The type of movie to make me go ‘you know, I was too hard on Saw 3’. That one at least had the trio of Amanda, Lynn, and John. This one trades it in for condescending disgust for altruism, for recovery clinics, for the idea that anyone can be helped. There’s no humanity to most of the victims, removing the most engaging aspect of the traps, and instead it is replaced for a Punisher like power fantasy of righteous punishment, once again the majority of the victims having no way to save themselves, to show who they are and what they do when faced with the impossible.

It’s gnarlier, at least, with some gore that makes me wince, but not always earned, like the miscarriage. It’s a wrinkle I don’t think John needed and risks being overboard melodrama, turning John into a sympathetic figure. What hells to stop that is Tobin Bell’s performance, who conveys that something was always underneath the affable surface. A sort of disdain, a geniality towards his fellow man that will only last until forced with his first tragedy. But the film doesn’t offer much of a reason for the franchise to exist outside of his performance, which is an obvious problem going forward. Trying to indoctrinate someone into being an apprentice is a good concept, but Riggs is flat as hell and never in danger of converting.

The twist is decent, but there’s also so little to Hoffman here. We were told nothing about him and little of his personality is shown here, so it doesn’t hit like it could. We have no idea of what his motivation could be. It’s all left for the sequels, leaving this movie’s ending a bit inert. It’s all a bit limp, really. It sticks with 3’s grimmer tone and again loses sight of the fun. None of the sequels so far have found the fun of 2, and they can’t be as underdog and fresh as 1 by nature. I hope the later ones do.

Not my first time to watch this but it really didn't make any more sense this time than the first time (or couple of times?) I've watched it. The traps were still "fun" (in a gruesome way) but not as elaborate and weren't given the time/duration to play out in full like they did in the predecessor, _Saw III_ (i.e. you kind of got the gist of what was happening/going to happen but you didn't really SEE it happen, like the Rack Trap, the Pig Trap, the Venus Fly Trap, etc in the previous movies). Instead, you got a sort of teaser so you knew what was going to be the demise of the victim but you didn't really see anything happening. (Perfect example: I have no idea what happened to "Ivan" in the hotel, apart from the split-second that was shown. Same for the final scene in the "ice house".) To me, this installment was more confusing than enjoyable. [spoiler]I still don't understand how Strahm walked in on the crime scene at the conclusion of _Saw III_ while Rigg was arriving at the "ice house" scene here. And how did "Jeff" (Angus MacFadyen) from _Saw III_ sneak onto the set of _Saw IV_ and see his wife get killed when that was (I thought?) all behind us.[/spoiler] I still give it a "7" for the various traps but as I'm watching the entire franchise (again) in a build-up to Halloween this year, _Saw IV_ has - so far - been the most confusing and therefore the biggest disappointment so far.

6.5/10
Fair enough
the games are just beginning.
Saw IV was a semi
interesting installment
and was better paced
than 1 and 3 but
the 2nd installment is
still the best one up till
this one.
this installment sets a decent
origin story up, that has a
pretty good sneaky end,
but getting there
(how would Jigsaw
put it, oh yeah
"you have to have patience").
Even though I'm watching
the unrated final cut versions
this franchise is so damn tame
and mild compared to today's
standards, up till now these
movies just aren't delivering
on the gruesome, Nasty
blood and guts and gore,
Filth and mess I love so
much from my Horrors.
back in the day these movies
were frickin awesome
and delivered on a promise
of torture porn for a modern
generation, but unlike
the phenomenal Outstanding
Scream franchise,
that has stood the test
of time, that still Knocks
out Banger after Banger
from it's franchise
(Scream 7 post production)
The Saw franchise is not ageing well at all and
up till this point they have
been more swing and miss
than hit.
How many more times
can I say, I want 8+ people
all cleverly interconnected
put through the
Meat grinder and left
looking like hamburger meat.
never mind all the over
Complicated BS that comes
with each installment,
Just "Billy" the Pupet
and Jigsaws monologue
at the end, done.
GAME OVER.......

And my 31 days of Horror
continues

>*"Today, we bring the ugliness inside of you, out into the open. You have to match your face with the ugliness of your soul."*

Opens up with one of the best most realistic autopsy scenes i've seen. Awesome gore. As soon as the new narrative comes in though, you realize it's crap. The multiple storylines and timelines didn't work in this one and it doesn't know how to properly jump from one to the other, it's all jumbled up (like jigsaw puzzles that don't fit together) ha ha. The characters are also a miss and it doesn't help that our previous antagonists are dead, feels like the franchise died with them. The traps are lame compared to *Saw II* and *Saw III*, not as memorable and there's too many I feel like I could survive (I probably wouldn't). Anticlimactic third act and ending.

---

**Traps Ranked** (worst way to die order):

[spoiler]1. *Bedroom Trap* - that didn't look very pleasant. Eyes being run through with small knives, limbs being chopped off and a few stabbings
2. *Spike Trap* - no way out of that one and it's gotta hurt
3. *Spine Cutters* - never saw it happen but this kills you instantly for sure
4. *Ice Block Trap* - being hung basically. Most basic kill in a world such as *Saw*
5. *Scalping Seat* - never had long hair but that's gotta hurt. Doesn't kill you though
6. *Knife Chair* - nothing you can't heal from but i'll pass
7. *Mausoleum* - a twisted game but i'll take my chances (I rather have my mouth sewn shut)[/spoiler]