The Box Office Mojo reports that Lionsgate's Saw IV (review) took in an estimated $32 million in it's opening weekend making it still the king of horror franchises this decade. That's only a measly million less than last year showing Jigsaw is still as strong as ever and so is horror (yeah baby!) Click the title above for all things SAW IV or read on to see what SpookyDan had to say about the movie.
SAW IV
Jigsaw’s sophisticated turn of events
By Spookydan
4 out of 5 skulls
By now we all know that each Halloween season brings us horror buffs a new entry in the Saw franchise. And as expected Saw 4 delivers the gore and the tricks, turns and traps that we fans want! This is not a movie for the masses; this film is made for US horror fans that want more sophisticated films, without skimping on the gore factor. In today’s PC world of PG-13 horror films, and direct to DVD offerings, we all scream to get a movie like Saw 4. A smart, yet complicated horror romp, made to really bring out the adults for a good time. Unlike most horror films these days, I am excited to see this one again!
As usual I need to state a couple of facts before I write more… I am friends with many of the players involved with this film, and have enjoyed all the entries thus far. Ok now that that is out of the way… You need to get your asses to the theater and see Saw 4 in its glorious bloody greatness this weekend! Director Darren Bousman has done it again, this time creating a new level of depth to the films that the other films had not quite hit. We get a ton of Jigsaw back story and a ton of gore. The first 5 minutes of Saw 4 are a horror fans wets dream and it delivers some of the most spectacularly gruesome scenes on any R rated film in history. I have no idea how this film got away with so much red!
At the heart of the story is another puzzle created by our beloved hero Jigsaw, taunting and torturing Detective Rigg played by Lyric Bent. Bent, is put through the motions of figuring out a first class whodunit and how to survive? Cutting back and fourth between another cop who is trying to figure out what is going on and has a number of traps set in place for him as well. Twisting and turning the series on end, Bouseman really captivates as he weaves this complex web of storylines to one grand finale that even trumps Saw 3! As promised, no spoilers, but Bousman himself had promised that the last ten minutes of this film will leave everyone’s jaws on the floor. The best part about it, is that its not a fake or trick twist, it’s a carefully planned (admittedly confusing) spin that I have NEVER seen in a film before! Just the depth of its complexity had my head going in circles well after the closing credits.
What really separates this film from its predecessors is the new writing talents of Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton. These guys have a huge and hard job of weaving plot points from the previous films through the upcoming Saw 5 and 6. (haha: I said “huge and hard”) Not enough good things can be said about these scribes who also penned the splatterfest Feast. Just wait until you see this film, if what these guys bring to the table is any indication of their future offerings, we may be looking at a new breed of smart and adult oriented horror films! A little side note… If you are a horror filmmaker, you better be trying really hard to make an effective film, because these guys just upped the ante in the horror genre by leaps and bounds.
The big surprise is the entrance of a few new great actors to the series. Betsy Russell, who plays Jigsaws wife, delivers a perfectly evil performance that had the whole place wondering just what the hell she is about! She does an extraordinary job of being creepy and sympathetic to the film and was making me beg for more. Scott Patterson as Agent Strahm seems a bit underused, with all of his on screen charisma. With Paterson, I foresee a new action star and while his performance was subdued, there is a hint of comedic genius creeping through every line he delivers; I hope that this film takes him to leading man status, and doubt anything can be done to stop it. Lastly we have Lyric Bent, this guy is groomed and ready to be the next Denzel, with his good looks, well crafted acting chops, Lyric Bent is actor one to watch for in the future! Of course we cannot talk about a Saw film without talking about the man himself Tobin Bell. Bell brings to Saw 4 a new layer of compassion that we saw only hints of in the past films, he is fuc**ed up and yet (this time) we can be supportive of his awful ways as we see his story unfold through flashbacks. Make way for a new saga in the Jigsaw legacy, even though he is already dead.
Hats off to the guys at Twisted Pictures, Lionsgate, Darren Bousman, and the whole gang behind Saw 4! I can’t wait for next years Saw entry (helmed by David Hackl) to blow my mind a little further.
Btw...a person swallowing a fu*king mini cassete tape and it being in their stomach so as to help a worn out flash-back storyline is TOTALLY believable.......lol
The movie made money because it came out near Halloween. End Of Fucking Story! Saw sucks. Now had Trick R Treat came out it would have raped this film B.O. Gross in the ass!
