Saw IV Will Be Coming Out Before Halloween and You'll Need to Know a Few Things Before You Buy Your Ticket(s)

1) The first film was directed by Dead Silence and Death Sentence director, James Wan.

2) The first film took only 18 days to film.

3) Saw (2004) was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January, 2004.

4) The first film was shot on a budget of $1.2 million and earned over $55 million domestically.

5) Saw starred such actors as Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) and Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride).

6) Every Saw film has been released within one year of each other.

7) The main person responsible for the killings in the Saw series is called Jigsaw, but his real name happens to be John Kramer (played by Tobin Bell).

8) Names of victims include Detective David Tapp (Glover), Detective Steven Sing (Ken Leung), Adam Faulkner (Leigh Whannell), Zep Hindle (Michael Emerson), Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Walberg), Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith), a girl named Addison (Emmanuelle Vaugier), a guy named Xavier (Franky G.), a girl named Laura (Beverley Mitchell), Jeff Reinhart (Angus Macfadyen), Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh), and Detective Kerry (Dina Meyer).

9) There were only 3 returning players in the first 3 Saw films and they are Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, and Dina Meyer.

10) Saw II (2005) was made for $4 million, and grossed $87 million domestically.

11) Jigsaw took some criminals, threw them in a house, and watched them as they fight for survival. The ex-cons are dying of a poison gas. They have to find syringes full of an antidote before time runs out. To add to the threat, Jigsaw threw in some really gruesome traps for the players. On the other hand is a police detective, Eric Matthews (Wahlberg). He has an itchy trigger finger and a foul temper. Matthews and his squad of police officers are on Jigsaw. They break into his hideout and hold him hostage - or perhaps it is the other way around. Matthews ends up hurting himself more than Jigsaw. We are given one more surprise ending that actually makes sense.

12) Saw III was made for approximately $12 million. In some ways I don't see where it went, but who cares when you're so busy being scared?

13) In Saw III (2006), Jigsaw and his new accomplice or should I say, apprentice are out for blood again. This time, they are trying to keep Jigsaw alive just long enough to witness his last game. The game entails that a miserable man looking to get revenge seek out those responsible for his pain. By the end of the film, the entire series up to this point comes full circle.

What should you expect?

Saw IV (2007) is the next installment in the series.

The fourth film will be out in theaters on October 26th.

Saw 4 cost approximately $10 million to make.

Saw IV is presumably a prequel to the previous films. This should give us a better understanding of Jigsaw and his reasons for needing an apprentice.

The cast includes Tobin Bell as John Kramer, Shawnee Smith as Amanda Young, Betsy Russell as Jill Kramer, Angus MacFadyen as Jeff Reinhart, and Scott Patterson as Agent Straum. Plus, Eric Matthews (Wahlberg) is back.

Someone in IV, most likely one of the victims will have to stand on a block of ice.

My thoughts

Every Halloween, as odd as it may seem, I look forward to every new Saw film. There seems to be a rare consistancy in performances and storytelling that I absolutely admire in a film of this kind. They are like a good version of every Friday the 13th / Jason film I have ever seen. Yes, I do not recommend any movie in this series to anyone under 18. They promote torture. They could induce nightmares in the toughest 15 year old boy. But if there was ever a film that shows torture and bloodshed in a better light, I'd like to see it. No, this series does not even come close to the same quality as say, Silence of the Lambs but they wouldn't be making so many if it wasn't successful.

Final note

If you're a fan of horror and you're over 18, I can't tell you how important it is to see the new Saw film. It should be just as terrifying as any of the others.