Saw 4 is a horror film directed by Darren Lyn Bousman. The plot follows the fallout of Jigsaw’s (Tobin Bell) death, with two police detectives facing yet more games, set by Jigsaw from beyond the grave, and we find out that there is yet another apprentice out there.
So by this point in the series the cracks are starting to show. If you have read my Saw 3 review you will note that to me that is the worst out of the first 3 films, however, everything that doesn’t work about that film, everything that takes away from the series as a whole is turned up to 11 here.
Firstly, this film is by no means as smart as the other films, the twist at the end feels predictable, yet another apprentice. Clearly, the series is starting to run out of novel ideas here and is only being kept alive by the small amount of people who like to be grossed out by the series’ gore.
This applies to the traps and games as well as things are starting to mesh together and a becoming overly familiar. The gore here is likewise as boring, it did noting to shock me or to make me feel uncomfortable the closest it came was the ice cube death but even that reeked of desperation; the film is trying to hard to get the audience’s attention throughout.
My biggest issue with this film is the absences of Jigsaw himself, yes I understand the plot line, and this was an eventuality, but Bell brings so much to these films to have him barely be in it feels like an incredible missed opportunity.
Overall the series is in decline and this film proves it.
Pros.
It is still watchable
It further expands the lore
Cons.
It is no longer smart
It feels desperate to be shocking again
The characters are forgettable
There is hardly any Jigsaw in the whole film
2/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 