When talking to friends I have come to describe it as the Lost of the big screen. I think the comparison is apt because, much like the popular television series, nothing appears on the big screen that doesn't have some connection to the bigger picture. It doesn't matter how big or how small the detail, do not fear as it will tie into something. If it doesn't tie in here, it will be forced into place in a future entry. The script is so packed with minutia that there is no room for character development, the writers are too busy trying to force the pieces through hoops so that they all fit. Or at the very least there are enough clues to keep the hardcore fans discussing them until the next entry reaches the big screen.

Jigsaw remains one of the more intriguing villains to reach the big screen in recent years. Saw IV takes us a little further into the origins of the moralizing killer who isn't really a killer. His life experience, combined with his terminal cancer, has taught him to cherish life. He has set his life's goal to spread that thought and so he goes forth, carefully choosing his subjects before placing them in elaborate traps to teach them something about themselves.

While we learn more about the mastermind, his traps remain more of the same. Rather his messages are all the same. Again, the script and story forego any attempts to further those motives in its effort to force all of the players into the big picture.

To move forward with any plot description would reveal just how convoluted it is and likely reveal holes in my ability to remember much of it. So, I will not even attempt to go over what happened. Actually, I am not even sure that I know what happened. I do know that I left the theater with a question mark plastered across my face.

Where Saw IV succeeds is in delivering some deliciously gruesome traps and a healthy dose of gore. Fortunately, it was frequent enough to keep me from completely losing it over the twisty story. So, for horror fans you will likely enjoy what this has to offer in its splatter factor. It is just a shame that the focus is more on putting the pieces together than it is furthering a story.

Bottom line. Saw IV should be admired for its ambition, but it aims way too high and falls way too short. I left with a question about what happened; upon some thought I can get the major pieces into place, but the biggest attraction is the blood and guts. Hopefully whatever is to follow will throttle back the plot gymnastics and give us some stronger characters to care about and less complexity to unravel.

Mildly Recommended.