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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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21 - 40 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/02/07
Brian Marder
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com

Stultifying in its pseudo-sensationalistic schlock, this numbingly and nightmarish narrative has no legitimate creepy conviction beyond flexing its meaningless, morose muscles

Full Review Source: World Voice News | comment 3 Comments
11/01/07
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
World Voice News

There's more gore in store. Now here's "Saw IV."

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment 2 Comments
11/01/07
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

The puzzles in this movie and the infinite number of sequels which have already been queued behind it have been designed to tear the dead presidents from your wallet like a sobriety chip from the shaky palm of Lindsay Lohan.

Full Review Source: MovieJuice! | comment Comment
11/01/07
Mark Ramsey
Mark Ramsey
MovieJuice!

Like the movie’s mysterious Jigsaw doppelgänger, Saw IV is itself a poor substitute for the original (or even the first two sequels).

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
11/01/07
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
L.A. Weekly

The law of diminishing returns is in full effect here.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
11/01/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

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

Perfunctory and confusing and needlessly over-plotty...but somewhat better-constructed and significantly less morally outrageous than at the very least Saw III.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
10/31/07
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

Despite the clucking disapproval of the cinematic intelligentsia, the Saw films aren’t successful by accident.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment 5 Comments
10/31/07
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
FilmStew.com

The reports of torture porn's demise may have been greatly exaggerated, but this fourth entry in the mutilate-yourself-or-die series joins what may be the worst genre of the decade: the lamely ''sympathetic'' serial-killer backstory.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
10/31/07
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

Even by the not exactly high standards of the Saw movies, this one's scraping the bottom of the entrails pail.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
10/31/07
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

It's deeply unsettling; just like a horror movie should be.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment 4 Comments
10/30/07
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC

The absurdity reaches new highs in Saw IV, which asks us to swallow developments that simply aren't logistically possible, never mind realistic.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment 2 Comments
10/29/07
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

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

Just as Jigsaw tests his victims, the franchise’s own test will be whether such suspension can be maintained, or if matters lapse into a torture chamber of self-parody.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/29/07
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Those of us who quickly tired of the grisly fun and games midway through Saw II will resent the unnecessarily convoluted plotting and storylines that require a master's degree in Saw studies to make any sense.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/29/07
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An incomprehensible cacophony of screams, shock cuts, dour pseudo-philosophizing, heavy metal mutilation and low-rent TV-standard performances.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
10/29/07
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star

Saw IV is a fluid film, as neatly constructed as the deadly puzzles Jigsaw creates to snare his victims.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment 4 Comments
10/29/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

The Syriana of slasher films, so complicated and circuitous that your only hope of understanding everything is to eat lots of fish the night before and then watch each of the previous films, in order, right before you enter the theater.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
10/29/07
Peter Hartlaub
Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle

It's somewhat better put together than Saw II or III, though there isn't a scare in it.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
10/29/07
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; 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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March 05, 2008: Scott Patterson Talks Saw V
These days, Scott Patterson is known to fans of the CW's Aliens in America as the perpetually befuddled Gary Tolchuck -- but those of you who remember him as Agent Strahm in Saw... More...

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