Saw IV

I usually preface my Saw reviews by saying “I’ve never liked a Saw movie!” That remains the case after watching Saw IV. What surprised me most about the continuing saga of Jigsaw, the impossible serial killer, is that I didn’t hate it as much as the last two. As Saw enthusiasts might recall, Jigsaw met his demise at the end of Saw III. This movie starts off with, I must admit, a technically impressive autopsy sequence where they remove Jigsaw’s skullcap, stomach, etc. It’s a very gruesome scene, which culminates in the discovery of, yes, a new taped message from Jigsaw. It appears his work is not done, for there is a lot more money to be made. Tobin Bell seems to embrace the chance to show us the human side of his calculated killer in flashbacks. Too bad that human side is as monotonous, uninteresting and lame as the sickly psycho version of the character.