Saw IV (2007)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

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

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:

Is the first movie in the ‘Saw’ series not to be written by ‘Saw’ co-creator, Leigh Whannell.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: During one of the interrogation scenes a boom mic is visible in the reflection of the 2-way mirror.

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.

It surpassed my expectations...Saw reigns again for the fourth year in a row.

As a die hard Saw fan, Saw IV was one of my top must sees of 2007. Fortunately, I didn't get my hopes up, and therefore I wasn't disappointed. The movie has its fair share of flaws, don't get me wrong. However, the movie made this Saw fan happy because it maintained the spirit of the series. The movie's biggest flaw is that it is by far the most unrealistic of the series and relies too much on chance within the story. Too many events are contingent on others, which makes Jigsaw look almost clairvoyant. However, I was able to look past this and enjoy the fourth Saw film.

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dead. Though he is gone, he vows that his work will continue. And it appears he is true to his word, for SWAT Lt. Rigg (from Saw 2 & 3) is the latest member of the police force to be thrust into one of Jigsaw's deadly games. Meanwhile, Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) is joined by a pair of FBI agents to help stop the Jigsaw killer once and for all...They'll start by looking into his past, beginning with his ex wife, Jill.

The acting is pretty good. Costas Mandylor, Tobin Bell, and Scott Patterson are the standouts. Bell brings so much more to the character this time around through flashbacks as we learn more about John Kramer. Showing that he has created one of the most memorable characters of recent memory, Bell makes us almost sympathize with him, despite the acts he has committed. Mandylor is really good as Detective Hoffman, even though he has limited screen time and dialog. I liked Patterson a lot because of the toughness and reality he brought to the character. Agent Strahm is a good character and definitely one of my favorites in the series. One big surprise was Lyric Bent as Rigg. He definitely showed a lot of range in this movie. He has a future.

The plot is probably the most complex, as there can be as many as 3 different subplots going on at the same time, all while the audience has questions from the first 3 movies answered. The ending also leaves a little to be desired, as it is the least impacting twist of the series (and most obvious). However, I really enjoyed the traps, which were definitely a step up from Saw 3. The random gore was kept to a minimum, but the beginning is absolutely horrifyingly gory. It also felt rushed, which means I can't wait to see the unrated DVD. Hopefully it'll have more extra footage than the others. Saw 4 has the weakest script of the series, but it's still better than I expected. At this point, it appears as if Darren Bousman is going through the motions, and that's what keeps the series spirit alive. As long as Bousman, Wan, or Whannell continue to be involved, the spirit should live on. I also have to give props to the editor for the smooth and catchy transitions, not to mention the production design is top notch. That and the lighting provide at least some horror realism, as the plot does border on absurd at times. The sound is better than ever, with the classic 'Hello, Zepp' tune that has become one of the most recognizable tracks in movie history making its dramatic appearance in the climax of the film. The ending also leaves us wanting more, so I'm expecting Saw 5 next Halloween.

8/10 --spy