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 & 7 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:

If it's Halloween, it must be Saw

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Genres:

Crime | 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

Saw IV (2007) was given the green light before the third film even opened. This was stated in Fangoria Magazine #257: "The synopsis, bare as it is, takes the third installment to a new budget level for Lionsgate's wildly successful franchise. Saw (2004) was made for approximately $1 million, Saw II (2005) cost $4 million and the figure for Saw III (2006), according to producer Mark Burg, has risen to $10 million. Saw III was green-lighted the morning after Saw II opened to massive box-office returns, the producer confirms, 'and when they ordered Saw III, they also ordered and green-lit Saw IV.'"

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Goofs

When Officer Daniel Rigg arrives at the shop, the clock shows 1:16. But, at a second look, it's 3:46.

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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

There is an "Unrated Director's Cut" available (known as the "Extreme Edition" in other countries), which restores footage cut for the "R" rating.

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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

I wished for another SAW movie. But now... I wish I SAW another movie.

Saw IV gives us more gore, less brains. Wait, poor choice of words. I should say we are *shown* more brains but not required to use our own.

Jigsaw, having been killed in an earlier movie, comes back but in the stupidest, most anticlimactic way possible. Almost as if the writers were sitting around 5 minutes til deadline, having elaborated on all the gory stuff, then suddenly realizing 'whoa wait, jigsaw is dead. Who's going to be behind all this crap? Aha..!' (I won't spoil it)

Aside from that, even the killings lack the poetic irony that made all the other movies so fun to watch. The whole gimmick of the Saw franchise is that the killings are each part of some twisted morality lesson, sorta like Mother Goose on psychotic drugs. But here, there didn't seem to be much effort put into the karma content; instead they focused on wacky gadgets that mutilate people in interesting ways. Cool stuff, but you're left wondering 'What did that have to do with anything?'

Example: Some drug addict is put into a contraption where the only way to free himself is to slice his face up with knives. Get it? I didn't either. But as the killer hastily explains: "Because you've acted so UGLY in life, now you'll have to live your life being UGLY!" Get it? I didn't either.

Ultimately the movie wasn't all bad because it held my attention hoping for some grand epiphany at the end. There is indeed a "surprise twist" but it seemed to be thrown in just for the sake of a surprise twist.

I'm pretty bummed because I bought the whole Saw set and was enjoying them all up until now. But SAW 4 threw a real WRENCH in the works.

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