Leave it to Warner Bros to fuck that up!
If Rob Zombies Halloween came out around this time it would grossed more than it did on labor day weekend. Horror Geeks want Horror Flicks in Cinemas around Halloween. If only the studios knew that. They've copied Dimension films Scream Release bullshit since it happened. If only WB weren't such pussy's and they placed Trick R Treat right there up against Saw 4. We wouldn't be praising this Saw dog turd! We would be praising TRT!
everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but please just shut up once its given, no need to act like a feminist bastard, bitching on and on. if you dont like a movie, fine, but that doesnt mean other people dont like it. all the people i know who didnt see the original halloween loved the remake. everyone who isnt a huge horror fan loves the "saw" franchise. just because a huge horror buff is upset with a remake or doesnt like a movie because of its style, doesnt mean that the movie actually sucks. please everyone, your allowed to say what ever you want, but please stop acting like immature retards. and by the way, thanks to the movies that so many of you hate so much ("halloween" and "saw") R horror is no longer considered "dead" so be thankful instead of being dicks.
i hope saw v has a decent fucking storyline in it. not some flashback horseshit you couldn't hardly follow. yeah, that's right, i'm an idiot! and i don't like to shove my brain through my ass to try and enjoy a damn film. fuck SAW!
For them to greenlight V and VI for back to back filming, they must have a basic outline to go on, esspecially if there hiring the same writers for the both of them, it's a little bit differnt then doing it on the go like they did with 2 and 3.
I liked 4 alot better then 2 and 3, but Im glad Darren is gone, yes 4 was awesomly edited, but 2 and 3 were boring, esspecially 2. He has gotten better, but lets get some new blood in there.
I don't know if I want V but since its happening Ill go with it, I just can't think of watching V and VI all in flash back form.
I say good to this news. Now more horror movies can get greenlit based off yet another strong showing at the box-office. Hate all you want, but in the end, it's a win for horror fans.
I bet this film loses it's legs at the theater way before the last 2 did. It was ok, but no where near as good as the previous films which is going to hurt it in the long run. Plus side is: more hardcore horror flicks will be green lit, promoted and distributed now that the 4th film in a modern horror franchise has opened to as much success as the ones that came before it. We win.
To play devil's advocate here. If the Saw franchise is so bad then why do people keep seeing it? This is the forth time in a role that this movie has dominated the box office. Halloween aside if you see a movie 3 times and it in fact sucks...why go see it a forth time?
People need to stop blaming these film makers for these movies and start blaming themselves. In the end it's the fans that go see these movies and by the track record of this particular series it's not your casual fan that's going to see this. It's the same people everytime. Which tells me it has a fan base.
Personally I do not understand why people get sucked into the vacuum. When there are so many better quality horror movies that came out in the last year or so.
What's funny is the movies that don't do well are the ones that get the praise by the horror community and the ones that are successful are the movies that get bashed hard core. LOL! It makes no sense too me.
If a movie sucks then why see it? Some people will argue that it's all that is out there to see but at the same time if it sucks then why bother? If I have no interest in something I'm not going to pay hard earned money for it because it was my only option.
As a fan of horror you would think you would go out in droves to see the movies that get you excited and pay no mind to the ones that you have no interest in seeing.
I personally like saw.
The story already seems made, but every movie you learn something happened that you didn't see, and makes you want to watch all of them all over again.
Then you're like "ohhhh".
The gore and sadomasochism brings the sense of fear into viewers, imagine yourself in those positions.
Not to mention the movies give you good life lessons,
And make you think.
The Saw movies and Jigsaw will go down in horror history for the rest of time,
So you might as well get used to it.
BRING ON SAW 5 & 6!
Hell, make a 7, 8, 9, & 10 while you're at it.
I Saw Saw 4 FOUR TIMES IN THE SAME FUCKIN DAY!!! IN All I Spent like $40 Dollars Watchin It, And Damnit It Was Worth EVERY PENNY! THE GORE, TRAPS, TWISTS, & ENDING Will bring my ass back for how ever many more they decide to make, and IF Saw 6 is tha last of the franchise, I'ma hate to see it go but thanks for the 6 years of great horror entertainment. I will be buying the dvds. Thanx "Adam" and Darren and everyone else, living and dead, who worked in and with the Saw series, and gave their lives and limbs (especially the foot since that was first)for the world to hate to love to look at!
