By Kevin McCarthy

I love horror movies.  Always will. But I realize that originality is hard to come by in the genre.  As such, I applauded the first SAW movie when it hit theaters for being different, while recognizing then that the plot of the film was basically just a half-assed set-up for the sadistic, visceral (and admittedly cool) moments that populate the franchise. Anyways, who would go see a SAW movie looking for a serious crime drama?  It seemed that Lionsgate understood that when they chose to make a very different film for the sequel, trapping a bunch of strangers in a house and offing them one by one. And though I preferred the first one, I respected the choice to make the “tests” the center-piece of SAW in a more genuine way.  But at some point, this pulpy “torture porn” series started taking itself way too seriously. SAW III broke all its own rules while simultaneously beating us over the head with Jigsaw’s mantra: cherish your life. And, like all the films, the fourth installment picks up right on the heels of the previous film.

SAW IV is abysmal. That’s the best way I can put it without cussing. It’s the worst yet. And I know that it won the weekend and plenty of people will disagree with me, but the movie really sucks. Allow me to recount the first five minutes of the SAW IV. Trust me, there are no spoilers because the film is thematically identical to the previous three movies.  Oh right – except now the villains are dead. So the film opens with the autopsy of Jigsaw AKA John (played here by a nude Tobin Bell). Yes, if you ever asked yourself, “Hm, I wonder what that raspy guy from SAW’s penis looks like,” well then you’re in for a treat.

I’ll never say that too much gore is a bad thing, but as the coroner delves through Jigsaw’s innards, the scene is blandly gratuitous.  Eventually he gets to the killer’s stomach and makes a startling discovery.  By flashback, we learn that before Jigsaw died he covered one of his signature tapes in wax and swallowed it. That’s the kind of storytelling that defines the entire film.  See, the SAW films are purposefully riddled with plot holes because they don’t know how many sequels the future holds, effectively gimping every story in the interest of producing a future hobbled story. And even as this film ties off some loose ends that I didn’t know existed, it’s obvious that the writers are completely unaware of the future of the franchise. I wish that was their only problem.


Jigsaw’s main pupil in the fourth movie is Officer Rigg, played by Lyriq Bent. Rigg worked with the two previous homicide detectives who fell victim to the serial killer and his loss has driven him to the edge. This is apparently license for Rigg to act like no rational adult, let alone a police officer. He lets an absurdly omniscient Jigsaw plod him through scenario to scenario, not stopping to do anything but exactly what he’s told and occasionally stare at length at the bloody messages that decorate nearly every single wall in the film. He makes no effort to contact his coworkers or the FBI agents who have joined the investigation.

The other insane thing the writers do in SAW IV is try to humanize Jigsaw by introducing an ex-wife and a plot thread about a violent miscarriage. Do we really need to see this old creep in turtlenecks sweet-talking a blonde who’s far too attractive for him? Not once did I feel compelled to sympathize with a guy who has dispatched scores of individuals in the most sadistic ways imaginable, while also managing to photograph many others as they commit heinous act and buying tons of grimy real estate.  Honestly, I want to find out who this guy’s real estate agent is.  I’m guessing a crack dealer. For their sake, I hope writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dustan were hitting the pipe regularly when they penned this crap.  They rely so heavily on a patchwork of rushed flashbacks and horrid interrogation room scenes that any conclusion was almost entirely lost on me because I had no idea who anyone was.


The movie’s just bad. Jigsaw’s tests remain the highlight but overall they’re not the best we’ve seen. The most visceral reaction probably came to the autopsy scene, but it was so mishandled by director Darren Lynn Bousman that I had to shake my head. The guy seems convinced that enough dripping messages, pig faces, grainy photos and jump scares will compensate for his inability to manipulate mood.  He’s sadly mistaken. There have been so many great horror franchises over the years.  It just sucks that our generation gets SAW.