Just in case dating a serial killer and hanging out with Rambo wasn't enough horror for Julie Benz, The Hollywood Reporter posts that she's got herself a starring role in the next Saw movie -- Saw V. The film, which is currently filming in Toronto, is being directed by David Hackl, from a script by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan (as Scott mentioned back in February). Tobin Bell is returning as Jigsaw, but this latest victim isn't quite to his liking. As THR describes it: "Benz has been cast as a Brit with clothes and hair too proper and elegant to be a pawn in Jigsaw's latest games."

Well, at least she gets to be elegant. But really, when I see an actor like Benz who could be great on one show (or two, as in Buffy and Angel), top it off with a pretty notable gig on Dexter, but fill in the blanks with eh roles, I wonder if the real magic was just contained within one show or role. (The same could be said for Alyson Hannigan and her drama talents.) Is it just too hard to find a role similar to a snarky, strong, and in-control vampire woman? Benz can play a weak or troubled woman well, but she's at her best when she can command the screen and show her edge.

It's great that she's getting work; I just wish it was work that showed off more of what she can do, in roles that would give her some genre-free cred. At the very least, maybe she'll give Jigsaw a run for his money, even in fancy garb.

Saw V will be released on October 24.

If it's Halloween, it must be Saw. And it is. So it must be. Cinematical attended a press junket this week for Saw IV. It consisted of three interviews, with reporters from various outlets throwing out questions. The first was with Jigsaw himself, Tobin Bell (phoning in because he lives in Malibu, so wish him and his family well). The second was with Lyriq Bent (Rigg), Scott Patterson (Agent Strahm), and franchise producer Mark Burg. The third was with Costas Mandylor (Hoffman), Betsy Russell (Jill -- Mrs. Jigsaw), and franchise producer Oren Koules. Lionsgate hadn't screened the movie for critics (or even the actors!) as of this junket, as the representatives are extremely secretive about its plot, particularly a final twist. All we know is, despite having seemingly died at the end of Saw III, Jigsaw is back. Oh yes, and we know that there will be blood. Lotsa blood. We discussed what makes the franchise so popular, the phrase "torture porn," and the future of the Saw series.

Can you tell us what attracted you to the role yet again?

Tobin Bell: He's a big character. There could be nothing better for an actor than to have an opportunity to play a role where the character is sort of a multi-faceted guy. I mean, he is a scientist and a very well read guy and a man of conviction and passionate about what he does. There is something Shakespearean about him in a way. And there is a lot more story to be told. I feel like the Saw story doesn't play out in a linear way. It doesn't happen in sequence, necessarily. Whenever you have the opportunity to develop a guy like this, it's a blessing. It's what actors become actors for.

It's interesting to hear you talk about the thought process that goes into creating his back-story. Because if you ask an audience after they see a Saw film, they were there for the gore. They want to see someone's guts spill out on the floor. Are you rationalizing the character for yourself? Or do you really care about the characters in these films?

TB: I think that anybody who goes to one of these films wants to care about the characters. I think you can accomplish the same thing in the horror genre that you can accomplish in any other genre, whether it's a period piece, or a romantic comedy. I think there is an opportunity in a drama of any kind for the viewer to get involved with the characters. If you sell out completely on that, and I think that is what the horror genre has done for many years, people will not think of it very highly as a genre. Many genre films of the fifties and sixties were interested in the special effects, or interested in the scare factor, or the sci-fi factor. Jacob's Ladder is a very smart, well-crafted script. It is very scary. The Dead Zone with Christopher Walken. On its face, you have a man that looks at things and lights them on fire with his eyes. Look at the film. Christopher Walken draws you in. He makes you care about him. That's what makes the film work.

Outside of the Baby Geniuses pictures, I can't think of a more joyless, humorless, lifeless movie series than the Saw films. I watched the previous three alone at home, and each just sucked the life right out of me. But since I'd be seeing Saw IV with an audience, I expected to finally understand why people love these grisly flicks so much. I thought I'd hear yelling, cheering, people shouting "Gross!". I thought it would be fun. But the crowd remained completely silent until the credits rolled. Then everyone quietly got up, quietly walked to the doors, and quietly headed for their cars. How has this become the most successful horror franchise of all time?

Jigsaw is dead, and the film opens with his naked corpse laid out on a slab. Yes folks, I don't know why this hasn't been mentioned more in the marketing, but you do get to see 65 year-old Tobin Bell's genitals. That oughta sell some more tickets! What follows is an autopsy scene so astonishingly graphic that I removed the organ donor sticker from my driver's license. Seriously, if you had trouble with the brain surgery sequence in Saw III, get to Saw IV 15 minutes late. A new cassette recording is found in Jigsaw's stomach, and the games begin all over again. Two FBI profilers (played by Scott Patterson and Athena Karkanis) join Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) to put together the Jigsaw puzzle (nice little play on words there, if I don't say so myself). SWAT Commander Rigg (Lyriq Bent) is abducted and has 90 minutes to overcome the usual series of traps and save an ex-New Kid on the Block (Donnie Wahlberg). In other words, it's exactly like the other Saw flicks.

