'Saw IV' is easily the best-looking 'Saw' to hit high-def yet.
MURDER SET PIECES DIRECTORS UNRATED DVD 2008 RELEASE SERIES
Despite its reputation for being "shocking" and "subversive," the 'Saw' series has become just another Big Mac of horror. It's just too bad that with such a seemingly fool-proof franchise, the filmmakers don't capitalize on the built-in audience to try something truly daring and unique. Personally, I may have grown tired of the formula by the second flick, but judging by the continued strong grosses for 'Saw IV,' America still seems to have an appetite for this particular brand of torture porn. It does what it promises - continuing the plotline and delivering the booby traps, all in the appropriately mean-spirited manner. The first 'Saw' was no masterpiece, but at least it had a story - 'Saw IV' is simply a series of twists and turns punctuated by bursts of sadism.ĭespite these criticisms, 'Saw IV' will probably work for fans of the series. The majority of their efforts have clearly been spent on big, gory setpieces, but at a loss of the human element. Now it's a series of unmemorable actors playing cardboard characters, and the filmmakers don't even appear to be trying to make us care. We're a long way from the original 'Saw,' when stars of the caliber of a Danny Glover would take part.
The photography seems rushed, the script is hackneyed, and the acting is shockingly poor. The one-a-year production cycle of the 'Saw' flicks is also starting to show some wear and tear. Ironically, the biggest problem with 'Saw IV' is also it's biggest selling point - the film’s supposedly terrifying traps are so elaborate that they don't just defy credibility, they become parodies of themselves. I liked the first 'Saw' film (the second and third less so), but the deadly puzzles, the labyrinthine plot twists, the wholly forgettable characters - it's all feels a bit too much like yesterday’s torture porn. Unfortunately, like most profit-driven film franchises, the creative possibilities of the original film have long since been exhausted, making 'Saw IV' just more of the same, only less effective. However, when a SWAT Commander (Lyriq Bent) is abducted and thrust into the game, he has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps to save an "old friend,” or face the deadly consequences.Īs the filmmakers freely admit in the supplements, 'Saw IV' only exists to capitalize on the success of the first three films. However, upon hearing of Detective Kerry's murder (he was one of the forgettable victims of the past 'Saw' flicks), two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Agent Perez (Athena Karkanis), are called in to sift through the latest grisly evidence in the case and fit together the newest pieces in Jigsaw's deadly puzzle. If you're looking for a horror film that creates suspense out of subtlety or leaves anything to the imagination, this isn’t it.Īs 'Saw IV' begins, Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead, and with their deaths, the case is apparently closed.
It's an effectively staged sequence (all the more gory in this unrated Blu-ray edition) and without any apparent narrative purpose - in other words, the epitome of the 'Saw' franchise. A skull is sawed open, a brain pulled out, and assorted grey matter splatters all over the screen. Right from its opening scene, 'Saw IV' wastes no time in reveling in the red stuff as we witness - in excruciating detail - the autopsy of the Jigsaw killer (Tobin Bell).
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