Opening Day: 8 November 2007

Synopsis:

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead.

Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grizzly remains and piecing together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences.

Short Movie Review:

Was it a good idea to continue the Saw franchise after the third installment as the title character is dead and it had nicely wrapped up the intelligent gory filled trilogy? What Saw 4 had revealed was that this series had barely scratched the surface of the Jigsaw’s legacy and there are so much shocking revelation, interconnection and Jigsaw’s ideology to unravel.

Long Movie Review:

At the end of Saw 3, it really sounded like a bad idea when Lionsgate announced there will be Saw 4 when the title character literally had his head sawed off. Somehow, it will not be a Saw movie if Jigsaw / John is not in it and any cheesy attempt to resurrect this character would be just an cheap attempt in milking the cash cow dry.

But exceeding expectation, Saw 4 revealed that they had a few trump cards of their own to see to it that this franchise has enough materials to probably last till the seventh installment while staying true to essence of Jigsaw.

Although it had a yearly production dateline, it was amazing to discover how much intricate details and seeds were strategically planted in the series all along. These “blink and you’ll missed” moments in the first three Saw movies are like the aces in the film makers’ sleeves that are slowing being pulled out to reveal their winning hand in this franchise.

Remember the tape that Jigsaw pour liquid on during his last moments alive in Saw 3? Or the lady that appeared in Jigsaw’s dream? There are plenty of such minor events that went on before, which are being expanded in Saw 4 to explain more on the Saw series mythos. Even characters that played the deadly game in Saw 2 had a cameo here to help viewers understand why they were selected, giving Saw 4, the interconnectivity that branches both to the past movies and presenting a new possibilities for this series to branch forward to.

The brilliant connectivity aside, Saw 4 also continues exploring the ideology behind Jigsaw’s seemly cruel and gruesome acts of torture. While there was a review that mention this movie is spoiling the mystical aura of Jigsaw by revealing too much of his methods and philosophy, I felt that the film makers gave just enough to keep the fans hungry for more insight on Jigsaw’s principles and most importantly, it stayed true to the Jigsaw’s characteristic and rather twisted views on good and evil. Instead of destroying the character, it actually builds the character up with more intriguing venues to explore (which I am sure will be carried in future episodes).

While Jigsaw’s game seems to be unnecessary horrifying inhumane and his actions deplorable to most, this movie attempts to sway those “torture porn fanatic” viewers to see the reasons behind his actions. It’s going to be a hard sell but it’s rewarding to those who buy his idea. In a twisted sort of way, his terrifying acts could be seen as vigilante’s acts against apathy and wickedness and not some mindless crazy killer who is out for gore, sex and blood.

Last but not least, another plus point that Saw had over other horror franchise is that the dead stays dead. It might sound like a small deal but there are just countless of horror franchise that lazily brought their title character back from it’s apparent doom just in order to milk more money out of it. Those careless manners of handing of the character would effectively destroy any vulnerability that the character might have which could used to build creditability.

There are no cheesy attempts at supernatural resurrection or any resurrection at all. It’s all in the darkest corner of the human’s mind could achieve and this mastermind definitely played his game well to leave a lasting impression.

Movie Rating:

(Sawing forth to a new and exciting ventures for the Saw franchise)

Review by Richard Lim Jr