A Ghoul Versus Saw IV (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1!

Following this clue to a map in the classroom, Rigg finds a box with his next destination: go home. Only the “G” in “go” is written in a specialized font that matches the same lettering used in one of Jigsaw's properties, the Gideon Meatpacking Plant.  Hmm, you think the second the police got his name they would have started searching all the properties registered to his name.  You know, just in case he might have had a hidden base there or something.  A quick montage of the various traps used in the movie shows them branded with the telltale letter. Instead of helping Morgan, Rigg simply hands her Jigsaw's key and tells her she has to save herself. He leaves, pulling the fire alarm on his way out.

This draws Strahm and team, constantly one step behind it seems. Perez gets a call where she learns all of tonight's victims were all represented by Art Blank at one point of their lives, who also JUST HAPPENS to be Jill's lawyer. Wow, there are a lot of elements in play right now. It's gonna take a HELL of a montage to tie all this together smoothly. The reveals keep coming though as Perez finds out Jill also owns the school, leading to her and Strahm searching the rest of it.

In an office they find a Billy puppet with a note and a tape player on his- and you know what? How come they never tried tracing the guy who's buying thirty million tape players in the city? This film was made in 2007, when digital recorders were long since the norm so this outdated technology would be bound to stand out when it's being sold by the pallet load, wouldn't you think? Anyway, Perez reaches out and hits play like the genius she is. Good thing that doll wasn't a pressure sensitive explosive or anything! I love how all these highly trained professionals can't grasp the concept of securing a crime scene first.

A Ghoul Versus Saw IV (Part 1)

Previously on Saw III...

Jigsaw? Dead. Amanda? Dead. Kerry? Dead. YIKES! The film makers do know another trilogy was planned after this, right? Did they miss that memo?

After seeing Saw III in 2006, I said they'd need a HELL of a strong sequel to make me come back. Sure, I would have eventually seen the next movie regardless but it sure wouldn't have been on opening night with my hard earned money in hand. Right off the bat they announced the movie would center around Lyriq Bent's underutilized character Daniel Rigg, so just like that I was all in. And I'll admit to being intrigued about where the story was going to go next, seeing as how the majority of the cast was saddled with that whole “We are totally dead” business.

Director of the last two films Darren Lynn Bousman said he was done with the series but upon reading the script was convinced to come back one last time. He said the film's huge plot twist surprised him, something he didn't think was possible after two years of guiding the franchise. The script came from four different scripts floating around Lionsgate, the original idea coming from writer Thomas Fenton, who had mostly served in Hollywood as a behind the scenes player.

The actual script was written by the team of Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, who had made a name for themselves with the horror comedy Feast. They obviously impressed their bosses with their writing, as they would go on to pen the rest of the movies in the series. Having some fairly big shoes to fill after following the guys that transformed the genre forever, let's see what kind of approach the new team brought with A Ghoul Versus Saw IV!

A Ghoul Versus Saw III (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1!

The judge pleads for his life, busting out the old chestnut of “don't become a killer like the guy you're after!”. This gets through to Jeff so he goes over to the incinerator and reluctantly pushes the button. Heartbroken, he watches his son's favourite toys burn away in what I'll admit is a very well done scene. The key pops out, Jeff using it to save the judge from the vat of never ending horrors. You think that was gross though? You ain't seen nothing yet, as the next scene is Lynn performing GRAPHIC brain surgery on Jigsaw.

Bousman shows this with medical level details of realism as I long for the days of Wan's restraint and off camera gore. The shit we've been subjected to so far even makes the last movie look tame, but sadly Bousman hadn't even hit his stride yet. I LOVE bloody horror movies but only when there's a point to it. Here, it's just gratuitous for the sake of being gratuitous because THAT'S what horror is all about, right? RIGHT?! This wasn't even some poor victim getting eviscerated, it was just to be a gross as humanly possible.

A Ghoul Versus Saw III (Part 1)

Previously on Saw II...

Just pretend the first Saw never happened and the rest of this gets much, much easier to process. Jigsaw upped his game to Batman-levels of mind games, anticipation, and resources, as his efforts went city wide. We also learn he has an apprentice in the form of Amanda Young, the first survivor of his traps, who is being groomed to take over when he succumbs to his rapidly growing cancer. His latest target, Detective Eric Matthews, failed his test about as hard as possible and is now trapped in the iconic bathroom to slowly die.

After Saw II, filmmakers Darren Lynn Bousman, James Wan, and Leigh Whannell were ready to wash their hands of the franchise and finally move on with their lives. But then a very sad thing happened: Gregg Hoffman, one of the producers behind the series, unexpectedly passed away at the very young age of 42. The three agreed to make one last final movie in his name, so production was begun right away.

The marketing for the film basically boiled down to “It's Halloween, time for another Saw movie! Come on, what else are you going to go see?”. That's good and all because I am literally the target audience for that mind set, but it's just so devoid of any kind of creativity whatsoever. If you need further proof of this, Lionsgate didn't even bother to screen the film for critics which is NEVER a good sign. The studio knows it's not a good movie, so there's no point in everyone else telling them it sucks.

A Ghoul Versus Saw II (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1!

Xavier returns to the safe room, trying in vain to open the safe until he notices a number tattooed on the back of Gus' head. Jigsaw's clue from the first tape plays in his mind, as the proverbial light bulb goes off over his thick skull. He kills Jonas and gets the number off his neck, taking off after the rest of the survivors.

They're across the house, Laura finally finding the X Jigsaw mentioned way back when on a picture frame. Addison looks behind it to find a picture of Matthews and Daniel, confronting him over this but Laura has the courtesy to break up the tension by dying. Now THAT'S how you change an awkward subject! Addison decides she can't trust anyone and takes off on her own. Xavier gets the number off Obi's remains while Amanda discovers Jonas' body and drags Daniel to safety.

I can't help but wonder what the point of this little plot was, as Jigsaw said when they found 'X' it'd help them all realize why they're there. Sure, Matthews arrested all of them but how it THAT going to help? All it's going to do is make them turn on Daniel and probably try to kill him, which is VIOLENTLY counterproductive to Jigsaw's master plan. I guess since Jigsaw can anticipate everyone's decisions in perfect detail he knew by the time it was discovered most of them would be dead and it wouldn't matter, but still it seems like an odd thing to leave hanging out there.

A Ghoul Versus Saw II (Part 1)

Previously on Saw...

In which we met psychopathic serial killer Jigsaw, a man dying of cancer who kidnaps people and puts them into horrific traps they have to solve to survive. The traps usually involve physical disfigurement to survive, the catch that surviving this trap will make you appreciate life and change your wicked ways. At the end of the film Jigsaw gets away scot free, as we get the impression he's not quite done yet with his twisted crusade to make the world a better place.

The first Saw was the definition of a smash hit, made for almost nothing and turning a huge profit while getting very positive reaction from critics and fans alike. Its distributor, Lionsgate Films, knew they had something very special on their hands and wanted to create a new franchise based off yearly sequels releasing every Halloween.

One problem though: Saw's creators, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, had moved on to a different movie and were no longer available to helm a sequel. With less than a year from their targeted release date of Saw II and no one really having any idea what to do, fate handed Lionsgate a gift in the form of writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman and his script for a movie called The Desperate.