Saw IV (2007)

Director:

Darren Lynn Bousman

Writers:

Patrick Melton (screenplay) &
Marcus Dunstan (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

It's a Trap

Plot:

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Stomach | Trap | Autopsy | Corpse

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Tobin Bell	...	Jigsaw / John
Costas Mandylor	...	Hoffman
Scott Patterson	...	Agent Strahm
Betsy Russell	...	Jill
Lyriq Bent	...	Rigg
Athena Karkanis	...	Agent Perez
Justin Louis	...	Art
Simon Reynolds	...	Lamanna
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Eric Matthews
Angus Macfadyen	...	Jeff
Shawnee Smith	...	Amanda
Bahar Soomekh	...	Lynn
Dina Meyer	...	Kerry
Mike Realba	...	Fisk
Marty Adams	...	Ivan
Sarain Boylan	...	Brenda
Billy Otis	...	Cecil
James Van Patten	...	Dr. Heffner
David Boyce	...	Pathologist
Kevin Rushton	...	Trevor
Julian Richings	...	Vagrant
Kelly Jones	...	SWAT Pete
Ingrid Hart	...	Tracy
Niamh Wilson	...	Corbett
Janet Land	...	Morgan
Ron Lea	...	Rex
Joanne Boland	...	Crime Scene Photographer
Zoe Heath	...	Lab Technician
Bill Vibert	...	Young Cop
Eric Gores	...	Matt
Devon Bostick	...	Derek
Tony Nappo	...	Gus
Emmanuelle Vaugier	...	Addison
Noam Jenkins	...	Michael
Mike Butters	...	Paul
J. LaRose	...	Troy
Oren Koules	...	The Man
Alison Luther	...	Young Girl
Kim Roberts	...	Nurse Deborah
David Webster	...	Dr. Steve
Sandra Manson	...	Nurse Patti
Shauna Black	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)
Darrell Dennis	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)
Tracy Ferencz	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)
Catherine Fitch	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)
Christopher Marren	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice) (as Chris Marren)
Christopher Morris	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)
Geoffrey Pounsett	...	Additional Voice Talent (voice)

Directed by
Darren Lynn Bousman

Writing credits
Patrick Melton		(screenplay) &
Marcus Dunstan		(screenplay)
Patrick Melton		(story) &
Marcus Dunstan		(story) and
Thomas H. Fenton		(story) (as Thomas Fenton)

Produced by
Troy Begnaud	....	associate producer
Peter Block	....	executive producer
Mark Burg	....	producer
Jason Constantine	....	executive producer
Greg Copeland	....	co-producer
Daniel J. Heffner	....	executive producer (as Daniel Jason Heffner)
Gregg Hoffman	....	producer
Oren Koules	....	producer
Stacey Testro	....	executive producer
James Wan	....	executive producer
Leigh Whannell	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Charlie Clouser

Cinematography by
David A. Armstrong

Film Editing by
Kevin Greutert
Brett Sullivan

Casting by
Stephanie Gorin

Production Design by
David Hackl

Art Direction by
Anthony A. Ianni

Set Decoration by
Liesl Deslauriers

Costume Design by
Alex Kavanagh

Makeup Department
Patrick Baxter	....	prosthetics
Damon Bishop	....	key prosthetics assistant
François Dagenais	....	prosthetics makeup
Stephanie Ingram	....	key hair stylist
Neil Morrill	....	prosthetics
Candice Ornstein	....	key makeup artist
Colin Penman	....	assistant makeup artist
Vincent Sullivan	....	assistant hair stylist

Production Management
Matt Cahill	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Hackl	....	second unit director
Joel Hay	....	second assistant director
Nick Lopez	....	trainee assistant director
Elizabeth Scherberger	....	first assistant director
Karen Young	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Sam Agro	....	storyboard artist
Ronald Bunt	....	carpenter
Douglas Catty	....	carpenter
Steven Ciancamerla	....	set dresser
Napoleon Forbes	....	painter
Brian Lumley	....	carpenter
Jason Lunn	....	leadman
Mario Moreira	....	assistant property master
James R. Murray	....	property master
Hubert Peddle	....	carpenter
Frank Perna	....	painter
Sorin Popescu	....	assistant art director
Jamie Pounder	....	painter
Sean Scoffield	....	graphic designer
Cherie Spencer	....	set dresser
Al Vrkljan	....	weapon specialist
Ian C. Harris	....	daily construction laborer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Steve Baine	....	foley artist
Kevin Belen	....	adr recordist
Tom Bjelic	....	sound effects editor
Keith Elliott	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mark Gingras	....	supervising sound editor
Jamie Gould	....	sound re-recording assistant
Gina Gyles	....	foley assistant
Jason Hopfner	....	boom operator
Kevin Jette	....	adr mixer
Matthew McKenzie	....	adr recording engineer
Colin McLellan	....	adr recordist
Rick Penn	....	sound mixer
Jason Perreira	....	re-recording assistant
Peter Persaud	....	foley recordist
John Douglas Smith	....	supervising sound editor
Andrew Tay	....	sound re-recording mixer
Marilee Yorston	....	foley assistant
Mark Zsifkovits	....	sound re-recording mixer
Josh Machado	....	assistant sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Warren Appleby	....	special effects coordinator
Tim Barraball	....	special effects key
John MacGillivray	....	special effects
Daniel White	....	special effects foreman

