Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry’s murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw’s latest grisly remains and piecing together the puzzle.
Yes people that’s right Jigsaw & Amanda are dead, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t more to be revealed here. We get the opportunity to dig into Jigsaws past, find out what made him become the way he did.
Usually I don’t like these prequel type films, I’m more of a ‘leave a little mystery’ type of guy but this fourth installment is done so well that I couldn’t fault it. The way it flips between past and present, linking things together is a joy to watch and doesn’t have any revelations that make you wonder why bother with the past 3 films like a-lot of prequel films do.
One thing I must talk about is the cast, when I first saw the trailer I couldn’t believe my eyes, when I saw Scott Patterson all I could think of was “Really? Luke from Gilmore Girls is in a SAW film?” But you know what, he proved my doubt was wrong and played a great role. There’s also the addition of Betsy Russell who plays Jigsaws ex wife, she makes the role her own and is great to watch.
We also see some loose ends get tied up, but I won’t spoil that too much for you but I do have to mention the fact that we discover the fate of Donnie Wahlbergs character Eric Matthews and it’s not a disappointing one. It felt like this was the fitting end for the series with loose ends being tied but it’s only the beginning of what was to come.
The film plays out more like a detective thriller film but don’t be mistaken, it’s still a pure SAW film with it’s traps, gruesome scenes and twists. It’s a film that demands your attention and for a film series that’s at the point where usually the interest and story start to nosedive, you can’t believe it’s still going strong, in-fact I think the SAW films get stronger each time.
You truly can’t fault the film, the dialogue is impeccable and the flow of the movie is just so smooth that even though there’s so much going on it’s easy to follow along. The acting is some of the best I’ve seen in modern cinema.
Miscellaneous facts about the film:
SAW IVwas given the green-light before the third movie even opened. This was stated in Fangoria Magazine #257: “The synopsis, bare as it is, takes the third installment to a new budget level for Lionsgate’s wildly successful franchise. SAW was made for approximately $1 million, SAW II cost $4 million and the figure for SAW III, according to producer Mark Burg , has risen to $10 million. Saw III was green-lighted the morning after Saw II opened to massive box-office returns, the producer confirms, “and when they ordered Saw III, they also ordered and green-lit Saw IV.”
Sent to theaters under the name “Angel Fish”.
Is the first movie in the ‘Saw’ series not to be written by ‘Saw’ co-creator, Leigh Whannell.
Though producers wanted Donnie Wahlberg to reprise his role, his schedule made him unavailable and his character was not included in the original script. However, after shooting began, his schedule freed up, and the script was re-written to include his character.
Filmed in 32 days.
Darren Lynn Bousman was originally not interested in directing the fourth installment in the Saw series, but the producers persuaded him to read the script anyway. Bousman decided to take the directional duties when a plot twist in the script took him completely by surprise, something he thought impossible after being involved in the Saw series for three years.
As part of a running gag in the Saw series, the filming crew always hides what they call a ‘fart machine’ in one of the sets, and make it go off in a particular serious scene, to see how long the actor or actors can keep a straight face. This time, ‘Liriq Bent’ was the victim. He actually managed to remain in a character a couple of seconds before bursting into laughter.
The seamless transitions between separate scenes in the movie were not created using (digital) visual effects, but were done practically. For these transitions, the sets were build in such a way that two separate scenes could be filmed in one shot without interruption.
Producer Mark Burg has stated this “Saw” to be his favorite on the commentary track.
Is the first film in which Jigsaw swears.
This first installment of the franchise which does not open with a character in a trap.
Betsy Russell was in the same outfit during the hospital scene after which Jill loses Gideon, as she is in the interrogation scene. She the camera slowly pans to the mirror to transition into the interrogation scene with Strahm. The sets were right next door to each other and Betsy literally ran to the interrogation set for the transition to work properly.
The parade that Jigsaw catches Cecil is celebrating the pig season, the same animal in which Jigsaw uses to mask himself when capturing victims.
