SAW WEEK ON IHDB
"SAW IV" released on October 26th, 2007
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A wax-coated microcassette is found in John Kramer's (Tobin Bell) stomach during his autopsy. It reveals to Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), the detective called in to hear it, that the games, including his own, will continue. Elsewhere, two men - one with his eyes sewn shut, the other with his mouth sewn shut - awaken in a mausoleum, chained at the neck to a winch. The blinded man panics and activates the winch while attacking the muted man, who kills him and removes a key from his collar to free himself.
Four days after Allison Kerry's (Dina Meyer) death, a SWAT team led by Hoffman and Lieutenant Daniel Rigg (Lyriq Bent) finds her body, and Hoffman warns Rigg for breaking through an unsecured door to reach her. The scene is also investigated by Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Lindsey Perez (Athena Karkanis ), Kerry's FBI contacts, who received a message and a key from her. Noting Kramer's and Amanda Young's physical limitations, Strahm states they are looking for an unidentified accomplice; he soon becomes suspicious of Rigg, who has developed an obsession with saving people in the six months since the disappearance of Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg). That night, Rigg is attacked in his home; he awakens to learn that Matthews is alive and has ninety minutes to save himself, with Hoffman's life also at risk. Meanwhile, he must play his own game to face and overcome his obsession. Rigg finds a pimp, Brenda (Sarain Boylan), bound to a chair in his living room, which he accidentally turns on the trap, which slowly tears apart her scalp. Rigg frees her, but kills Brenda in self-defense when she attacks Rigg with a knife. Rigg is then led to a motel and instructed to abduct the owner, Ivan Landsness (Marty Adams), who Rigg puts in a trap after finding out that Landsness is a serial rapist. The trap blinds his eye with a blade, but it only blinds one eye, and dismembers him. Rigg is led to a school, where he finds a married couple, Rex (Marty Adams), who is already dead, and Morgan (Janet Land), who already has her spikes pulled out of her body. Morgan pulls out her last spike and Rigg gives her a key to save herself. Rigg turns on a fire alarm and goes to the location of his final test.
Meanwhile, the agents alternate between investigating the scenes and questioning Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), Kramer's ex-wife. Jill reveals Kramer's work with civil engineering and property development, and that she miscarried her pregnant son Gideon after seven months when Cecil Adams (Billy Otis), a drug addict, slammed a door into her stomach while robbing her health clinic. At the motel, the agents learn that the room was rented out to a lawyer named Art Blank (Justin Louis), who vanished two weeks prior, and survivor of the mausoleum trap. Blank is revealed to be the man overseeing the game when he stops Matthews's attempts at jumping and gives him a gun. At the school, the agents learn that all three victims, as well as Jill, were Blank's clients. They find a puppet and a tape recorder in another room, which plays a cryptic message for Perez before its face explodes, sending shrapnel into her face. After Perez is hospitalized, Strahm furiously questions Jill, now convinced of Blank's involvement, and how Kramer ended his work with the wake of Blank's depression, and that Cecil became the first victim of Kramer's "games". Rigg connects her story and a prior clue to the Gideon Meatpacking Plant, the location of his final test. As time runs out, will Riggs finally embrace Jigsaw's message and turn his back on his obsessions, or will he be yet another victim that failed Jigsaw's test?
Four days after Allison Kerry's (Dina Meyer) death, a SWAT team led by Hoffman and Lieutenant Daniel Rigg (Lyriq Bent) finds her body, and Hoffman warns Rigg for breaking through an unsecured door to reach her. The scene is also investigated by Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Lindsey Perez (Athena Karkanis ), Kerry's FBI contacts, who received a message and a key from her. Noting Kramer's and Amanda Young's physical limitations, Strahm states they are looking for an unidentified accomplice; he soon becomes suspicious of Rigg, who has developed an obsession with saving people in the six months since the disappearance of Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg). That night, Rigg is attacked in his home; he awakens to learn that Matthews is alive and has ninety minutes to save himself, with Hoffman's life also at risk. Meanwhile, he must play his own game to face and overcome his obsession. Rigg finds a pimp, Brenda (Sarain Boylan), bound to a chair in his living room, which he accidentally turns on the trap, which slowly tears apart her scalp. Rigg frees her, but kills Brenda in self-defense when she attacks Rigg with a knife. Rigg is then led to a motel and instructed to abduct the owner, Ivan Landsness (Marty Adams), who Rigg puts in a trap after finding out that Landsness is a serial rapist. The trap blinds his eye with a blade, but it only blinds one eye, and dismembers him. Rigg is led to a school, where he finds a married couple, Rex (Marty Adams), who is already dead, and Morgan (Janet Land), who already has her spikes pulled out of her body. Morgan pulls out her last spike and Rigg gives her a key to save herself. Rigg turns on a fire alarm and goes to the location of his final test.
