Review of Saw IV (2007) by Jamief — 03 Nov 2007

Even being a large fan of the saw series, I had reservations going into a fourth installment, for much the same reasons everyone else has. However, I left the cinema a very happy person. Saw 4 is definitely not for everyone though.

You may not NEED to have seen the others for it to make sense, but you do to be able to appreciate what does take place. I'll leave this free of spoilers, but part of the beauty of saw 4 is it brings so many characters back and gives them resolution, resolutions that simply wouldn't mean much if you hadn't watched their horrific sagas begin from the start.

Others will also complain that this film deviates from the "saw" franchise; well, really making ANY sequels to saw 1 was deviating from the point of the movie. And if thats you're feelings, then of course you're not going to enjoy this.

However, those that come into this with an open mind, and happy to accept the saw franchise evolves with every installment and is constantly changing ( imo) in a positive way, are likely to walk away happy.

The traps are back, but more subdued compared to saw 3 ( which I believe was the right move), the twists are back in spectacular fashion, to the point where even if you figure out 1 or 2, there's going to be one or two more to catch you out, and a new killer is revealed.

...or is there? Due to the nature of the twists, saw 4 leaves the viewer with many new questions to ask, but thankfully these questions are enough to warrant a sequel in my opinion, so hopefully saw V will be the success this has already become! Overall, I give this a 9.

I take away one point for the fact many involved in the movie are pretending its a movie where you don't need to have seen the sequels - its not. I'm not saying people won't understand everything (although a second viewing is advised), but the biggest thing is the saw series for me is the character development and the way the viewers become invested in such flawed people; because we can relate.

You can't invest in many of these characters, and therefore the events if you haven't seen the rest. However, everything else was spot on, and as a whole movie, I think it may actually be the most compelling of them all.