Saw IV

Un article de Vev.

Saw IV is the fourth installment in the Saw series. The film was initially released on October 25, 2007, and in the United States on October 26, 2007. The film's North American release date follows the series' tradition that the films be released there the Friday before or on Halloween of each year. This installment continues the story of the Jigsaw Killer, and his obsession with teaching people the value of their own lives. Even though Jigsaw died in the last installment (Saw III), this film focuses on his ability to manipulate people into continuing his work. Saw IV was directed by Saw II and Saw III director Darren Lynn Bousman alongside with co-creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell returning as executive producers.<ref>Bousman Returns to Direct Saw IV. ComingSoon.net, 2007-02-20. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.</ref> Unlike the previous three films, Saw IV was not written by Wan or Whannel.

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Plot

The film opens with the autopsy of the now deceased Jigsaw Killer, John Kramer, who was killed in the climax of Saw III. During the operation, a wax-coated microcassette is found in Jigsaw's stomach, which shows a flashback of Jigsaw pouring wax on the tape, grabbing it and putting it in his mouth and swallowing it. Detective Hoffman is called to the scene, where he plays the tape which states that, although Jigsaw is dead, "the games have just begun."

The scene changes to two men awakening in a mausoleum, finding themselves in one of Jigsaw's prearranged "games". One man has been rendered blind (his eyes sewn shut), while the other is mute (his lips sewn together). They are both connected by a chain around their neck to a machine. They pull the chain in opposite directions, one after the other. This results in a key being turned, triggering the machine, which starts pulling them in slowly. In a desperate attempt to escape, the mute man kills the panicking blind man, takes a key from the blind man's neck, and frees himself. He then begins screaming in terror which causes the stitches to tear free and blood pours from his mouth. The police, meanwhile, have discovered the remains of Detective Kerry who was killed in the Angel Trap, set up by Amanda Young in Saw III. Lieutenant Rigg, distraught at the find, leaves the scene as FBI Agents Perez and Strahm arrive and begin investigating. They quickly deduce that Amanda needed help in placing Kerry in the trap, and that Jigsaw has another apprentice who is still alive. That night, Rigg is attacked in his home by a person wearing a pig mask, and left unconscious, awakening to a series of interconnected tests that have been arranged. In the first test, which takes place in his own home, Rigg struggles to free a woman named Brenda from a deadly device, though his tape suggests that he leave her alone. After saving Brenda's life, she responds by attempting to kill Rigg, who is forced to subdue her. He later learns that she had a test of her own, which was to kill him with a knife that was taped under the TV should he save her, or else she would be jailed for prostitution. Finding clues to the next phase of the game, Rigg travels to a hotel and uses a key supplied by Jigsaw to gain access to a room that contains his next instruction. Rigg opens a chest on the bed and finds a pig mask and a photo of a man inside. Rigg's objective is to capture Ivan - the clerk of the hotel. Rigg captures Ivan and moves him to another room containing a vise into which Rigg is instructed to place Ivan's head. Rigg also makes Ivan strap his arms and legs onto the bed. Rigg plays Ivan's tape and Ivan must either push two buttons that would gouge his eyes out or have the device rip off his arms and legs. Surrounded by photos and video evidence of Ivan's sordid past as a rapist, an enraged Rigg decides to follow Jigsaw's advice and forces Ivan in the trap, who fails to complete it and has his arms and legs severed. We are then shown a flashback of Rigg's past before he became a member of SWAT, dealing with the apparent beating of a child by her father. Unable to secure a confession from the father, Rigg, is forced to let him go; but not before Rigg assaults the man. Rigg escaped prosecution thanks to his underhanded lawyer, Art Blank. In present time, the FBI raid Rigg's home, believing that he may be connected to Jigsaw. There they find that Brenda has died from her injuries. The evidence there leads them to suspect Rigg and also helps them to discover Jill, Jigsaw's ex-wife, as a possible source of information about the recent traps. Meanwhile, Rigg enters the now derelict school where the dreaded event took place, finding the deceased abusive father and his wife, chained together with several spikes piercing their bodies, the woman still alive. A flashback shows the woman being instructed to escape her abusive relationship by removing the spikes from her body while simultaneously killing her husband. However, she is unable to remove the final spike due to the wounds inflicted by previous spikes. Instructed by Jigsaw that Rigg must stand aside and allow her to complete her own test, Rigg hands her a key which will unlock her from her shackles - but