They thought with his death his work would end, they were wrong. As the body of John Kramer lies on an autopsy table, something left inside of his body will lead another group of people into a hell of their own creations. For in death, the man known as the Jigsaw Killer has left his work for someone else to continue, someone who will pick up where he left off, someone who will continue to punish the wicked, someone to build the traps, and someone to continue the games.

Lions Gate ushers in a fourth Saw movie in as many years, but is there anything different to see in Saw IV, or have you seen it before in the other Saws? The scenes are different, but is it really that much different than what we have seen in the other Saws? Does seeing the scenes in this Saw make you want to see another Saw next year? Do two Saws make a right? OK, enough with the SeeSaw shit, on with the review.

Bottom line is, if you liked the other Saws then you’re going to like this one. The traps are spiffy and the blood flows fairly free. Also, and something that I found really refreshing, is that Saw IV ties up all the loose ends from the other films while being able to tread new ground into possible future installments, with a new lead villain. Let me say that again, A NEW LEAD VILLAIN, Tobin Bell’s version of Jigsaw is gone, deceased, he is no more!

The graphic autopsy scene makes this painfully clear, but I’m not sure what disturbed me the most about the opening scene of Saw IV. It may have been the very realistic autopsy performed on John Kramer, but I think it was the fact that for about eight seconds I had to look at actor Tobin Bell’s cock and balls fully exposed on the big screen. Hands down “The Best Prop” award of 2007 goes to the towel that was finally put over Bell’s junk. You think to be fair they would have showed a nude Shawnee Smith as Amanda received her autopsy, but no muff, not a single hair, just sausage and eggs.

Anyway aside from the vile sight of Bell’s twig and berries, Saw IV does offer up some gruesome kills this time around and the best part is nothing as over the top as the pig swimming tank. My favorite of the new film was a little device that helped a married couple work out some long overdue problems, but for straight up blood, watching Jigsaw create his first device and use it was very satisfying, both for him and the viewer.

Saw IV uses a good amount of flashbacks, to tell more of John Kramer’s side of the story, and brief little re-shoots of the other films to add on to the new story and the new Jigsaw Killer. I advise you watch part III before going to view this one and maybe even part II.

I liked this one mainly for one reason, it answered a question I have always asked about Jigsaw, “How in the hell can he do all of that preparation as sick as he is?” I know he had Amanda in parts II and III, but it also turns out that he has had someone else all along as well, someone in the shadows. If you want to know who it is and have wondered why certain main level characters have been taken out rather early in the other films, then this one will fill in all the blanks for you, or if you have wondered how the story was going to continue on, then this one is for you, OR if you just want to sit back and watch some decent kills, then this one is for you. I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit and next to the original, I’d say it was the best in the series, maybe not the best in kills and traps, but the best in story.

7 of 10

This is easily the least of the Saw films. While the backstory of John Kramer plays out well, the present day drama continuing Jigsaw's fiendish machinations beyond the grave is paper thin.

This time around I really didn't have much sympathy for the protagonist, Officer Riggs. I thought Jeff - the father in the previous film - was a much more relatable character. Because of that, it mattered whether he lived or died. The same applied to the second installment, where the presence of the cop's son provided a character to root for. No matter what had happened prior to the events in that movie, Jigsaw had no right putting the kid in there. I wanted to see him escape.

But this time we're back to the problem which plagued the first installment of this franchise: a lack of characters to empathize with. I thought the two victims the first Saw spent so much time on were so unpleasant that their eventual fates didn't matter to me at all.

The same basic vibe goes for the fourth film. Riggs and his fellow officers just didn't elicit that much sympathy from me (except Perez). Keeping with that train of thought, I have to say the victims of the traps are starting to become too outlandish as well. When one of the soon to be deceased is a thrice acquitted rapist, why in the hell would we be horrified because he's suffering?

The story is weaker to boot. I don't want to give anything away here, but when the credits rolled on this one, for the first time ever in this series my reaction to the requiste concluding twist was a monumental "Eh. Whatever." It just didn't have the intended impact.

The door is left wide open for a fifth film. Unless they want to wash out completely, I suggest the writers start paying less attention to how twisted the traps can be and start focusing on the storyline again. This one just felt tossed together. Great kills though, and a terrific performance (as always) by Tobin Bell.

Saw IV earns five out of ten times a married couple learns the dangers of extreme acupuncture.