Saw IV
Lionsgate | Release Date: October 26, 2007
6.1
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 298 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
130
Mixed:
107
Negative:
61
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
0
ToddBDec 11, 2007
Wow. People who enjoy this garbage need to realize these movies achieve nothing. They express some failed writers narcissistic bondage fetish. It needs to stop and people need to stop condoning this act of attrition on the art of film.
2 of 2 users found this helpful
1
DanyS.Dec 22, 2007
A waste of time
1 of 2 users found this helpful
3
jrebOct 30, 2007
I guess a bad saw movie had to come along eventually. This seemed like a total rush job/ cash in. I hope they can turn it around for saw V.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
GeorgeANov 1, 2007
Sick.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
davidc.Oct 30, 2007
Not one to defend the SAW movies, infact I think there all aload of frenetically cut (to hide the fact that the pacing and cinematography is terrible) load of twoddle, but where is the rule that dictates a film should stand on its own? Such Not one to defend the SAW movies, infact I think there all aload of frenetically cut (to hide the fact that the pacing and cinematography is terrible) load of twoddle, but where is the rule that dictates a film should stand on its own? Such as 'Election 2', which doesn't make any sense unless you have seen Election, so what, they are great films. Film is an extensive medium where anything should be possible, it is only large corporate film companies and dim witted audiences that would put such restrictions on movie makers.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
NickA.Oct 30, 2007
In its over-the-top, gross-out opening sequence, the newest 'Saw' film shows the corpse of Tobin Bell
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
GowthamN.Oct 28, 2007
What went wrong? Was it the rehashed ideas? Was it the not-so-surprising twist? Was it the detailed study of the saw series demanded by this movie? Or is it just a franchise stretched beyond its limits? Saw should have died with Jigsaw. What went wrong? Was it the rehashed ideas? Was it the not-so-surprising twist? Was it the detailed study of the saw series demanded by this movie? Or is it just a franchise stretched beyond its limits? Saw should have died with Jigsaw. Perhaps i am harsh.The movie did have some worthwhile scenes. Like the wife-husband torture and the grisly,highly detailed autopsy performed on dear old jiggy and the...hold on...thats it! while saw 1 2 3 had shocking powerful scenes that frightened in a unique way, saw 4 holds not your attention for too long. The "saw" factor is destroyed.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
RudolfC.Nov 30, 2007
Please, everyone involved with the Saw saga. Stop. Your films will not get better, only worse. Seeing how everything degrades to the moment of still-ness and chaos; your saga will end like that (if they haven't already).
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
JaredC.Dec 4, 2007
Okay now it's getting out of control, Saw 1 was the best and leave it at that. You could make like twenty Saw movies, but now we've got to stop and start from scratch at something new.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
JohnathenE.Dec 6, 2007
I gave it s a 2 because it managed to kill some time, but that's the only redeeming feature from this load of "stuff". Ok, we get it. Torture and what-not is scary. Can you please give us a new reason to watch it?
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
JimmyK.Oct 27, 2007
Movie sucked what more can I say?
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
k.nomiOct 28, 2007
This is entertainment?
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
TylerD.Jan 1, 2008
Remind me not to see the fifth one. Or the sixth. Or the seventh.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
JL.Jan 4, 2008
This movie is so terrible. Watch Saw I, you might be scared, watch Saw 2, you might have seen it already, watch Saw III you start to be disgusted, watch Saw IV and wish you've never watched that perverted trash showing blind violence This movie is so terrible. Watch Saw I, you might be scared, watch Saw 2, you might have seen it already, watch Saw III you start to be disgusted, watch Saw IV and wish you've never watched that perverted trash showing blind violence instead of having some ideas.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
2
TheSwamiFeb 24, 2008
Highly disappointing. At this rate the next SAW will be in negative numbers. I'd give SAW I a 10, SAW II a 7-8, SAW III was at best a 4, and now this clunker barely comes in at a 2. Much as I enjoyed the first two, I fear this series Highly disappointing. At this rate the next SAW will be in negative numbers. I'd give SAW I a 10, SAW II a 7-8, SAW III was at best a 4, and now this clunker barely comes in at a 2. Much as I enjoyed the first two, I fear this series has run it's course...worth seeing if you have seen the first 3, but don't expect to be thrilled by it.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
GregAgNov 1, 2007
Atrocious torture porn.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