It's funny how such horror franchises always get bashed by non-horror journalists. If you check the rotten-tomatoes site it got a incredibly bad score by most "professional" reviewers yet (just 17% till now) while the users gave it a highly respectable 71%! Now who am i to trust more, the paying public or the so called un-biased journalists? I'd always go with the public. There are workprints of SAW IV on torrent sites btw, just be aware of those filled with virus spam
oh and yeah, stop bitching about SAW every year will ya!It's because of it that horror is alive and kicking this decade, honestly i don't remember horror fans being so bitchy and selfish in the 80's when Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees sequels where everywhere. People back then went to watch them cause it was FUN and they got the whole "horror movie experience" in its purity and not just keep going on an on about "ohh SAW is shit..why do people go pay money for this...i hate them cause because of it WB didnt release their film...fuck SAW"..GROW UP! If you don't like ti don't fucking go see it, if you didn't like the first 3 films then why the fuck did you go watch SAW IV as well? Is it THAT bad that mainstream audiences love SAW? Go watch The Birds or the original Halloween if u wish and let the rest of us enjoy some horror candy
It still amazes me how so many of you people who come to this "horror" site and do nothing but bash everything that comes out. Like you think your negativity is going to change anything for anyone else. It's a lost cause, either show support or just fade away already. It's boring.
But to keep this on subject. I did check out Saw 4 and it was alright. I still think they ended it perfectly with three, but I'm curious to see where it goes from here.
@ pissing_lasers: why can't you go piss somewhere else. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean other people don't. I thoroughly enjoyed Saw IV and I'm getting tired of reading your shit. You offer nothing new ever.
For the record,i've never said i dont like "saw",its actually a creative series of films,but 300 sequels aint gonna make it better,neither is sacrificing a storyline just to see how "awesome" the next trap is gonna be,i'm not the only one who has expressed this or something to this effect,dont fu*king cry just because EVERYONE aint whackin it to Tobin Bell's voice every halloween....i'll say the same sh*t next year too,b/c this is overkill. Period.
saw4 was crazy.... whats everyone so confused about? the last scene was thrown in the begining. and i know dr.gordon is gonna be in 5 or 6.. take note to the couple that were pinned together by rods. the husband had his main arteries wounded while the wife had only flesh wounds, and in pt3 when that chick had her ribs surgicaly attached to the trap.... and in pt2, in the flashback when jigsaw was being chased( take note to his limp and how they wouldnt show his face just for that flashback)
I'm sorry but... i'm a HUGE fan of saw... i really am... i loved all the first three and i am addicted... but when i saw saw IV... i was hugely dissapointed... to me it isn't saw anymore... there's no one to connect with because they're all dead... the traps i have to say were pretty lame... i mean??? that bed trap i'm sorry but it was pretty darn gay! and two ice blocks crush eriks head??? i don't think so... if you ask me i think it was just a remake of number 1... was setup in the same style... i was greatly looking forward to this movie but i have to admit i was dissapointed... i just hope david hackl can do better this time... because i had trouble watching saw 4 which is a first for me!
I am sorry but I thought the movie was boring as hell. All they did was reuse the premise from saw 2- wait to complete your game to save those who need saving. Yeah the backround with jigsaw was interesting but I thought this was supposed to be really gorry and thought provoking-not so much. I was expecting more for all the hype you guys gave it. The traps were interesting but not as shocking as the last film. I was hoping to see what happened to Jeff's daughter from 3. THe part where the guy was wrapped up in barbed wire was pretty interesting he got what he deserved so did the rapist. I loved the first three like many of the rest of you but this was a let down, hopefully the fifth and so on will pick my spirits back up with a little more gore and thought provoking games. teach us a better lesson jigsaw
Comments Page 1 of 1 | You have to be logged in to comment! If you don't have an account register now for free! Your account allows you to post comments and reviews, upload videos and images, access or our forums, write personal blogs, and maintain your profile.
Print Story
Send to a Friend