Visual Effects by
David Alexander	....	senior modeller: Switch VFX
Kemal Ally	....	lead tracker: Switch VFX
Don Asido	....	data manager: Switch VFX
Barb Benoit	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Jon Campfens	....	visual effects supervisor
Tavia Charlton	....	digital intermediate coordinator
Peter Denomme	....	visual effects producer: Switch VFX
Amir Eftekhari	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Mike Habjan	....	model maker: Switch VFX
Gudrun Heinze	....	senior digital compositor: Switch VFX
Cha Min Hyun	....	digital compositor
Jason Kozsurek	....	digital compositor
Voytek Kufner	....	animator: Switch VFX
Keren Kurtz	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Jef Lonn	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Beau Parsons	....	visual effects coordinator: Switch VFX
Mag Sarnowska	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Rob Sischy	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Chris Wallace	....	digital intermediate colourist
Geoff Wigmore	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Steve Wigmore	....	digital compositor: Switch VFX
Greg Zajac	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Marco Bianco	....	stunt double
Neil Davison	....	stunt double
Billy Oliver	....	stunt double
Dave Van Zeyl	....	stunt rigger

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard Berube	....	electrician
Steve Cocks	....	grip
Ira Cohen	....	gaffer
Sean Dawes	....	electrician
Jamie Hodgson	....	rigging electrician
Kevin Michael LeBlanc	....	first assistant camera
Monty Montgomerie	....	key grip
Philip Charles Whitfield	....	electrician
Steve Wilkie	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Kathleen Howell	....	casting associate
Misha Rasaiah	....	casting assistant
Jane Rogers	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ciara Brennan	....	assistant wardrobe supervisor
Karen Eppstadt	....	key costume breakdown artist
Gerri Gillan	....	wardrobe buyer
Roslyn Hanchard	....	costume buyer
Leslie Kavanagh	....	wardrobe set supervisor
Stephanie Lees	....	assistant costume designer
Adam Smith	....	costume prop
Bonnie Sutherland	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Diane Brunjes	....	additional editor
Chad Glastonbury	....	first assistant editor
Dave Muscat	....	assistant digital intermediate editor

Music Department
Paul Intson	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Eddie Bowman	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Adam Bialow	....	business affairs
Cristin L. Cornett	....	production coordinator
Tricia Edwardson	....	production assistant
Kathryn Hughes	....	set production assistant
Ryan Hupponen	....	assistant production coordinator
Kaleigh Kavanagh	....	assistant: Dan Heffner
Jane Kim	....	assistant: Darren Bousman
Brad McIlroy	....	on-set caterer
Michael McNaughton	....	photo double
Ashleigh Millar	....	key craft service
Erick Salomon	....	assistant: Mark Burg & Oren Koules
Carla Spizziri	....	first assistant accountant
Elizabeth Tremblay	....	script supervisor
Al Vrkljan	....	tactical consultant
Kris Wood	....	playback coordinator

Production Companies

• Twisted Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2007-2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Asmik Ace Entertainment (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Benelux Film Distributors (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Cascade Film (2007) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Lionsgate (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Lionsgate (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Maple Pictures (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Showtime (2007) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Viva International Pictures (2008) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Deltamac Entertainment (2007) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Eagle Films (2007) (Lebanon) (all media)
• Gativideo (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Independent Film Channel (IFC) (2008) (USA) (TV)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Lionsgate (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Lionsgate (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Maple Pictures (2008) (Canada) (DVD)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2007) (Finland) (all media)

Special Effects

• Acme F/X (special effects)
• Switch VFX (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Artists' Addiction Records  soundtrack
• Complex Studio, The  sound post-production
• Deluxe Post-Production  post-production facilities
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Hand Prop  props
• Kallista Marketing & PR  international publicity
• Movie Armaments Group  weapons supplied by
• Soundtrack  ADR Facility (as Soundtrack Boston)
• Urban Post Production  sound post-production
• Wendy Benge, Esq.  production attorney

Also Known As:

El juego del miedo IV (Argentina) (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
Пила 4 (Russia) [ru]
Fürész 4. (Hungary) [hu]
Jogos Mortais 4 (Brazil) [pt]
Saag IV (Estonia) [et]
Saw IV (Greece) [el]
Saw IV - Sterben war gestern (Germany) [de]
Slagalica strave 4 (Croatia) [hr]
Testere IV (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture throughout, and for language.

