Search

Search only in certain items:

    Fun For Toddlers

    Fun For Toddlers

    Education and Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Fun For Toddlers is a fun and educational game for kids 1-5 years old! The game contains 15 jigsaw...

Saw IV (2007)
Saw IV (2007)
2007 | Horror, Mystery
10
6.8 (19 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Continuing on from the events of the previous film a new game is started as the last of the police officers from the other films are tested by jigsaw.
Like the previous films we have more traps and more people being tested and, of course things are not always what they seem.
With 'Saw 4' we get more of a feel of where the series is going, we see more of how Jigsaw recruits his assistants and how he intends to continue his work even when he no longer can.
We also get more on Jigsaws past, although, at times it does seem like it's contradicting what we already know everything comers together by the end of the film.
Saw 4 does a better job with the remaining characters from the previous films, keeping then through the film instead of killing them off in the first few minuets like they did in saw 3 and this film really does do a good job of tying up the loose ends from saw 3 and setting up things to come which is something which could have gone really wrong after the events of saw 3, other franchises have had problems bringing back their main killers and most of the way they used would not work with Saw as the franchise is more grounded in reality than a lot of other slasher type films.
I'm not sure how much of the story is planned ahead and how much is the writers checking the previous films for plot holes and then filling them in but Saw 4 does answer some questions, like how was Amanda able to lift some of her victims. The film also show us things like why Amanda uses a Pig mask.
The Gore level isn't as much as in Saw 3 and a lot of the 'game' is more psychological than the previous films but this fits the overall tone of the series and allows the film to give us more information via flashbacks, which are also used to throw the viewer off what is happening.

Saw 4 is more of the same, traps, games, blood and tests whilst also building on the law and setting up for more movies and ends leaving the viewer wanting more.
  
Saw III (2006)
Saw III (2006)
2006 | Horror, Mystery
4
6.6 (18 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The first Saw film is genuinely great. The second I can tolerate. Saw III however is where the franchise started to lose me.

At this point, it's still not as convoluted as the series eventually gets, but it's here where you can clearly see the cracks start to appear, where every entry going forwards tries to ape what made the first film a success, whilst simultaneously becoming increasingly mean spirited - it's the first entry that really hints at the gore and viscera being more important than a decent plot.

The main positive of Saw III is the sheer amount of Tobin Bell we're treated to. Even on his death bed, Jigsaw is still appropriately sinister, and it's hard to see the role belonging to any other actor.
It's also nice to see Dina Meyer back for another turn, but her role here is all too brief.
Unfortunately, everyone else I can take or leave. Shawnee Smith returns as Jigsaws' apprentice, and her character is just so damn unlikable with no redeemable features, and is a far cry from her more compelling teacher, who always had a reason for doing what he did.
Then there's Jeff (Slow Ass Motherfuckin' Jeff to some) played by Angus Macfadyen. Honestly, I struggle to recall a protagonist in a horror movie that is quite as useless as this guy. He's insufferable to the point of sheer frustration.
Everyone else is just hugely forgettable, even Costas Mandylor who would go on to have a bigger role in the series moving forward.
The mixture of these non characters makes for a boring narrative, that ends up relying on gore for any worth.

The various Jigsaw traps seen in these films become more ambitious, theatrical, and disgusting as the franchise waddles along, and that's not necessarily a good thing. With each film, the more minimalist approach to the first film seems further and further out of reach.
As I mentioned, some of the deaths in Saw III are just plain mean spirited. Gore in horror movies really works when the film still manages to be entertaining, something that the bleak Saw III just isn't.

It's still not a terrible film, but honestly, the series just nosedives from here on out in my opinion, and this third entry is the jumping point.