Saw IV 2007

As John Kramer’s post-mortem examination unfolds, a cryptic discovery in the Jigsaw Killer’s stomach sends shockwaves through the investigation: a tiny microcassette encased in wax. Lieutenant Mark Hoffman is summoned to decipher the audio message, which issues a chilling warning - he too will be tested as the “last man standing”. The scene shifts to a somber mausoleum, where Trevor and Art are immobilized by chains and winches. Trevor’s eyelids have been surgically sewn shut, while Art’s mouth is similarly silenced, rendering communication between them impossible. As the machinery begins to pull them closer, Trevor’s panic turns to desperation, prompting him to launch a violent attack on Art. The latter, driven by necessity, retaliates and ultimately dispatches Trevor, retrieving a crucial key from his collar in the process.

In a subsequent flashback, Art stumbles upon two enigmatic offerings: a recorded message from Jigsaw and an envelope containing cryptic instructions. Six months have elapsed since Detective Eric Matthews vanished, leaving behind a trail of mystery. Meanwhile, four days have passed since Detective Allison Kerry’s disappearance was reported. The police stumble upon Kerry’s lifeless body, suspended in the harness of the deadly trap that claimed her life in Saw III. Following a stern rebuke to Lieutenant Daniel Rigg for his reckless behavior, Hoffman is introduced to FBI Agents Strahm and Perez. They deduce that Amanda Young, Jigsaw’s apprentice, would require assistance with Kerry’s intricate trap, suggesting the presence of an additional accomplice behind her murder.

That evening, Rigg’s home becomes the site of a brutal assault, while Hoffman inexplicably vanishes into thin air. When Rigg awakens, he finds himself face-to-face with a chilling videotape. The message from Jigsaw informs him that Matthews is still alive, with only 90 minutes to spare, and that Hoffman’s very survival hangs in the balance. As Rigg embarks on his first test, he encounters a mysterious woman named Brenda. Jigsaw’s guidance advises Rigg to abandon her, but his natural inclination to aid those in need clouds his judgment. When Rigg removes the pig mask concealing Brenda’s face, he unwittingly triggers a deadly trap that begins to slowly peel away her scalp. He manages to free her, only to find herself transformed into a ruthless assailant hell-bent on dispatching him. After a harrowing encounter, Rigg leaves Brenda for dead and sets out to locate the next test site.

In the aftermath, Strahm, Perez, and the police enter Rigg’s apartment, where they discover Brenda’s lifeless body, her fate a grim testament to the unyielding cruelty of Jigsaw’s twisted games.

As Rigg arrives at the motel, he’s met with an enigmatic message scrawled on the door: “Feel what I feel.” This cryptic instruction precedes his mission to apprehend Ivan, a depraved serial rapist, and exact a twisted form of justice. The encounter unfolds like a macabre dance, as Rigg forces Ivan into a gruesome predicament – a choice between blinding, mutilation, or a ghastly demise. With calculated cruelty, Rigg hands Ivan two controllers that will drive blades into his eyes, condemning him to a slow and agonizing torment. As the clock ticks away, Ivan’s desperate attempts to escape only hasten his own brutal dismemberment.

This act of retribution serves as a precursor to Rigg’s next test, “Save as I save,” which takes him back to a school where he once intervened on behalf of Morgan, a woman brutally abused by her husband Rex. The past and present collide when Rigg discovers the same couple impaled together, their bodies pierced by metal rods that have been strategically placed to ensure the wife’s survival while her husband bleeds out. As Rigg surveys the grisly scene, he finds Morgan has already removed most of the rods, leaving only one remaining – a testament to her unwavering determination and unspoken courage. Rigg’s words of encouragement serve as a catalyst for Morgan’s ultimate liberation, as he removes the final rod, hands her the key to their shared restraints, and triggers a fire alarm to alert authorities to her location. With a sense of grim satisfaction, Rigg departs, leaving behind a scene of chaos and newfound freedom.