Runtime:

93 min | 96 min (unrated director's cut)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS | DTS (Dolby 5.1)

Certification:

USA:R | UK:18 | Ireland:18 | Hong Kong:III | Australia:MA (re-rating on appeal) | Australia:R (original rating) | Denmark:16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:R21 | Taiwan:R-18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-18 (self applied) | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:18 (cut) | Austria:18 | Italy:VM14 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | France:-16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | New Zealand:R18 | Brazil:18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Portugal:M/18 | Peru:18 | South Africa:16LV (DVD rating) | South Africa:18 (theatrical rating) | Japan:R-15

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Twisted Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed in 32 days.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the interrogation room a camera and a crew member is reflected in the 2-way mirror. Between 50:44 and 50:45 during 8 picture frames (72998-73006).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pathologist: Subject's name is John Kramer. 52 year old male; Caucasian. He's seen better days.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Seth Rogen/Spoon (#33.2)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

I.V.

The SAW Franchise finally descends into absurdity.

Jigsaw is dead, but his game is far from over. A detective is on the hunt for clues around the city, in which he must act in the same manner as Jigsaw with the victims he finds. He must do this in order to find the location of two of his colleagues and save them.

It's easy to see how the SAW franchise, as it is now called, is turning into the same mess that struck Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare On Elm Street. The story is over, but the cash flow still has some juice in it. In this installment Jigsaw is dead, but his cruel game continues. How you might ask? Well, if I were to explain that, it would ruin the film, but it's hard to review this film without leaking something.

The original SAW redefined the horror genre, so much so that there are now countless imitators. It packed the goods in gore and a shocking twist at the end. The sequel, which really was not needed, tried to capitalize on the same system. It failed. Yet still made boatloads of money. Hence the 3rd, and this film and of course the next one. SAW IV becomes a parody of itself, unintentionally mind you. It tries to re-capture the essence of the original from plot points to the twist, which is a staple in the series now. Why SAW IV doesn't work as well as it wants to, is because it's far too confusing and doesn't satisfy it's audience, instead it leaves more holes, that will be filled in by it's sequel, much like how this one filled in some from the 3rd.

SAW IV answers the questions, such as who the blonde woman was in Jigsaw's dreams and why he covered the tape in wax. Yet leaves out other things, specifically what the letter said to Amanda. It could have easily been explained, but they wanted to leave as much story as possible to continue this franchise, which should have been over at 1 and could have been wrapped up completely with 3. This leaves the audience confused, as well as angry. When the final credits rolled up I sat back in my chair and asked myself if they really answered anything as to why it ended the way it did…it doesn't. It throws in that twist that is expected, but doesn't bother to explain it. I guess we have to wait another year to find out why things happened the way they did.

SAW IV is gory, probably the worst out of all of them, but not quite as nerve flinching as the others. It doesn't have any scenes that make you squirm in your seat like when Dr. Gordon saws off his foot, or when Amanda falls into the pit full of needles, or even when Detective Matthews smashes hiss foot with the toilet cover. Those small things are the ones that get the audience; this film simply shows the bloody entrails of people.

I will give credit to where it's due. The film stays consistent with the others and I applause the actors and writers for continuing certain characters through out the entire series. It gives fans goose bumps when they see a familiar face. Also, the twist, which fails in comparison to the first two but it better then the third, is adequate. In fact there is more then one twist. We also get some more background history on Jigsaw, who he was before he became a psychopath. A little hint as to why as well.

We can't connect to any of these characters. Characters from the previous films that show up here, have very little screen time and are killed off. Why have them survive through all this stuff just to kill them off. It cheapens the films in which we root for them to live; we know their fate in the end. There may have been characters that you cared for in previous installments that were trapped in Jigsaw's game, this time around, unless you knew them from before, we know their fate, we know we don't care.

The ending will confuse the hell out of a lot of people; I had to take a minute to figure it out myself. Maybe because it was really well written, or horrible executed, I haven't decided yet. I found myself sitting there with a confused look across my face, wanting more, not simply because I wanted more, but because the film needed more. The film has a lot of stuff going on, it's not to know who' who, who's dead, what's going on where and so on.If you've missed one film in the series, you will most likely be lost in this film. It asks you, as do the others, to pay attention to the previous films. I really enjoy that; it asks the audience to think a little bit, which is usually missing from horror films these days.

It's a tad better then the second and third, but falls apart near the end. This time around we can't seem to care for the guy whose trapped in Jigsaw's mind game. We've come to expect the unexpected, we've comes to be grossed out. Have the makers of this series run their course? Well, after the next film, to tie everything up, I hope the answer is yes. The first is still the best and I cannot imagine the next one being any better.