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Movies / Upcoming / Saw IV
Saw IV

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Saw IV (2007)

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Reviews Counted:68

Fresh:12

Rotten:56

Average Rating:3.7/10

Consensus: Saw IV is more disturbing than compelling, with material already seen in the prior installments.

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

US Box Office: $63,270,259

Synopsis: The fourth SAW film takes fans into uncharted waters. Now that John/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dead, screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (writers of the Project Greenlight-produced FEAST)... The fourth SAW film takes fans into uncharted waters. Now that John/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dead, screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (writers of the Project Greenlight-produced FEAST) give us Jigsaw's "origin" story--finally showing us why he does what he does. Along they way, they still find time to work in the usual dose of elaborate Rube Goldberg-like torture devices and heaps of MPAA-defying gore in what plays like an extreme version of CSI. During his (extremely graphic) autopsy, Jigsaw's final tape (swallowed in SAW III) is found in his stomach. Promising that his work will continue despite his passing, his message sets off a series of grisly tasks for anxious SWAT team leader Rigg (Lyriq Bent), who is given 90 minutes to rescue detectives Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), who are to be dispatched via blocks of ice and high voltage wires. Trailing Rigg are FBI agents Strahm (Scott Patterson of GILMORE GIRLS) and Perez (Athena Karkanis), who get some unexpected blood on their hands along the way. A series of flashbacks details a pivotal event between Jigsaw and his girlfriend, Jill (1980s beauty Betsy Russell, PRIVATE SCHOOL), which inspired him to devote the remainder of his life to the creation of his signature puzzles. Darren Lynn Bousman, director of the previous two sequels, returns once again to ensure that the series retains its trademark desaturated look. Though viewers starting with this installment may find the brief glimpses of characters from the previous films confusing, fans should be pleased with how the films link together. They are also sure to appreciate that, like FRIDAY THE 13th carrying on sans Jason in PART IV: A NEW BEGINNING, the death of Jigsaw won't keep the franchise from evolving into SAW V and beyond. [More]

Starring: Tobin Bell, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Costas Mandylor

Starring: Tobin Bell, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Costas Mandylor, Lyriq Bent, Justin Louis, Athena Karkanis, Simon Reynolds

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Screenwriter: Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan
Story: Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan, Thomas Fenton
Producer: Gregg Hoffman, Mark Burg, Oren Koules
Composer: Charlie Clouser
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Reviews for Saw IV

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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This is hard core Pain And Suffering territory... The film wastes no time getting down to nasty business, ripping, slicing, gouging, piercing, smashing and tearing every part of the human body

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/27/07
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
11/03/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
11/17/07
Screen International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
10/18/08
Film Threat

Even fans of good, old-fashioned, onscreen torture will find themselves rolling their eyes at the twists and turns in this impossibly convoluted story.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment 2 Comments
10/26/07
Adam Graham
Adam Graham
Detroit News

The series has essentially become a shell game, entertaining for a while if you can stomach the gore, and then the credits roll and you're pretty sure you've been cheated somehow.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
10/29/07
Alex Markerson
Alex Markerson
E! Online

I do wish that these movies were well made, because I actually think the premises are quite clever, but unless a veteran who is more confident in his abilities takes over, we are left with what could have been...

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
07/22/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

Might be the best since the first, but still a task to watch. A painful, meaningless task.

Full Review Source: Reno News and Review | comment 2 Comments
11/04/07
Bob Grimm
Bob Grimm
Reno News and Review

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/02/07
Brian Marder
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com

By far the best installment of this cringingly moronic odyssey of pain. There's something to be said about leaving a theater with only a mild cultural headache instead of a knee-buckling case of cinematic depression.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment 8 Comments
10/26/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com

Saw IV almost makes you believe there are hundreds of rooms out there at this very minute with puppets, tricycles, and audio tapes just waiting for the next game.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment 3 Comments
10/26/07
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
UGO

"Saw IV" should be tossed into the business end of 1988's "Woodchipper Massacre."

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
10/26/07
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Like many villains before him, John turns out to have been wronged rather randomly, an act of terrible violence that he absorbs into his worldview.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment 1 Comment
11/14/07
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Common Sense Media

The games, the traps, are still the thing and as long as Jigsaw's flunkies continue to build 'em, we will come.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
11/01/07
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Easily the worst entry in the series, and the first one that undeniably feels like a sloppily thrown-together rush job.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment 5 Comments
10/26/07
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

This death trap may be rusty, but as long as it keeps generating fresh blood, it's unlikely to slam shut anytime soon.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
10/29/07
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

It is impossible to take a movie seriously when the movie obviously doesn't care if you do or not.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
10/26/07
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

... any serious consideration of the killer's fascination with violence is superseded by the director's (and the returning viewers') own sadistic pleasures.

Full Review Source: DVD Review | comment Comment
02/27/08
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Saw IV

October 20, 2009: See Saw with Alex, Day 4: Saw IV
Suspecting they would have large significance in later sequels, I yesterday refrained from commenting on Saw III's plethora of useless shots. The camera's fixation on Agent... More...

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February 19, 2008: Weinsteins' Hellraiser Remake Has Its Writers
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