Saw IV

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Starring: Tobin Bell, Lyriq Bent, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Athena Karkanis, Justin Louis
Running Time: 95 min.
Rating: R

**1/2 (out of ****)

Two men awake in a grungy bathroom chained to pipes on opposite sides of the room with no memory of how they got there. Between them are a dead body, a gun and a cassette recorder. That kernel of an idea ended up providing the launching pad for three sequels and one of the most commercially successful horror franchises of all-time. From the opening minutes of the first Saw film in 2004 you knew you were seeing something special and how those men got there and what was on that tape recorder ended up being a lot smarter than many gave it credit for at the time. With every Halloween since came the promise of a new Saw film and so began a tradition.

It joins films such as Friday The 13th, Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street as one of the few successful horror franchises, but the truth is you could put the first three Saw films up against any of those films' first three and it would handily win. There's been very little drop-off in quality from the first to the third. thought the original was an ingenious suspense thriller. Its sequel, while overcrowded with too many characters, was still a worthy successor and featured a great performance by Tobin Bell as Jigsaw, the cancer-stricken killer who sets up deadly traps and games to force others to appreciate their lives.

The original's co-writer and director, James Wan had left the series, but his replacement Darren Lynn Bousman filmed a sequel that was better than anyone had a right to expect. Bousman was back for the third film, easily the most graphic and polarizing of the series. I thought it was an improvement over its predecessor, getting back to basics with a morality play that recalled the original. How it escaped an NC-17 rating has to be one of horror cinema's greatest mysteries. Each year the Saw films aren't screened for critics, which is very wise knowing their predisposed bias against the genre. Many of them have affixed their "torture porn" label on it, a few without ever viewing the films. Each one tends to end with a shocking twist that whets fans' appetites for a follow-up.

Those many fans, myself included, were left scratching their heads at the end of Saw III wondering how there could possibly be another film with the diabolical Jigsaw seemingly left for dead. It's a stretch even by horror movie standards. So, has Saw's ship finally sailed? Can this franchise survive without him? After viewing Saw IV I'm sorry to report that it doesn't look like it can. Ridiculously overplotted and containing an ending so disappointing it's almost offensive, this is by far the least successful film in the series and a sign it's time to call it quits. They missed their stop. I can't imagine anyone looking forward to a fifth installment after the slap in the face we get here.

Jigsaw a.k.a. John Kramer (Tobin Bell) is dead. That much is made clear in the film's opening minutes as we bear witness to his gruesome autopsy. His work, however, is far from done. In his stomach is a tape he ingested just before his death and on it are instructions for another game. This one involves Detective Rigg (Lyriq Bent), who's had to stand by hopelessly and witness the demise of Detectives Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and Kerry (Dina Meyer) at the hands of Jigsaw. He's a man who's obsessed with doing the right thing and now that obsession will either become his best friend or worst enemy as Jigsaw leaves various tests for him around the city which will lead him to the location of two captured colleagues.

Hot on Rigg's trail are F.B.I agents Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Perez (Athena Karkenis) who have discovered the body of Detective Kerry and have good reason to believe her death in the third film was carried out by someone other than Jigsaw or his deceased apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith). Clues lead them to John Kramer's ex-wife Jill (Betsy Russell) who provides shocking details of their past together as the clock ticks on Rigg's deadly game.

If you thought Saw II had a lot of characters that film looks like an intimate stage play compared to what we witness here. I don't think I've ever seen a horror film (or any film for that matter) feature as many cops as this does. It's as if they're shooting a remake of NYPD Blue. There were so many that at times it actually becomes difficult to tell them all apart. Not helping any was that they decided to cast three actors who look physically identical to one another in pivotal roles. If one wasn't a lawyer and didn't serve a separate function in the story I would have been totally lost. Yes, even John Kramer's attorney appears in this film.

It seemed like they wanted to jam as much as they could into this one out of fear that Jigsaw's absence would lead to a lack of tension and excitement. There are more ingenious traps than ever before and flashbacks that flash back to more flashbacks. There are clues, letters and tape recorders all over the place. A character in this film can't seem to enter a room without being confronted with Jigsaw's puppet, a tape recorder or a note. The amount of time and preparation (not to mention psychic ability) it would take to set up the game Detective Rigg endures here would probably cause Jigsaw to want to take his own life instead. I can't say I'm surprised he needed help with this one.

The plot is so complicated and involves so many characters it would take me a year to explain it. It's just too much. We even have the reappearance of a major character from a previous film, although their presence is completely superfluous and adds nothing to the story. All the characters in this film are just pawns in Jigsaw's game which would be fine if one of them didn't take center stage in the inexcusable ending. They also decide to tie up a loose end from the end of the third film, but in the most unsatisfactory way possible

This isn't to say Saw IV is a terrible film, but compared to the rest it's a huge step down. I don't have a single complaint about how Bausman directs it as he stays true to the effective visual aesthetic of the first three films. I won't even rate the gore level anymore since fans of the series are completely desensitized to it by now. It's exciting and holds your interest with the deadly traps and these are maybe the most depraved group of subjects we've had in any Saw film.

Bent gives a commanding lead performance but the real star of the movie, as usual, is Tobin Bell. John Kramer may be dead but he gets more screen time than ever as we find out through various flashbacks about his relationship with his ex-wife and a shocking event that helps explain how the troubled toymaker turned into Jigsaw. It's never bad to have the spotlight shine on a villain with this much complexity and it was by far the most fascinating element in this film. It got me thinking that maybe it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to have a prequel instead. With Jigsaw dead it becomes nearly impossible to care as much about these new traps and games. This character is the driving force behind the series.

The film's convoluted plot does actually tie together in the end (probably even better on a second viewing) and I'd be willing to forgive what a mess it is… if not for the ending. Without spoiling too much I'll say there's a "big reveal" involving someone we couldn't care less about. The twist isn't shocking, just lazy. All I'm going to say is that if someone's going to carry on Jigsaw's legacy we all know the only person it should be (Hint: He's a doctor with one foot). Had that been the reveal audiences would be gasping for air and the series could have continued with renewed vigor. I would have even accepted a twist that revealed Jigsaw to still be alive. Of course it would make no sense, but at least it wouldn't carry the massive disappointment this ending did and we'd look forward to a fifth film.

I also never expected to say this, but I really missed Shawnee Smith as Amanda. Her absence is really felt. At the end of the second film I complained at the prospect of having her take over the reins, but after this ending I'd do anything to have her back. We've never seemed further from that grungy bathroom with Dr. Gordon and Adam than we do now and watching this was like listening to a mediocre band try to cover one of your favorite songs. It just isn't the same.

For those who'd want to label this film "torture porn" I couldn't argue because the writing just isn't there this time. There are new screenwriters on board (Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan) and it really, really shows. I hold them completely responsible. If anything this proves just how valuable to the character of Jigsaw and Tobin Bell's performance as him have been to the series. He may have been in the film in flashbacks but his physical presence was sorely missed. We need to know he's the one behind the curtain pulling the strings. With Saw IV we may have officially "jumped the shark." Just as Jigsaw has drawn his last breath, so too apparently, has this franchise.