Saw 4 (2007) Review

Even though Spiral has been out for a few weeks, I have been really busy so I am having to catch up on the Saw films quite quickly and here is my review for Saw 4. The premise of the film sees a police officer have to take part in a game in order to try and save his two friends. 

Main Character 

There are many characters in this film but I guess I put him in the premise so Lyriq Bent plays Lieutenant Rigg and this is one boring character. Yes, he has been in the other Saw films but as a very small role and this film requires him to do more and it just doesn't work. He is an incredibly bland character that is just a police officer and has nothing remarkable about him in any way. 

Supporting Characters

Even after the events of the last film, Tobin Bell is back as Jigsaw and the film uses him in a pretty bizarre way by trying to show more of his backstory and it just really didn't work for me. The rest of the cast offer pretty little, Costas Mandylor as Hoffman and Scott Patterson as Strahm play the other main roles but again there isn't much there, they are just generic police officers and I never really cared about the investigation or any of them as characters so it made it hard to stay invested as the film as a whole. 

Story 

The story isn't that great but there are some positives. In traditional Saw fashion, the last 10 mins are insane with reveals and gore and this film is no different with it being pretty effective, even if it doesn't all make sense. But the film really tries hard to connect everything from previous films and explore Jigsaws past that it bogs the film down and makes the continuity a bit hard to follow or gain a sense of. If you don't care about any of the characters it does make it difficult to get invested on the story that is being told. 

Script 

The script is pretty bad, the dialogue is basic and generic and the mapping out of the plot just doesn't work apart from that last 10 mins which is at least entertaining but a bit hard to understand. These films are forced to all connect and sometimes a bit too forcibly and it just doesn't quite work and forces you to try and remember everything that has taken place in previous films. 

Style 

Saw is know for its stylish executions and they are still here in all there gory nature and at least this element of the franchise is kept in tact and in full display here. But the film is paced poorly, and is sloppy in its execution which is in the nature of the last few films in this franchise. 

Overall

Overall, Saw 4 is a really poor film that is sloppy and focuses on the gore instead of its characters and narrative and that isn't enough for me. If you like horror films like Saw then obviously this is up your street but for everybody else, avoid this one. 

Rating - 2/10