DavidDec 29, 2007
disgusting, people are sick if they like to watch this kind of movies
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
JamesM.Oct 26, 2007
For me, the main appeal of the first to Saw's was that the endings were clever and unexpected. While the ending of Saw 4 was unexpected, it certainly wouldn't be considered clever. The only reason the ending was to unexpected For me, the main appeal of the first to Saw's was that the endings were clever and unexpected. While the ending of Saw 4 was unexpected, it certainly wouldn't be considered clever. The only reason the ending was to unexpected because it's totally illogical and unplausible.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
3
roxannet.Oct 28, 2007
I saw all the SAW movies and this was very disappointing. What happened?
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
sriOct 28, 2007
SAW was good, after that, each sequel got worse
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
JoelC.Nov 29, 2007
Terrible. Absolutely Terrible. Watch Saw 1, and then be done. Thats how it goes. Don't forget it.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
0
JOEFEGHALY38Jul 13, 2011
this is the worst movie i have ever seen. It's not actually a "horror" movie, and the "gore" in it isn't actually that gory, this movie is a waste of money and film. It's good for children who think that they've "grown up" and shallow peoplethis is the worst movie i have ever seen. It's not actually a "horror" movie, and the "gore" in it isn't actually that gory, this movie is a waste of money and film. It's good for children who think that they've "grown up" and shallow people that believe that " ooh,when i watch saw people think that i'm strong and fearless !! " i almost slept when i watched this movie !!… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
3
HalfwelshmanFeb 9, 2012
I watched Saw IV having only seen the first installment beforehand. Despite missing two installments, I didn't get the feeling that I'd missed much in terms of story. It's business as usual in Saw IV - we grimace at a series of inventive,I watched Saw IV having only seen the first installment beforehand. Despite missing two installments, I didn't get the feeling that I'd missed much in terms of story. It's business as usual in Saw IV - we grimace at a series of inventive, grotesque "games" designed to teach undesirables the error of their ways. Sort of like I'm a Celebrity's bush-tucker trials but with more blood, and less Ant and Dec. By this point, Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dead, but that doesn't stop him pursuing his unique brand of justice from beyond the grave. His physical absence from the film (other than as a corpse on the autopsy table) does allow the film to indulge in a series of surprisingly effective flashbacks that flesh out John Kramer's life before he became Jigsaw, and goes some way to give him understandable motivations. The rest of the film, however, trudges through its run-time without any clear focus. The "games" are still inventive, and disconcertingly mesmerising enough if you're able to detach yourself from the gruesomeness of it all. As I haven't yet seen Saw II and III, I can't really judge the series as a whole, but when watching IV, I can say for certain is that there has been a sharp drop in quality since the original. The first Saw worked on multiple levels - as a very effective horror, an entertaining crime-thriller, and as a mystery. Saw IV only works on one level - as a gore-filled sideshow. You just find yourself drifting listlessly through what little flaccid plot the film has waiting for the next torture-based set-piece. You're unable to engage with anyone - all characters are just meat for the slaughter. Thank goodness for the still brilliant Tobin Bell, as without his flashback segments, the film would have no scope at all for drama, and very little at all to offer beyond rubbery-looking bodies being brutally destroyed by nightmarish D.I.Y. death machines. If that's your idea of entertainment, fine, I'm not going to judge - film is fantasy after all, and most adults are quite capable of distinguishing between what's on screen and reality. Personally, I can't honestly say I get the appeal. Perhaps if I watched all the films in sequence I'd get more out of Saw IV, but I highly doubt it.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
MovieManiac83Apr 25, 2015
Horror films are like candy corn: familiar, bland, and sickening if consumed in large quantities. They're both ubiquitous at this time of year and there must be a large group of individuals who appreciate their dubious charms because theyHorror films are like candy corn: familiar, bland, and sickening if consumed in large quantities. They're both ubiquitous at this time of year and there must be a large group of individuals who appreciate their dubious charms because they never go away. I like a good, scary horror film - something that raises the hackles and keeps me on the edge of my seat. It's been a while since I have seen one, however. (Maybe the last one was The Descent.) I have watched all four Saw movies but didn't review installment #2 or #3. I have selected to review this one to show how far this series has fallen since its promising debut.

