Saw IV (2007)

Despite Jigsaw's death, and in order to save the lives of two of his colleagues, Lieutenant Rigg is forced to take part in a new game, which promises to test him to the limit.

Director:

Darren Lynn Bousman

Writers:

Patrick Melton (screenplay), Marcus Dunstan (screenplay)

Stars:

Tobin Bell, Scott Patterson, Louis Ferreira

2 wins & 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:

serial rapist | ex wife | tied to a chair | bound and gagged | brutality | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The autopsy scene was deliberately made gruesome to distance the film from similar scenes that occur in TV shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000).

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Goofs

(at around 34 mins) When Officer Daniel Rigg enters the hotel room with the box on the bed, there is a photo of his wife on top of it. On the back of the photo, the words "she needed you" are clearly displayed in red ink. However, as he opens the box, you can see the that the back of the photo now reads "she needs you" instead from the letters "eds" at the edge of his hand.

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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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Alternate Versions

The German theatrical version, although rated "Not under 18", was cut by 55 seconds (it is based on the US R-rated version). Since there are different rating standards for theatrical and home video releases this rating was denied for the DVD release. The cut theatrical version was therefore released on DVD with a SPIO/JK approval. Additionally an even more cut version (ca. 8 minutes) with a "Not under 18" rating was released as well for sell-through. As with Saw III the US unrated version was released as well but only in Austria, therefore avoiding probable legal problems with German judiciary (resulting in intended high imports to Germany).

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Connections

Followed by Saw VI (2009)

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Soundtracks

I.V.
Written by Yoshiki
Performed by Yoshiki (as X Japan)

User Reviews

Decent Film - Hardcore "Saw" Fans Will Be Pleased.

When I first sat down to watch "Saw IV", I was not expecting much as it seemed it would be very difficult to make a good sequel with Jigsaw dead. I am not a huge fan of the "Saw" movies, but I was very impressed with Saw IV considering it lacked the presence of Jigsaw.

The film opens up with an autopsy of Jigsaw/John, where an audio cassette is discovered in his stomach, and that sets out the whole plot for the movie. Throughout the film we learn a little more about Jigsaw's history, and why he did what he did. Of course Saw IV also includes some creative, painful and very gory traps which lead to a few slow and painful deaths, which will make even the strongest moviegoers cringe.

Saw IV is nothing like it's prequel, Saw III. It doesn't have a lot of random and somewhat pointless violence like Saw III, it makes you think and had a good twist which Saw III also lacked. If you go to watch Saw IV expecting an average, overly violent, torture porn horror film, I guarantee you will hate this movie. Much like the first "Saw" film, you will be pondering over the final twist for hours.

Overall I thought Saw IV was a decent film, it was entertaining and had a pretty solid script which keeps the audience interested, and the usual bloody "Saw" special effects. However, I thought that it did lack in suspense towards the very end and was a little too far-fetched in some scenes.

6/10 - Entertaining, hardcore "Saw" fans should be pleased.

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Saw IV

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$31,756,764, 28 October 2007

Gross USA:

$63,300,095

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$139,352,633

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twisted Pictures, Ontario Production Services Tax Credit (OPSTC), Canadian Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit (PSTC)

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