Saw IV (2007)

Saw IV. Film review. I'm not really a fan of this kind of film which was just recently, re-established within a new genre called a torture-porn film. And just like it's genre stated, this kind of film relies on its fan's penchant on instead of taking pleasure goggled over naked women (or men) doing whatever they do when they're naked (thus, porn in its true meaning) was taking pleasure in poring over scenes where some men (or women) strapped in various mean torture devices (thus, torture and porn combined into one). Therefore, it usually takes me a long while to actually seen this kind of film (i haven't seen Hostel part.II, or Captivity for instance, although i had these films in my possession). However, when available, i'd always seen the unrated version of the film. This holds true for Saw series.

I would say that the first Saw film was a surprise hit. A hit enough to spawn four sequels in four consecutive years (Saw V was scheduled to release this year). A hit enough that most other horror/disturbing/torture films usually stay clear of October to avoid any direct competition with Saw series which usually takes a release spot on that month. The first Saw film was actually a smart thriller in a non-average kind. Unfortunately, the sequels were gradually eroded the smart-thriller feels of the film and edged the series closer to a mere torture-porn where the story doesn't really matter anymore than its various wicked torture devices. Well, that's what i thought anyway.

The first Saw film (and the rest of its sequels) introduces us to Jigsaw, a serial killer with a proficiency in engineering and rather twisted sense of what's right and what's wrong. He has a game in which he put men (and women) in or within vicinity of various torture devices, told them to make a choice where they would die or live albeit with un-whole condition afterward. Physically or mentally. The series thus far, were repetitive since its first film. There's an opening scene where some men or women were about to get tortured, while some alleged protagonist runs around fixing clues here and there to unravel the mystery, and as the film gradually approaches its end, the mysteries were unraveled by quick flashback scenes. And guess what? Our protagonist may not live or may not look the way he was in the first place. I was actually rather marveled by the writer team behind Saw series to put up a continuity without looking entirely too stupid. However, my understanding to the stories were minimal and i'm at a point where i was ignorent to the whole fiasco and loose-ends (unlike say, Back to the Future series, in which i was at a time obsessed by piecing the pieces of Marty and Doc adventures). Despite so, after seeing this film, it's easy to believe that if this series keep making money the way it was for the last four films, you'd see more Saw films for the next couple of years. And it would be actually interesting to see how the writer team behind this series put up their ideas into an logically-acceptable sequel (not prequel, that was too easy).

One thing that bugged me the most about the film was Darren Lynn Bousman, the director. He has helmed the Saw series since number two, and his way in shooting his scenes where he incorporated many quick-cuts, accelerated frame-rate (forward or backward), and too much sound effects were not among my preferences. And it gets worse as the series grew in number. With that said, it is easy to see what i had in thought about this film. It is easily the worst of the series so far, and i think it wasn't really wise to spend another effort for the fifth installment. Alas, contradictory to what i had said, had i had the money, based on its past histories and this film, i would gladly invest to another sequel (and a prequel) of this serie before calling it a day.