Meanwhile, the agents alternate between investigating the scenes and questioning Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), Kramer's ex-wife. Jill reveals Kramer's work with civil engineering and property development, and that she miscarried her pregnant son Gideon after seven months when Cecil Adams (Billy Otis), a drug addict, slammed a door into her stomach while robbing her health clinic. At the motel, the agents learn that the room was rented out to a lawyer named Art Blank (Justin Louis), who vanished two weeks prior, and survivor of the mausoleum trap. Blank is revealed to be the man overseeing the game when he stops Matthews's attempts at jumping and gives him a gun. At the school, the agents learn that all three victims, as well as Jill, were Blank's clients. They find a puppet and a tape recorder in another room, which plays a cryptic message for Perez before its face explodes, sending shrapnel into her face. After Perez is hospitalized, Strahm furiously questions Jill, now convinced of Blank's involvement, and how Kramer ended his work with the wake of Blank's depression, and that Cecil became the first victim of Kramer's "games". Rigg connects her story and a prior clue to the Gideon Meatpacking Plant, the location of his final test. As time runs out, will Riggs finally embrace Jigsaw's message and turn his back on his obsessions, or will he be yet another victim that failed Jigsaw's test?
[last lines]
Jigsaw: You feel you now have control, don't you? You think you will walk away untested. I promise that my work will continue. That I have ensured. By hearing this tape, some will assume that this is over, but I am still among you. You think it's over just because I am dead. It's not over. The games have just begun.
Top: While Jill (Besty Russell) heals after the devastating loss of their unborn child, John Kramer (Tobin Bell) slowly plots his revenge, with his first victim (above) Cecil Adams (Barry Otis) the man responsible for losing his son!
With Saw IV being given the "green-light" before Saw III was even released, screenwriters Thomas Fenton, Marcus Dunstan, and Patrick Melton, faced a fairly difficult challenge; how to continue the Saw series with Jigsaw now dead? In collaboration with series creators and executive producers James Wan and Leigh Whannell, a unique solution was created to make the next Saw installment not so much a sequel, but rather an "extension" of Saw III, with the events of Saw IV occurring concurrently with the last film. Focusing this time on SWAT Commander Daniel Rigg - a character that had appeared in both Saw II and III - his role would be significantly expanded for IV, with the ultimate reveal at the end that Detective Hoffman has taken the late John Kramer's place as Jigsaw. Flashback sequences written into the script would also explore more of Kramer's backstory and how he has been able to manipulate people into continuing his work after his death. At the time Saw IV was announced, series director Darren Lynn Bousman was developing a film adaptation of his 2002 stage production Repo! The Genetic Opera, and stated was not interested in returning to the franchise. Ultimately though, Bousman decided to take the directional duties again when a plot twist in the script took him completely by surprise, something he thought impossible after being involved in the Saw series for three years!
Numerous major (and minor characters) would return for Saw IV, including stars Tobin Bell as John Kramer (aka Jigsaw) and Costas Mandylor as Detective Hoffman. Other returning cast included; Dina Meyer (Detective Allison Kerry), Angus Macfadyen (Jeff Denlon), Noam Jenkins 9Michael Marks), Tony Nappo (Gus Colyard), J. Larose (Troy), Oren Koules (Donnie Greco), Emmanuelle Vaugier (Addison Corday), Betsy Russell (Jill Tuck), and Lyriq Bent as Saw IV's protagonist SWAT Commander Daniel Rigg. Newcomers to the Saw universe were Justin Louis and Billy Otis as lawyer Art Blank and drug dealer Cecil Adams respectively, joined by Marty Adams, Janet Land, Ron Lea, Sarain Boylan as Jigsaw's victims in Rigg's tests; rapist Ivan Landsness, abusive parents Morgan and Rex, and pimp Brenda. Scott Patterson and Athena Karkanis also debut as FBI Agents Strahm and Perez.
Numerous major (and minor characters) would return for Saw IV, including stars Tobin Bell as John Kramer (aka Jigsaw) and Costas Mandylor as Detective Hoffman. Other returning cast included; Dina Meyer (Detective Allison Kerry), Angus Macfadyen (Jeff Denlon), Noam Jenkins 9Michael Marks), Tony Nappo (Gus Colyard), J. Larose (Troy), Oren Koules (Donnie Greco), Emmanuelle Vaugier (Addison Corday), Betsy Russell (Jill Tuck), and Lyriq Bent as Saw IV's protagonist SWAT Commander Daniel Rigg. Newcomers to the Saw universe were Justin Louis and Billy Otis as lawyer Art Blank and drug dealer Cecil Adams respectively, joined by Marty Adams, Janet Land, Ron Lea, Sarain Boylan as Jigsaw's victims in Rigg's tests; rapist Ivan Landsness, abusive parents Morgan and Rex, and pimp Brenda. Scott Patterson and Athena Karkanis also debut as FBI Agents Strahm and Perez.
