Delayed reaction: Saw IV

What I Guessed It Was About: A man or woman gets trapped in a serious of puzzles and challenges that puts his or other people's lives in jeopardy. Meanwhile, some detectives try to investigate this. Timelines don't quite match up, although we don't know how until the end. In short, it's a major departure from the first three movies.

How I Came Into It: I caught a few minutes of this movie a few years back and had no desire to continue. My thinking was that maybe with context, the torture porn would be more watchable. This is the midway point in the series. Jigsaw just died. Unless they started taking the prequel angle, I was having a hard time seeing how they were going to continue this.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) They didn't quite make a prequel, but this gives you enough glimpses of the past to have a good amount of Jigsaw (I'm not learning his real name). I liked seeing Scott Patterson all over this movie. He wasn't especially great. I just like more Luke Danes in my life.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Other than Luke Danes and Jigsaw, I didn't care about any of the characters. By the fourth movie in a series, the audience knows the beats and tricks of the movies. All that's left is the visual thing that most people recognize about the movie. Normally, it's a monster like the Ghost Mask in Scream. For Saw, it's the inventive torture. If you get a thrill out of squealing through those things happening to people, this will maintain your interest. That's exactly the reason I avoided the movies for so long. Thankfully, the box office returns fell off a cliff after the fourth, so I have no reason to continue with them.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend