Saw 4

It's a rare occurrence, but get ready to see this more then once. Saw 4 plays more like a detective story lifted from a page of a who-dun-it novel. This time, we delve deeper into John's past, his ex-wife, and the real secrets about what made him Jigsaw. During his autopsy, it's reveled his stomach contains an audio tape. The tape warns that his work will continue.

It seems that die-hard fans don't wish to know about what's in the story, since I had to re-edit my comment so that none of the story would be revealed (except that which you see in the ads anyway). In my previous comment, I said nothing about the ending, yet just giving away some of the plot is enough of a no-no. I don't blame them, since this 4th outing has too many elements that make it easier to predict what's going to happen. Regardless, you'd have to be some kind of rare genius to figure out what will happen in the end.

The series has flowed like a smooth, well-oiled Rube Goldberg machine. It's the most complex of the bunch, in some ways, outdoing the previous ones. I repeat: it begs to be watched again. Just when you thought that the previous Saw Traps had done everything they can to a human body, this one has some clever ones of it's own (not as gruesome as Saw 3, though). The autopsy scene is set to the extreme; the MPAA stating that most viewers have now gotten used to seeing programs like CSI and other medical procedures, so they let this slide easier.

Deceptive, dark, very edgy and well written, the Saw series can easily end here. It's almost necessary to have watched the previous Saws, but can stand on it's own as one of the best of the chapters. Of course, it leaves it open for yet another in the series, which will be in production soon. I don't know when I will tire of the series, but honestly, I can't wait to see what other delicious traps they cook up next.

Will it ever end? I don't know, but after this one, I'm eager for more still! I know what you're thinking, it's been overdone. I admit that it's your opinion and you can judge the series after three movies, but you don't close the book on the 3rd movie when the story is "just beginning".

Should you bother seeing this movie if you haven't seen the other Saw movies? No. What if you like gore and suspense... sure. But this movie is strictly for the Saw fans who have seen the first three and followed every step and hint, otherwise it's a big waste of time. The only thing that helps those people is that every Saw movie shows flashbacks. Honestly though, it's not as useful as seeing them to begin with.

Now to the movie...

This was the first Saw movie that was not written by Leigh Whannel. Is this a problem? I don't really think so. Saw IV was just as riveting and plot-detailed as the first three. I watched the movie tonight with 2 friends in a closed theatre, and we were all talking during the entire movie asking each other questions and trying to figure out the plot. I feel bad for the massive amounts of people cramming the theatre on opening night; there's going to be so much talking, it will be unbearable to follow. "Who's that guy?" "Do you think he really died?" "I bet he's playing a game as well". Not so much fun.

Let me be completely honest about this movie, and that will be all for me. There were many twists and turns, all what we hoped for. The details are superb; everything clicked and was managed well. Most of all, the gore, violence and games were top notch. I was stunned at how amazing the tests were... seriously. It was a joy to watch.

Completely entertaining. If you liked the first Saws, then you will not want to miss this one. 7 out of 10. In my opinion, it was better than Saw III, but slightly below Saw II... and of course, not near the original. But still, Saw IV was brilliant.

Jigsaw is dead, but his game is far from over. A detective is on the hunt for clues around the city, in which he must act in the same manner as Jigsaw with the victims he finds. He must do this in order to find the location of two of his colleagues and save them.

It's easy to see how the SAW franchise, as it is now called, is turning into the same mess that struck Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare On Elm Street. The story is over, but the cash flow still has some juice in it. In this installment Jigsaw is dead, but his cruel game continues. How you might ask? Well, if I were to explain that, it would ruin the film, but it's hard to review this film without leaking something.

The original SAW redefined the horror genre, so much so that there are now countless imitators. It packed the goods in gore and a shocking twist at the end. The sequel, which really was not needed, tried to capitalize on the same system. It failed. Yet still made boatloads of money. Hence the 3rd, and this film and of course the next one. SAW IV becomes a parody of itself, unintentionally mind you. It tries to re-capture the essence of the original from plot points to the twist, which is a staple in the series now. Why SAW IV doesn't work as well as it wants to, is because it's far too confusing and doesn't satisfy it's audience, instead it leaves more holes, that will be filled in by it's sequel, much like how this one filled in some from the 3rd.

SAW IV answers the questions, such as who the blonde woman was in Jigsaw's dreams and why he covered the tape in wax. Yet leaves out other things, specifically what the letter said to Amanda. It could have easily been explained, but they wanted to leave as much story as possible to continue this franchise, which should have been over at 1 and could have been wrapped up completely with 3. This leaves the audience confused, as well as angry. When the final credits rolled up I sat back in my chair and asked myself if they really answered anything as to why it ended the way it did…it doesn't. It throws in that twist that is expected, but doesn't bother to explain it. I guess we have to wait another year to find out why things happened the way they did.

SAW IV is gory, probably the worst out of all of them, but not quite as nerve flinching as the others. It doesn't have any scenes that make you squirm in your seat like when Dr. Gordon saws off his foot, or when Amanda falls into the pit full of needles, or even when Detective Matthews smashes hiss foot with the toilet cover. Those small things are the ones that get the audience; this film simply shows the bloody entrails of people.

I will give credit to where it's due. The film stays consistent with the others and I applause the actors and writers for continuing certain characters through out the entire series. It gives fans goose bumps when they see a familiar face. Also, the twist, which fails in comparison to the first two but it better then the third, is adequate. In fact there is more then one twist. We also get some more background history on Jigsaw, who he was before he became a psychopath. A little hint as to why as well.

We can't connect to any of these characters. Characters from the previous films that show up here, have very little screen time and are killed off. Why have them survive through all this stuff just to kill them off. It cheapens the films in which we root for them to live; we know their fate in the end. There may have been characters that you cared for in previous installments that were trapped in Jigsaw's game, this time around, unless you knew them from before, we know their fate, we know we don't care.

The ending will confuse the hell out of a lot of people; I had to take a minute to figure it out myself. Maybe because it was really well written, or horrible executed, I haven't decided yet. I found myself sitting there with a confused look across my face, wanting more, not simply because I wanted more, but because the film needed more. The film has a lot of stuff going on, it's not to know who' who, who's dead, what's going on where and so on.If you've missed one film in the series, you will most likely be lost in this film. It asks you, as do the others, to pay attention to the previous films. I really enjoy that; it asks the audience to think a little bit, which is usually missing from horror films these days.

It's a tad better then the second and third, but falls apart near the end. This time around we can't seem to care for the guy whose trapped in Jigsaw's mind game. We've come to expect the unexpected, we've comes to be grossed out. Have the makers of this series run their course? Well, after the next film, to tie everything up, I hope the answer is yes. The first is still the best and I cannot imagine the next one being any better.

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.

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