Theatrical Review of Saw IV

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If it´s Halloween, it must be "Saw." Alright, so I stole that line from the advertising for one of the earlier movies in the horror series, but it still fits. The weekend before Halloween, without fail, Lionsgate unveils the newest entry in the franchise. It doesn´t get screened for critics. The ones that do plunk down their own money to watch the carnage hate it all the while the public eats it up. Rinse. Repeat. The same thing has happened this year with "SAW IV," the newest installment. And with the news both "Saw V" and "Saw VI" are going into production, I´ll go out on a limb the same pattern is going to hold for the next two years.

"Saw IV" opens with an autopsy. Jigsaw´s autopsy, since the character died at the end of the previous entry. In his stomach is an audio tape covered in wax (to help in swallowing, of course). While listening to the recording, Agent Straham relives his encounter with the master genius, including the revelation Eric Matthews (from previous films) is being held by…someone. When a SWAT officer obsessed with the case investigates on his own, it becomes clear the games are not over. There is a snitch inside the police department, an ex-wife who can shed more light on John/Jigsaw and a revelation that will bring a smile to the face of any fan.

Up until the last fifteen minutes, I wasn´t finding much to like about " Saw IV." It seemed as through the events of the last film had been thrown by the wayside in favor of rebooting the franchise, so to speak. New characters, new storylines and a decidedly less grotesque set of tests. It´s almost as if this entry is meant to serve as the prologue to a new trilogy. After all, to find a connection between the new characters and the originals, you have to use flowcharts and stick notes by this point.

Because we don´t know any of these people--except Jigsaw in flashbacks--the action feels lethargic, almost as if the script is marking time until the big continuity reveal can be thrust upon the audience. Straham and Detective Hoffman continually confused me as to who was who, which I attributed to the fact the actors (Scott Patterson and Costas Mandylor) looking alike. The "new" characters, SWAT officer Rigg, for instance, are nearly one dimensional plot devices designed to move the story along with no real personality. Fine in a run of the mill horror movie, but this is "Saw." For whatever reason, we except just a bit more.

(It doesn´t help that Rigg feels like an invention of "Saw IV," yet was present in the last two sequels as Matthews´ partner. Under that backdrop, he at least has motivation.)

One of the missteps the movie makes is making Jigsaw a sympathetic character, giving him a backstory which explains the lessons he tries to teach. It´s almost as if the writers had the idea of making "Saw IV" a prequel, noticed how poorly the new "Halloween" movie performed and vanquished the thought of a using the prequel moniker. In any event, this is a prequel, at least in part.

One of the great joys in the series thus far has been to watch minor characters come to the forefront. It speaks to the tight plotting and continuity of the franchise that the internal story holds together so well. Remember that ending montage in "Saw III" which more or less connected all the dots for the audience? That´s the kind of thing I´m talking about. At one point in the film, a reference is made to a missing doctor. Could that be Lynn, the woman who had her head blown off in the last film? Could be. Remember the note which Amanda read, causing her to break down? It´s not from John, in case you were wondering.

Even the final twist-not much of a twist, just the last piece of the continuity puzzle-has been meticulously plotted. It´s a scene which crystallizes how the last two films (and by extension all of them) fit together. Remarkably, "Saw III" takes place at the same time as the flashback portion of "Saw IV," an idea I had never entertained as I wondered where Jeff disappeared to.

Lost in my wonder over the script is the gore. The first film was exciting, the second an expansion on the creativity, the third throwing blood around for the heck of it…and the fourth an afterthought. There´s not a lot of creativity or sly humor in any of them. Instead, they´re more perfunctory, as if someone reminded the writers they were writing a horror movie, not a sprawling drama. Yes, there are gallons of blood and knives, screaming, fighting, explosions, impalements and all the other things we expect in a "Saw" film. I suspect the writers know what the audience is expecting and that the audience is becoming desensitized to graphic violence and mixed up the formula for that reason. Maybe I´m giving them a bit too much credit and this is just a bad outing.

As we´ve also come to expect, "Saw IV" is a slick production. One set in particular--the electrocution room, for lack of a better term--stands out. It´s an industrial-looking room, bathed in green light from the ceiling and two blue instruments standing out amongst them. Lights streams in through the wall fan, around the blades, providing an ominous shadow on the right hand side. I don´t recall any shot which caught my attention quite like this one.

"Saw IV" is critic proof. I could have spent the last 900-odd words saying it´s an abomination, sacrilegious, despicable filmmaking (basically what the major critics are saying) and it would still rule the box office on its opening weekend. But I´m not going to say any of those things. If anything, "Saw IV" shows a maturing the of the franchise. The movie understands an audience can´t live on blood for its entire life and needs to morph into something different. More power to it. This film rates a 7 out of 10.

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