Review of Saw IV (2007) by Zingaro P — 23 Oct 2012

Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Lyriq Bent.

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman.

Just when audiences thought they'd heard the last of the demented killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), here comes Saw IV, continuing his trap-filled legacy -- this time, targeting the last remaining officer who has touched the case, SWAT Commander Rigg (Lyriq Bent). As FBI agents Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Perez (Athena Karkanis) begin to dig through the remains of Jigsaw's crime-scene hideout, a new puzzle presents itself, with Rigg as the pawn in another deadly game filled with moral quandaries and torture-filled traps. At stake is the life of his superior officer Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) as well as his friend and fellow cop Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg), whose abduction by a now-dead Jigsaw triggers an obsession in Rigg that will haunt him til the grisly end. Director Darren Lynn Bousman returns to the series after helming both Saw II and III, with a script penned by Feast writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan.

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Agent Perez, arrive at the depleted police precinct and help veteran Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) sift through Jigsaw's latest grizzly game of victims and piece together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), is suddenly abducted and thrust into the madman's harrowing game, the officer has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of interconnected traps...or face the deadly consequences. Rigg's citywide pursuit leaves a wake of dead bodies, and Detective Hoffman and the FBI uncover long hidden clues that lead them back to Jigsaw's ex-wife Jill (Betsy Russell). The genesis of Jigsaw's evil is unveiled, exposing the puppet master's true intentions and the sinister plan for his past, present and future victims.