tells her that she must remove the final spike herself as he follows his next clue. On the way out, he pulls the fire alarm to alert the authorities. As the FBI and police investigate the crime scene, an accident with the now-completed trap occurs, spearing the forensic photographer through the head and killing her. Frustrated and disgusted, Perez and Strahm search the school further, finding Jigsaw's puppet, Billy, and a tape addressed to themselves. Perez is told that Strahm is "about to kill an innocent man" and that "her next step is crucial". As Perez peers more closely to investigate a ticking sound, the puppet's face explodes, sending shrapnel into her face and revealing a camera hidden in the puppet's skull. Desperate, Strahm attempts to elicit information from Jill. Flashbacks reveal that Jill lost her and John's baby due to the inadvertent actions of a drug addict named Cecil. John was sitting outside the clinic where Jill worked, waiting to pick her up, when he was solicited for sex by Addison, whom he would later place in a trap in Saw II. Noticing Cecil running from a scene where he had accidentally slammed a door into Jill, John investigated, finding Jill wounded, and carried her to the hospital. However, the baby is lost and John is visibly distraught. John became obsessed with the idea that only the victims can change themselves and began developing traps to test subjects. Jill, having healed from her assault, came to John's workshop with Art, discussing a project that they were partners in. John showed no interest, still consumed with his loss and told them both to leave. He tracked and abducted Cecil, then placed him in the first trap he constructed. There, John explained to Cecil that the purpose of the trap was to make Cecil "as ugly on the outside as he was on the inside". Cecil must push his face into knife trap that is placed around his face. During the test, the trap collapsed, freeing Cecil, though his face and wrists were already severely injured. John, unwaveringly stood as Cecil berated him; Cecil lunged at John, who side-stepped the attempt, causing Cecil to throw himself into a pile of razor wire. John then left Cecil to die. Moving back to current time, Rigg has followed his clue to the Gideon factory owned by John, with Agent Strahm close behind using information obtained from Jill. As Rigg and Strahm move through the facility, we see Jeff, the protagonist of Saw III, working his way through the building. Strahm follows the noise that Jeff is making, leading him away from Rigg, while Rigg finds a door that leads him to his final test. Inside the room are Detective Matthews, Detective Hoffman, and Art Blanc, each involved in his own test. Flashbacks reveal that Matthews has been a prisoner of Jigsaw for six months. Art has been instructed that once the time for the test is up, he can activate a switch which will free them all. Part of the test requires him to give Matthews a revolver with a single bullet. Each subject discovers however, that if someone enters the main door they will trigger another trap which will instantly kill Detective Matthews. An exhausted Rigg lunges at the door, smashing through it as Matthews shoots him in a vain attempt to stop him. Unfortunately, the trap is still activated and Detective Matthews is killed, his head crushed in between two ice blocks (each about the size of the block he stands on) angled upwards as they swing down on both sides. Rigg shoots Art, believing him to be Jigsaw's accomplice. Art yells at Rigg for opening the door and claims that Jigsaw was testing him. Art reaches over his shoulder to bring out another tape recorder but Rigg shoots him in the head, mistaking the action as reaching for a weapon. As the final tape is played, Rigg is told that he has failed his test; his obsession to save others has inadvertently led to their deaths. Rigg had been warned by superiors on at least two occasions not to open unsecured doors, which he did once more, causing Matthews' death. Had he simply allowed time to run out and not saved them, they would have been safe from harm and released from their traps. Meanwhile, Strahm still following Jeff, approaches a fridge like door. Before he can enter it the door closes shut with him on the outside. He opens the door and steps into the room. He finds Jeff and the bodies of Lynn, Amanda, and Jigsaw. As Jeff waves his weapon in a threatening manner, demanding to know the location of his daughter, Strahm kills him in defense. Concurrently, Rigg lies wounded on the floor, Hoffman releases himself from his trap, revealing that he is involved in the game, a new Jigsaw apprentice. He leaves Rigg to die, stating "Game Over,". Hoffman then approaches the door Strahm had entered and closes it sealing him inside. It is then revealed that the events of Saw IV have run concurrently to those of Saw III, with Strahm intercepting Jeff just after the deaths of Jigsaw, Amanda and Doctor Lynn. The autopsy scene that occurred at the beginning of the film is shown again, revealing it to have occurred after the events of the film and not before. As the tape found in Jigsaw's stomach is played again, Detective Hoffman is told that he will not walk away untested, and that Jigsaw's games have just begun.

