Movie Review: ‘Saw IV’ (2007)

Mike February 25th, 2008 Movies, Reviews

Ever since the first Saw movie totally caught me off-guard by how much I liked it, I’ve been a unwilling fan of the series and therefore have watched every one of the three sequels. The original Saw had such a shocking twist at the end that I never saw coming.

Since then, the sequels have tried very hard to repeat the magic of that first ending and I think it’s gotten worse and worse every time.

But make no mistake. The awesome brutality and creative torture that the films are known for is still going strong and never fails to slightly churn my stomach.

One of the first scenes in Saw IV is a prime example. Two guys are chained around the neck to a cranking device that you might find on a the front of a jeep. One has his eyes sewn shut, the other his mouth. So one can’t see what is going on, the other can’t say what’s going on.

As they both start yanking back and forth on the chain, it pulls a plug out and suddenly the crank starts turning. It pulls them towards it and obviously will kill them unless they stop it.

It’s a pretty brutal opening scene and one right up the alley of the Saw series.

Now, the overall plot of these films revolve around Jigsaw and his apprentice(s). He died in Saw III, and this new one opens with his body undergoing an autopsy.

I’ll admit something here. The fact that they try to come up with shocking twists at the end of the films has made them a bit confusing for me. They suddenly seem so elaborate that the magic of the simple twist in the first movie has been lost. This latest one left me needing to read online to see if I missed a vital clue that would explain it all to me.

Of course, then I remembered that both Saw III and IV were made together, ala Back to the Future II and III, so it made a bit more sense.

The torture and pain factor is still high and if you were to rate the movies on that aspect, it’d probably get a five out of five. But otherwise, the stories are starting to make little sense as they go for bigger and bigger twists and turns.

On a side note, I love watching the Saw movies and of course will continue to do so…there are just so sadistic and sickly delightful, I can’t help it.

On a scale of 1-5 popcorns: