Betsy Russell in SAW IV (2007).
© Lionsgate Films
Mania Grade: B-
Maniac Grade: A-
Reviewed Format: Theatrical Release
Rated: R
Stars: Tobin Bell, Lyriq Bent, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Costas Mandylor, Athena Karkanis, Justin Louis
Writers: Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan, story by Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Distributor: Lionsgate
Maniac Grade: A-
Reviewed Format: Theatrical Release
Rated: R
Stars: Tobin Bell, Lyriq Bent, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Costas Mandylor, Athena Karkanis, Justin Louis
Writers: Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan, story by Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Distributor: Lionsgate
SAW IV
By: Abbie BernsteinDate: Saturday, October 27, 2007
As sequels go, Saw III was fairly clever, tying together what had seemed to be loose plot ends from the original Saw and Saw II. It seemed to wrap everything up with a bloody bow, leaving the audience to wonder what could be left to cover in a fourth Saw. The filmmakers don’t have an entirely good answer for that question. They want to give legitimacy to further installments in the franchise, while maintaining the franchise’s inventive gore and narrative trickiness.
It must be said that director Darren Lynn Bousman and writers Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan, working from a story crafted by the scenarists and Thomas Benton, do a fine job with the former, starting with the autopsy of the Saw series’ primary character Jigsaw (Tobin Bell). This leaves no doubt that Jigsaw is no longer among the living, yet he’s managed to conceal an audiotape on his person. Meanwhile, SWAT commander Rigg (Lyriq Bent), understandably distressed at the losses in his department, searches for missing colleagues. Due to Jigsaw’s method of leaving a trail for Rigg to follow, he’s soon a suspect, with police detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) and two F.B.I. agents (Scott Patterson, Athena Karkanis) on his trail, when they’re not interrogating Jigsaw’s ex-wife (Betsy Russell).
Jigsaw’s back story makes for some entertaining drama, principally because Bell visibly delights in getting to show a hitherto unseen side to the character. The rest of the cast is good, with Bent persuasively distraught, torn and furious, sometimes all at once.
Part of the problem with Saw IV is that the new film replicates narrative tricks from its predecessors – they’re not surprising here so much as they’re distracting. The storytelling style is also very diffuse, so that we start to lose track of who’s where, and instead of being intriguing, it’s just baffling. However, the torturous contraptions are up to snuff, so to speak, the franchise’s visual ethos of creepy grunge is maintained and the whole notion of trying to get people to appreciate life by depriving them of freedom, limbs, skin, etc. is as debatable as ever.
Bottom line: if you like the Saw films, Saw IV isn’t the best of the bunch, but it’s recognizable as a member of the tribe. If you don’t like Saw films, this has nothing that will change your mind.
