger sequel, games are no longer in one confined space, but set in different locations across the city, pushing 'suspension of disbelief' to the limit. For example, Rigg's apartment is turned upside-down within a matter of minutes, with blood on the walls, pictures hanging from the ceiling and how someone managed to get a scalping chair up there without anyone noticing is beyond me! Some may like the distancing from the previous movies, but for me this is a slight shift towards conventional slasher movies.

Acting wise, it's rather mediocre. Apart from Tobin Bell, quite a bankable name now because of the Saw franchise, a number of small stars litter the film and help keep the costs down. For me, the only other name that stands out is Donnie Wahlberg, and even he is somewhat wasted.

As expected, it's reliant on flashbacks, some of which made me feel like I was watching a soap opera rather than a horror. However director Darren Lynn Bousman does fulfil on account of gore, pushing Saw IV with 'in-your-face' violence and close ups that probably wouldn't have passed through the BBFC with an uncut 18 certificate five years ago.

If you've been following the franchise then you can't help but be roped along for the ride. I certainly was. For something that was written, shot, edited and practically gift-wrapped all inside one year, it still works. It's just a shame that what was once so original three years ago now feels stale with hardly anything new to offer. Hell, there aren't even any jumpy moments! Given the rush-job nature at dishing out sequels, maybe they'll have more fun at turning it into some kind of weekly/monthly TV series.

I really do hope that this is the last one, because really now, enough is enough. But as Jigsaw says, "the games have just begun."

Rating – five out of ten.