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Movies / On DVD / Saw IV
Saw IV

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Saw IV (2007)

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18 %
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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.

Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture throughout, and for language.

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:26-10-2007

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

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Saw IV

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

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

Previously, Jigsaw and the filmmakers played fair, but too much about this latest instalment seems simply arbitrary.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
11/03/07
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The law of diminishing returns is in full effect here.

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

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The need to incorporate familiar characters and icons from the earlier films, together with flashbacks that flesh out Jigsaw’s pre-'puppet master' past, simply leads to an irritating series of creative dead ends. Truly, a hack-Saw.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
10/26/07
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

We now find ourselves in the downward slope of the Saw series as Saw IV stretches credibility to the breaking point.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
10/31/09
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy
N/R

Click to read the article

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

Jigsaw is an interesting character with an interesting worldview and an interesting way of carrying out his will. It's too bad the movies themselves aren't worthy of him.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/18/08
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
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

Click to read the article

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

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

Poor Jigsaw. The architect of the most deadly traps ever committed to celluloid has endured inoperable cancer, a debilitating car crash and even the premature death of his son, but nothing as painful or degrading as 'Saw IV.'

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
04/10/08
Rossiter Drake
Rossiter Drake
San Francisco Examiner

... 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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
01/18/08
Joshua Rothkopf
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York

Outro típico exemplar da série: o final, como de hábito, é até engenhoso, mas a fórmula cada vez mais desgastada exige paciência até que cheguemos a ele.

comment Comment
01/08/08
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Whereas the first Saw and the third met the right balance, the second film and now the fourth push things a little too far and end up being less effective as a result.

Full Review Source: MovieCrypt.com | comment Comment
12/26/07
Kevin A. Ranson
Kevin A. Ranson
MovieCrypt.com

Were it not for the saving grace of Tobin Bell's mere presence, there's little doubt that Saw IV would come off about as well as a typical straight-to-video horror sequel.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
11/21/07
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Torture, you may recall, used to be an unparsable, unpardonable sin. Now it's porn.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment 2 Comments
11/17/07
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

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

Opens with the clinically graphic dissection of the deceased Jigsaw, who finally lives up to (dies down to?) his name by being separated into pieces...

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
11/09/07
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Saw IV

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