"Saw IV": Blades of Gory

**NOTE: This review contains big-time spoilers involving the ending of Saw III. Even though a good chunk of the TV ads and such tell you what's going on, I'd still like to notify spoiler-wary readers that now is a good time to avert your eyes, leave the room, and enjoy a cheese sandwich.**

One of the main strengths of the Saw series has been its wily esge, its ability to whip up devious plot twists drawn from pre-established storylines. But I have to say that even as part of a horror franchise famous for its blood-soaked, sleight-of-hand storytelling, Saw IV is a mighty big stretch. While a graphic and swiftly-moving ditty like its brothers, Saw IV doesn't quite measure up as far as an inherently diabolical sense of smarts goes.

This latest chapter of the Saw saga picks up in the aftermath of the previous flick's carnage. As Saw III viewers know, John Kramer (Tobin Bell), otherwise known as the murderous mastermind Jigsaw, met the business end of a band saw and now lies on a slab at the morgue. But although Jigsaw is dead, his legacy lives on, as the discovery of a cassette tape in his stomach indicates that a new deadly game is afoot. The main player this time around is SWAT commander Rigg (Lyriq Bent), who's grown obsessed with Jigsaw after a good portion of his colleagues have fallen victim to the madman while in pursuit. This time, however, Rigg will have to step into Jigsaw's shoes, being forced into having to choose between saving or trapping individuals with dirty pasts in order to rescue not only a fellow lawman (Costas Mandylor) but also a figure from the past who's all too familiar with Jigsaw's games.

Like 99% of the people I know, I was extremely skeptical about how Saw IV would play out. After the third film ended Jigsaw's story on a pretty final note, my mind began racing with all the lame methods that the filmmakers might end up using to prolong the plot in the sequels to come. I'm relieved that this wasn't quite the case with Saw IV, although the flick is full of occasions on which it still proves its story to be almost too big of a pill to swallow. Firstly, however, let me get down to the bottom line: fans of the series' trademark gore and lethal traps won't be let down too much. Director Darren Lynn Bousman (stepping up for his third time at bat with the franchise) and his team have kept the Saw tradition of devilishly clever traps, designed to test those caught in them on how far they'd go to stay alive, alive and well (if not as creative as they've been in the previous flicks). The bloody highlights include a flashback to Jigsaw's first terror trap (a nasty set-up involving more knives than a steakhouse) and a couple speared together with strategically-placed rods -- whose removal will benefit one but leave the other in a decidedly icky state.

Indeed, fans of the series to date will be satisfied by Saw IV in this respect, but the plotting and twists are a whole other story. What with Jigsaw virtually pushing daisies at the start of the film, viewers are treated to a little bit more back story involving the motivations that turned him into the "non-murderer" he would become. These scenes aren't bad, but not everyone in this feature turns out to be so lucky. The entire premise is airlifted from Saw III; instead of a father confronting confronting characters surrounding his child's death, it's a hothead cop having to choose whether to save some random sleazebags or leave them to endure Jigsaw's torturous tests. The whole movie reeks of repetition, from the recycled plot to the even more overused method behind Jigsaw's madness, which, after four flicks, is getting more than a smidge tiring. Not even the obligatory twists are that exciting, because instead of being bowled over by an earth-shattering surprise, you'll be busy trying to figure how all of the plot threads connect, get fed up, and leave by the time the credits are almost over.

This goes without saying that I dig complexity in horror movies; it's a pleasure to see something with at least a semblance of a brain rather than a lifeless slice of gore the likes of Captivity. The trouble with Saw IV is that while it definitely has the ambition and atmosphere of its predecessors, what it lacks is their collective panache, that ability to give you a cinematic punch in the gut and leave you begging for more.

MY RATING: ** 1/2 (out of ****)