As Strahm (actor name) and Perez arrive on the gruesome crime scene, they’re acutely aware that they’ve both become pawns in Jigsaw’s twisted game. The investigation leads them to a startling revelation: every victim was protected by Art, the same lawyer who represents Jill Tuck, John Kramer’s estranged wife. Amidst the chaos, a chilling event unfolds as a gun used to deliver the rods into Rex and Morgan fires a deadly projectile through a photographer, claiming her life on the spot. Strahm and Perez stumble upon Billy, Jigsaw’s eerie puppet, surrounded by candles in an office setting. The air is heavy with tension as Perez, via tape recorder, receives a dire warning: “Strahm will soon take the life of an innocent man,” and “Perez’s next step is critical.” Ignoring the ominous message, she draws closer to Billy, only for his face to explode in a shower of shrapnel, leaving her fighting for her life at the hospital. Seething with anger, Strahm turns his attention to Jill, who recounts Jigsaw’s dark past.

The story begins with Jill’s pregnancy, which was cut short when Cecil robbed the clinic where she worked and triggered a miscarriage, resulting in the loss of their unborn child, Gideon. As John’s health began to decline, he kidnapped Cecil and subjected him to his first trap: a gruesome device designed to test his resolve. Cecil was forced to push his face against sharp knives to release his wrists and ankles, which were slit into razor-sharp blades embedded in the chair arms and legs. The chair collapsed, sending Cecil tumbling into a tangled mess of barbed wire as John watched with detached fascination.

As Strahm pieces together Jill’s story, eerie connections emerge between her narrative and the Gideon Meat Factory, where Rigg faced his final test.

As Strahm stumbles into the midst of chaos, a labyrinthine narrative unfolds, blurring the lines between reality and the twisted realm of Jigsaw’s making. Unbeknownst to the viewer, this segment is concurrently taking place alongside the events of Saw III, its threads intricately woven together like the very fabric of Rigg’s psyche. Meanwhile, Rigg stands poised at the threshold of his final test, a crucible that will prove his mettle and push him to the limits of human endurance.

Within the confines of this gruesome puzzle, Art, Matthews, and Hoffman find themselves trapped in a precarious dance, their fates inextricably linked by the delicate balance of a scale. Matthews, suspended precariously on an ice block, is bound by a chain-noose that threatens to snap at any moment, while Hoffman lies strapped into a chair, an electrode humming with malevolent intent mere inches from his feet. As Rigg approaches, Art watches over them both with a device affixed to his back, its pincers poised to sever his spine at a moment’s notice.

Matthews’ desperate attempts to warn Rigg of the impending doom are drowned out by the din of chaos, and in a desperate bid to preserve life, he takes aim with a gun provided by Art. Wounded but unyielding, Rigg bursts through the door mere seconds before time expires, releasing the crushing weight of ice blocks that claims Matthews’ life. As Art tries to plead his case, Rigg’s judgment is clouded by bloodlust and confusion, leading him to mistake a tape recorder for a firearm and ultimately take Art’s life.

The truth begins to unravel as Rigg listens in stunned silence to the tape recording left behind, its words piercing his very soul: he has failed his final test by refusing to accept that some lives cannot be saved alone. With this bitter realization, Hoffman, revealed to be another protégé of Jigsaw, frees himself from his chair and departs, leaving Rigg a broken and bleeding husk on the cold, unforgiving floor.

As the narrative unfolds, Strahm finds himself pitted against Jeff in a tense standoff within the makeshift morgue from Saw III. The air is thick with tension as Jeff brandishes a gun at Strahm, his mind clouded by the notion that he’s somehow connected to the disappearance of his daughter; in a split second, Strahm takes control of the situation, ending Jeff’s life in a bid for self-preservation. This act of desperation serves as a grim fulfillment of Jigsaw’s ominous earlier warning. Before Strahm can process the gravity of his actions, Hoffman emerges to seal his fate, imprisoning him within the same confined space where the lifeless bodies of Jigsaw, Jeff, Amanda and Lynn lay in cold, stark silence.

The cinematic journey culminates with a chilling post-mortem examination of Jigsaw’s remains, a haunting testament to the events that have transpired since the curtain closed on this gripping chapter.