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Cast

Actor	Role
Tobin Bell	John Kramer / Jigsaw
Costas Mandylor	Forensic Hoffman
Lyriq Bent	Lieutenant Rigg
Scott Patterson	Agent Peter Strahm
Betsy Russell	Jill Tuck
Athena Karkanis	Agent Lindsey Perez
Justin Louis	Art Blank
Donnie Wahlberg	Detective Eric Matthews
Simon Reynolds	Lamanna
Billy Otis	Cecil
Janet Land	Morgan
Ron Lea	Rex
Sarain Boylan	Brenda
Marty Adams	Ivan
Kevin Rushton	Trevor
Emmanuelle Vaugier	Addison
Tony Nappo	Gus
Ingrid Hart	Tracy
Kim Roberts	Nurse Deborah
Angus Macfadyen	Jeff Reinhart
Shawnee Smith	Amanda Young
Dina Meyer	Detective Allison Kerry
Bahar Soomekh	Lynn Denlon
James Van Patten	Dr. Hefner
Mike Realba	Fisk
Kelly Jones	SWAT Pete
Joanne Boland	Unnamed woman
Noam Jenkins	Michael
J. Larose	Troy
Mike Butters	Paul Stallberg
Oren Koules	Unnamed man

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Production

There were rumors about who was writing the script for Saw IV, including Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan.<ref>Yet Another 'Saw IV' Writer Revealed!Bloody-disgusting retrieved 2006-11-12</ref> On a news article on the same rumor site, an actual writer was revealed, Thomas Fenton.<ref>Actual writer for Saw IV revealed</ref> There was also a hunt for the director of Saw IV before it was officially stated that Darren Lynn Bousman should direct the fourth installment. Two of the rumored directors were David Moreau and Xavier Palud.<ref>Rumors about who to direct Saw IV</ref> It has been stated that 90% of the crew from the last movie will be back.<ref name="fan">Saw 4 News. The Official SAW Website and Fan Club. Retrieved on 2007-06-13.</ref>

On the official Saw fan page, director Bousman says: "Scott Patterson, the first day he shows up, he says, ‘I’m going to do something a little different here.’ And I’m like, ‘Alright.’ We yell ‘action’ and all of a sudden he started improvising and it was gold. It was like the best stuff I’d ever seen and he’s insane."<ref name="fan"/>

Production offices opened on February 12 2007 to begin the pre-production period. The filming of Saw IV began on April 16, 2007<ref>Date set for filming</ref> and continued for 6 weeks.<ref>Production offices open Feb, 12th and filming set to last just 3 months</ref> The filming location for the horror film was Toronto, Canada,<ref>Location set for the filming of Saw IV</ref> the same place both Saw II<ref>Saw II filming location MovieWeb retrieved 2005-27-10.</ref> and Saw III<ref>Saw III filming location Movieweb retrieved 2006-04-17.</ref> were filmed. Post-production period began on May 19.<ref>IMDb post-production period</ref>

Shooting for the film ended on May 30, 2007.<ref name="fan"/> In an interview with Darren Lynn Bousman, he stated that the last work on Saw IV will happen in August to be able to have prints made.<ref name="MObousman"/>

At Comic Con 2007 it was revealed that the MPAA had given the film an NC-17 rating for extreme graphic violence, mayhem, pervasive terror, and bloody torture. They would have to figure out whether or not to cut the film to achieve an R rating or release it as an NC-17 film.<ref>Saw IV Too Much for Comic-Con Retrieved on 2007-08-07</ref>

Lionsgate has teamed with the American Red Cross for the annual Saw IV Blood Drive.<ref>[1]Saw IV Blood Drive</ref> Since the first Saw blood drive in 2004, Saw film-goers have donated nearly 38,000 pints of blood to help save as many as 112,500 lives. Collection totals have doubled year after year resulting in tens of thousands of lifesaving blood transfusions.

