Months of reading, studying and killing my brain has all come to an end. I finally know the ending to “Saw IV,” and after two viewings, I actually understand it. Sort of.
We open with the autopsy scene. We find Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) ripped open from head to toe, upon which a tape is discovered inside his stomach. Forensic Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) is called to the scene. Upon playing the tape, we find that Jigsaw is challenging Hoffman “to succeed where others have failed.” We’re also told that even though he is dead, Jigsaw’s games will continue. We then are dropped into the first trap, which at first has little to do with anything, or so it seems. At this point Hoffman and Rigg (Lyriq Bent), the only two untouched officers of these films, find Kerry’s rotting body. It is here that they are met by two FBI Agents, Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Perez (Athena Karkanis), who were in direct contact with Kerry until her disappearance. Strahm advises Hoffman that they are here to aid in the investigation, but not to find Jigsaw or Amanda Young, but to find the accomplice that has been helping them. So now we split off and a few different stories are being told all at once. We have Strahm and Perez interrogating Jill Tuck (Betsy Russell), Jigsaw’s ex wife. During this part of the movie, we see several flashbacks in which John, amongst other characters, are still alive. Then we cut to the main portion of the movie in which Rigg is involved in the latest game, which as long as he follows the rules, will see the release of both Hoffman and Eric Matthews (a returning Donnie Wahlberg).
There are a few strong performances in this entry. Lyriq Bent and Costas Mandylor are given the most screen time that they have had thus far in the franchise and they both make good use of it. B-movie Queen Betsy Russell also does quite well here as the victim, but you also can see a few things in her performance that always make you wonder if she is, or isn’t, in on the game. Tobin Bell turns in his best performance as Jigsaw yet. We mainly see him in flashbacks, and due to the circumstances he is involved in, we actually feel sympathy for him during a few spots. My favorite performance this time around is from newcomer Scott Patterson, who gay people might remember from his stint on “The Gilmore Girls.” Sure he plays the clichéd asshole FBI Agent, but he does it so well with so much energy and emotion that I hope to see him in “Saw V.”
The traps were my favorite in the series thus far. Due to Rigg’s obsession with saving everyone, he is placed into a situation where he must attempt to save people who do not deserve the lives they were given. Brenda, who sells young girls into prostitution, a husband who beats his wife and a wife who lets it happen and a man who rapes and abuses women. All of these people are given the same chance at life, but Rigg is almost being recruited by Jigsaw as he is forced to “feel what he feels,” or to “save as he saves.”
The twist ending was built up in my mind to be the best in the series thus far when in fact; nothing will ever top the first film. With each sequel, the creativity and suspense is still there, but they will never recreate the magnitude of the ending in the very first film. The ending to “Saw IV” does come as a shock, albeit a confusing one. I would hardly call it a twist as, just like the first entry, this film gives you every clue along the way to figure it out on your own. The only downside to the ending is that the motivations behind it probably won’t even be explained until “Saw V,” which due to the screenwriters strike in Hollywood may not even be seen until 2009.
There were also a few questions that were never answered, even when they were promised by the filmmakers. What was said in the letter to Amanda at the end of “Saw III?” We find out who gave it to her, but never what it said. A trap involving a glass box is seen in the film, and there are pictures online of a man trapped inside, but we never find out what it is for. The Buddha dolls that surround Jigsaw in “Saw III” were never brought up, nor was the subject of reincarnation. Finally, in a recent interview with one of the producers, it was stated that when Amanda cut the key from the man’s stomach in the first film, there was a relationship between the two that we were never aware of. All of these questions, albeit small ones, were never answered when they were advertised by the filmmakers.
The “Saw” franchise is still going strong, which is a tremendous accomplishment when you actually sit down and think about most sequels in a horror franchise. With each “Saw” film we are given an expansion of the story, more details on certain characters and a twist that fits within the rules the filmmakers have already established. If the filmmakers can keep it up, “Saw” may be the only horror franchise worth paying attention to year after year.
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