Saw 4 - Extreme Edition [2007] [DVD]

The twist with Saw 4 is that it digs into the backstory of Jigsaw, although it’s fair to say that it soon becomes a platform to layer on some more deadly traps. Mixing in flashbacks and present day events, the formula is ultimately well worn and well obeyed. Surprises are in short supply, even if there is the odd jump from time to time.

There is a law of diminishing returns with Saw 4, however, and as the franchise matures the tricks because less impressive and the blood and guts quotient increases to compensate. Furthermore, director Darren Lynn Bousman occasionally goes overboard with his flash cuts, proving a distraction from the carefully constructed scenarios that were the trademark of the original.

Still, criticisms aside, Saw 4 is here to do a job, and it has little qualms about getting on with it. Firmly made in the ‘more of the same’ mould of sequels, it’s compact, grisly and absolutely not the last film in the series. It might not be ambitious, but you can’t deny it’s not good at its job. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
The fourth SAW film takes fans into uncharted waters. Now that John/Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dead, screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (writers of the Project Greenlight-produced FEAST) give us Jigsaw's origin story--finally showing us why he does what he does. Along they way, they still find time to work in the usual dose of elaborate Rube Goldberg-like torture devices and heaps of censor-defying gore in what plays like an extreme version of CSI. During his (extremely graphic) autopsy, Jigsaw’s final tape (swallowed in SAW III) is found in his stomach. Promising that his work will continue despite his passing, his message sets off a series of grisly tasks for anxious SWAT team leader Rigg (Lyriq Bent), who is given 90 minutes to rescue detectives Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), who are to be dispatched via blocks of ice and high voltage wires. Trailing Rigg are FBI agents Strahm (Scott Patterson of GILMORE GIRLS) and Perez (Athena Karkanis), who get some unexpected blood on their hands along the way. A series of flashbacks details a pivotal event between Jigsaw and his girlfriend, Jill (1980s beauty Betsy Russell, PRIVATE SCHOOL), which inspired him to devote the remainder of his life to the creation of his signature puzzles.


Darren Lynn Bousman, director of the previous two sequels, returns once again to ensure that the series retains its trademark de-saturated look. Though viewers starting with this instalment may find the brief glimpses of characters from the previous films confusing, fans should be pleased with how the films link together. They are also sure to appreciate that, like FRIDAY THE 13th carrying on sans Jason in PART IV: A NEW BEGINNING, the death of Jigsaw won't keep the franchise from evolving into SAW V and beyond.

• DVD & Blu-ray > Horror

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