On August 30, 2007, it was announced that the film was officially rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture throughout, and for language. This was clarified by the new poster (which can be seen at the top of this page), www.ropeofsilicon.com, and numerous other websites.

On August 31, 2007, the official trailer was placed on Yahoo Movies. <ref>[2]Saw IV Trailer</ref> On the same date, the official website for Saw IV was launched.

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Release dates

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Soundtrack

Main article: Saw IV (soundtrack)

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Box office performance

The film opened October 26, 2007 in the United States and Canada and grossed $31,756,764 in 3,183 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #1 at the box office.<ref> Saw IV (2007) - Weekend Box Office

. Box Office Mojo

. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. </ref> As of December 13, 2007, Saw IV grossed $63,300,095 domestic and $115,894,946 worldwide. The film stayed in cinemas for 49 days (7 weeks).

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Critical reception

Critics generally gave the film negative reviews. As of November 6 2007 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 17% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 53 reviews.<ref name="rottensummary">Saw IV, Rotten Tomatoes</ref> On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 36 out of 100, based on 16 reviews.<ref> Saw IV (2007): Reviews

. Metacritic

. Retrieved on 2007-11-06. </ref> Scott Schueller from the Los Angeles Times called it "a film as edgy as a rubber knife" and said that "if the terrible craft of Bousman's film doesn't turn your stomach, the borderline pornographic violence will. It's disconcerting to imagine anyone enjoying the vile filth splashing the screen." <ref> Movie review: 'Saw IV'

. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. </ref> Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter said "the famously inventive torture sequences here seem depleted of imagination", but added that "it hasn't yet jumped the shark like such predecessors as the "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th" movies eventually did." <ref> Saw IV

. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. </ref> Peter Hartlaub from The San Francisco Chronicle called it "the Syriana of slasher films, so complicated and circuitous that your only hope of understanding everything is to eat lots of fish the night before and then watch each of the previous films, in order, right before you enter the theater." <ref> Review: The hunt for the Jigsaw Killer continues in 'Saw IV'

. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. </ref>

Positive reviews came from Scott Weinberg from Fearnet, who said that while it "is almost certainly the weakest of the series where stuff like plot, logic, and chills are concerned... there's still more than enough here to keep the fans intrigued, entertained, and squirming in their seats" and added that the "Saw-makers are to be commended for actually putting forth this sort of effort. I grew up in an era that offered little more than quick-cash, stand-alone horror sequels like Halloween 5 and Friday the 13th Part 7 -- so the fact that these producers actually give a damn about narrative continuity (right down to the smallest detail) is fairly impressive." <ref> Saw IV

. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. </ref> Horror.com said that "with Saw IV, the pieces have all come together and [it's] the best of the lot." <ref> Saw IV

. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. </ref> Jamie Russell from the BBC called it "deeply unsettling; just like a horror movie should be."<ref> Saw IV (2007)

. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. </ref>

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Sequels: Saw V & VI

Costas Mandylor has signed up for the next two installments in the horror franchise along with main character, Jigsaw, portrayed by Tobin Bell.<ref name=CostasReturn>Actor Signs for more Saws</ref>

It was confirmed through multiple sources that David Hackl, the production designer for Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV and second unit director for Saw III and Saw IV has officially been attached to direct both Saw V and Saw VI.<ref name=HacklDirector/>

The writers of Saw IV, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, will be writing Saw V and Saw VI. Saw V will be going into production after Christmas,<ref name=SawVXMas>Saw V to begin after Christmas</ref> and is set to be released on October 24, 2008.<ref name=LionsgatePubSawV>Lionsgate Publicity lists Saw V for October 24, 2008</ref> In an interview at IGN.com, Patrick Melton hinted that Saw V will reveal what happened to Corbett after Saw III.<ref name=igninterview>IGN.com interview with Patrick Melton</ref> Producer Mark Burg has stated he wants Scott Patterson to return as Agent Strahm but is difficult as he's doing a TV series.<ref name=sawVending>Rotten Tomatoes: Ending Already Written for Saw V</ref>