Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead. Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grisly remains and piecing together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend...or face the deadly consequences.
An incomprehensible cacophony of screams, shock cuts, dour pseudo-philosophizing, heavy metal mutilation and low-rent TV-standard performances.
– Geoff Pevere,
Toronto Star,
29 Oct 2007
rotten:
Just as Jigsaw tests his victims, the franchise's own test will be whether such suspension can be maintained, or if matters lapse into a torture chamber of self-parody.
– Robert Koehler,
Variety,
29 Oct 2007
rotten:
This death trap may be rusty, but as long as it keeps generating fresh blood, it's unlikely to slam shut anytime soon.
– Elizabeth Weitzman,
New York Daily News,
29 Oct 2007
rotten:
The reports of torture porn's demise may have been greatly exaggerated, but this fourth entry in the mutilate-yourself-or-die series joins what may be the worst genre of the decade: the lamely ''sympathetic'' serial-killer backstory.
– Owen Gleiberman,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct 2007
rotten:
Like the movie's mysterious Jigsaw doppelganger, Saw IV is itself a poor substitute for the original (or even the first two sequels).