Jigsaw: Hello Officer Rigg. Welcome to your rebirth. For years you have stood by and witnessed as your colleges have fallen. You have remained untouched, while Eric Matthews has disappeared. But with your survival, became your obsession. Obsession to stop those around you for making the wrong choices. Thus, preventing you from making the right ones. You wanted to save everyone. TONIGHT, I give you the oppurtunity to face your obsession. Look closely. Eric Matthews is still alive. The block of ice he stands upon, is melting. He has BUT 90 minutes to save himself. Detective Hoffma's fate is linked to Eric's survival. Heed my warning, Officer Rigg. Their lives hang in the balance of your obsession. Will you learn how to let go and truly save them? The choice is yours.
Top: Obsessed police officer Daniel Rigg (Lyriq Bent) will soon be forced to face Jigsaw's tests;
Above: The first test involves pimp Brenda (Sarain Boylan) in The Hair Trap!
Though producers wanted Donnie Wahlberg to reprise his role as Detective Eric Matthews, Wahlberg's schedule made him unavailable and his character was not included in the original script. Instead, Rigg's wife, Tracey (played by Ingrid Hart) was the target of the game and she would be suspended over the ice block trap at the finale, thus providing the motivation for Rigg's to search the city following Jigsaw's instructions. As shooting progressed, however, Wahlberg's schedule freed up and was now able to return, with his character now being written in Tracey's place. But as a result, Tracey's shortened screen-time and then disappearance in Saw IV is never really fully resolved.
Production for Saw IV again returned to Toronto, with principal photography beginning on 16th April, 2007. The seamless transitions between separate scenes in the movie were not created using (digital) visual effects, but were done practically. For these transitions, the sets were build in such a way that two separate scenes could be filmed in one shot without interruption. For example, Betsy Russell wore the same outfit during the hospital scene after which Jill loses Gideon, as she is in the interrogation scene. The camera slowly pans to the mirror to transition into the interrogation scene with Agent Peter Strahm. The sets were right next door to each other and Betsy literally ran to the interrogation set for the transition to work properly. After 5-weeks of production, filming on Saw IV wrapped on 30 May, 2007, and completed post production in as little as 2-months to make the delivery date for a October release.
Production for Saw IV again returned to Toronto, with principal photography beginning on 16th April, 2007. The seamless transitions between separate scenes in the movie were not created using (digital) visual effects, but were done practically. For these transitions, the sets were build in such a way that two separate scenes could be filmed in one shot without interruption. For example, Betsy Russell wore the same outfit during the hospital scene after which Jill loses Gideon, as she is in the interrogation scene. The camera slowly pans to the mirror to transition into the interrogation scene with Agent Peter Strahm. The sets were right next door to each other and Betsy literally ran to the interrogation set for the transition to work properly. After 5-weeks of production, filming on Saw IV wrapped on 30 May, 2007, and completed post production in as little as 2-months to make the delivery date for a October release.
TRIVIA: The photos seen in the room where Ivan is tested are of Darren Lynn Bousman's girlfriend, his assistant, and of his lawyer.
Top: While Rigg's faces his trails, FBI Agents Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Perez (Athena Karkanis) investigate the Jigsaw crime scenes;
Above: Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is revealed to be alive, with his and Hoffman's (Costas Mandylor) life now depending on if Rigg's has learned anything from Jigsaw's teachings!
Critical reception to Saw IV was mostly negative on its theatrical release. Scott Schueller from the Los Angeles Times called it “a film as edgy as a rubber knife” and said that “if the terrible craft of Bousman's film doesn’t turn your stomach, the borderline pornographic violence will. It’s disconcerting to imagine anyone enjoying the vile filth splashing the screen.” Peter Hartlaub from The San Francisco Chronicle called it “the Syriana of slasher films, so complicated and circuitous that your only hope of understanding everything is to eat lots of fish the night before and then watch each of the previous films, in order, right before you enter the theater, while James Berardinelli wrote that “Saw IV functions as a drawn-out, tedious epilogue to a series that began with an energetic bang three years ago with Saw, then progressively lost momentum, coherence, and intelligence with each successive annual installment. Saw IV is nothing short of a money-grab. Despite a couple of loose ends (that are tied up unsatisfactorily here), Saw III finished the story."
Above: Directing a Saw movie for the last time, series director Darren Lynn Bousman on set
A less negative review came from Scott Weinberg from Fearnet, who said that while it "is almost certainly the weakest of the series where stuff like plot, logic, and chills are concerned... there's still more than enough here to keep the fans intrigued, entertained, and squirming in their seats" and added that the "Saw-makers are to be commended for actually putting forth this sort of effort. I grew up in an era that offered little more than quick-cash, stand-alone horror sequels like Halloween 5 and Friday the 13th Part 7 — so the fact that these producers actually give a damn about narrative continuity (right down to the smallest detail) is fairly impressive."
For IHdb's review of the remaining films in the Saw franchise - as well as video extras, trailers, and much, much more - be sure to Follow Us on our Facebook Page during our exclusive Saw Week on IHdb!
For IHdb's review of the remaining films in the Saw franchise - as well as video extras, trailers, and much, much more - be sure to Follow Us on our Facebook Page during our exclusive Saw Week on IHdb!
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE: 17%
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