One of the depressing things about sequels in general and horror sequels in particular is the tendency to fall into a pattern of repetition. An idea that starts out fresh quickly becomes stale through overuse. This is evident in Saw IV, easily the worst and most pointless episode of the gore-saturated quadrology. Not only does Saw IV repeat (with a few variations) what has come before, but it does so without the involvement of the main villain, Jigaw (Tobin Bell), who died at the end of Saw III. To its credit, the movie does not bring him back from the dead, but that leaves a notable vacuum of insanity. There's a bad guy of sorts, but it's not the same.

Saw IV functions as a drawn-out, tedious epilogue to a series that began with an energetic bang three years ago with Saw, then progressively lost momentum, coherence, and intelligence with each successive annual installment. Saw IV is nothing short of a money-grab. Despite a couple of loose ends (that are tied up unsatisfactorily here), Saw III finished the story. Although Darren Lynn Bousman, the director of Saw II and III, is back for IV, screenwriter Leigh Whannell has not returned.

It's hard to disagree that there was a strong streak of sadism in even the first Saw, but the ingeniousness of the situation and the novelty of the approach trumped its gorier and nastier aspects. The balance changed for the sequel, however, where the "intelligence" became an excuse for a growing sense of mean-spiritedness. By the time the series reached Saw IV, questions of "morality" and twisted "choice" have largely been supplanted by gratuitous torture. The macabre has been escalated to a grisly level where all that seems to matter any more is figuring out new ways to eviscerate and slaughter victims. Saw IV has more in common with Hostel II than its progenitor.

Bousman's style is much the same here as it was in Saw II and III. The color is desaturated to an extremity where many of the scenes appear to be almost black-and-white. There are frequent jump cuts and occasional flash repeats of moments. It's all very showy but doesn't do much to enhance the overall experience. At least the action scenes aren't filmed using the shaky cam approach. When someone dies, it's not hard to figure out what has happened. Then again, for a film that revels in the inventiveness of its murders, an epileptic style would defeat the purpose. You need to see the gore in clear detail in order to get the full impact.

Saw IV will likely sate the appetite of long-term, hardcore fans of the franchise, but it offers nothing to anyone who does not fall into that category. The movie's dense plotting and frequent flashbacks demand familiarity with the previous installments to make any sort of sense, and even then there are some sizable gaps. Did I piece everything together? No. Do I care? Not really. There are no human beings in this movie - just blood bags waiting to be popped. It's a depressing experience to view something like Saw IV. It's not just the soullessness that's dispiriting, but the lack of invention. When a movie does little more than repeat what its predecessors accomplished with grotesque effectiveness, it's past time to tip this corpse into its grave and bury it.… Expand
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2
EpicLadySpongeApr 2, 2016
Checklist.

Make Saw IV official: CHECK!
Get money at the box office: CHECK!
Make some unoriginal scary clichés: DOUBLE CHECK!
Score still not changing: TRIPLE CHECK!
Would I want to see this movie again?: NO!
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1
MrTacoBobSep 3, 2017
Another one of the same movie! An awful story...if you read my past reviews Is say the same thing this series is like a cow. You milk it and you milk it some more until it dies out.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
Movie3Jul 15, 2018
...I got lost. The timeline is screwed up here, but there are some decent horror traps in this one!
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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