According to Bloody-Disgusting, Lionsgate is planning to shoot Saw V and Saw VI back-to-back, perhaps to make sure they have two sequels in the can prior to any sort of Hollywood strike. Either that, or they're just testing director David Hackl and his crew to see how fast they can write and shoot these suckers. Of course, I won't be happy until they write, shoot and have a Saw film in the can in one month, with 12 sequels to watch each year. Maybe by that time they'll figure out a way to clone Tobin Bell before the guy gets so used to being Jigsaw, that he winds up going on a mass killing spree for real. Screenwriters Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton (Feast, Project Greenlight) wrote Saw IV, and they're also signed on to write two more sequels. Good for them! At least someone came off that Project Greenlight show ready to kick serious ass.

The most interesting note to come attached to this Bloody-Disgusting story is that, apparently, Lionsgate may skip a year with the Saw films. Yup, that means October 2008 would come and go Saw-free. This has not been confirmed yet, and folks are on it as we speak, but that's what's being reported. Should Saw IV absolutely demolish the box office, I imagine Lionsgate may re-think that strategy. But if Saw IV doesn't put up big numbers, then maybe it would be a good idea to take a year off, let the fans breath, and then come back with a Saw V and Saw VI that absolutely rock. What do you think? Are you ready for the Saw franchise to end? Do you want to keep seeing one installment each year? Or, would you be down with them taking a year off?

I've been a horror fan since before the first Friday the 13th, but I'm definitely in the "loves the tension, thrills and release, but has a weak stomach" wuss category when it comes to the increasingly detailed anatomical level of blood and latex that's splashed on the screen nowadays. So imagine how I felt when presented with the latest clip from Saw IV, which actually begins with the explicit autopsy of Jigsaw (Tobin Bell, or a reasonable facsimile thereof). Yup, you get the whole deal: medical saws a-cutting, body parts laid open, internal organs sliced and diced.

If your reaction was stomach churning disgust, you can skip to the next article. On the other hand, if you just said: "More, please!" head straight over to the Saw IV web site, where, after entering your name, street number, zip code, date of birth, and next of kin (just kidding on that last one), you may go directly to "video" and click "autopsy." As our resident horror expert Scott Weinberg reported earlier this month, the teaser trailer is there too, along with various graphics and production notes. If you just want a quick look at the teaser -- not the autopsy clip -- you can also head over to Moviefone for a look in glorious HD.

At the Saw IV site you can also take a look at some of the puzzle traps from Saw III and click on "commentary" to watch video clips on how they were realized, with director Darren Lynn Bousman and production designer David Hackl talking about the technical challenges involved. Other site goodies are still marked "coming soon," but if you get bored you can always watch the autopsy clip again. Unless you work in a slaughterhouse, the entire site is NSFW. Saw IV buzzes into theaters on October 26.

Some more exciting news coming out of Comic-Con yesterday. This time around I had the fortune to attend the special preview of upcoming Lionsgate releases and a panel convened for just such a purpose. Some of the films discussed during the panel include upcoming releases 3:10 to Yuma, Good Luck Chuck, Midnight Meat Train and the inevitable Saw IV. An interesting and eclectic mix of genres and talent represented at the panel to be sure. Ok, settle in because here's the scoop.

First up was the very amusing Dane Cook and the supremely attractive Jessica Alba -- looking fantastic in a tight black dress and her, as Dane Cook joked "C-3P0 shoes" -- discussing their upcoming film Good Luck Chuck. We've talked about this film before here at Cinematical, but this time around I got a chance to see some exclusive footage from it -- including a scene where Alba takes a bubble bath and tries to have phone sex with Cook's character.

Of course, that clip was met with huge approval by the entranced attendees. Sadly, as much as I like Dane Cook and Jessica Alba (who doesn't?), I had a hard time getting too excited about the film -- Alba and bubbles notwithstanding. The crowd, however, mostly reacted positively to the previews, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Or, maybe I'm just jaded from seeing too many less-than-stellar movies? Either way, we'll know for sure if the film is good or not when it hits theaters on September 21st.

In all the horror movie hype of controversial billboards and pointing fingers, Saw IV might have gotten lost in the shuffle. There hasn't been a lot of news about the film so far, other than a few glimpses at a teaser poster. Plus, the latest photo to appear on MTV.com isn't giving anything up about what to expect from the latest installment of the series. The image consists of what looks to be a woman strapped to a chair with an ominous countdown clock presumably ticking away -- familiar terrain, I'm sure, for fans of the films. Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, the film reportedly was going to pick up where number three left off, with one of the survivors (Angus Macfadyen) still trapped in Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) "house of horrors." Armed only with a videotape starring Jigsaw, he must solve a mystery to save his daughter. But, Bousman has already discounted that storyline with Bloody Disgusting, saying that "Every plot synopsis you've read online is false and untrue. The thing with Macfadyen looking for his daughter? Believe it if you want. But no one knows what this story is."

Erik gave us the news a couple of weeks back that the horror movie had just finished shooting, and I'm guessing that expectations for the film's box office take are probably still pretty high despite the much-discussed horror backlash. Especially when you think back to the highly profitable opening that Saw III had, Lionsgate is probably hoping that lightening is going to strike twice. We will have to wait and see until October 26th, when Saw IV hits theaters.

Once you become a horror icon, it's pretty tough to find work outside the genre. Case in point: Longtime character actor Tobin Bell hit the jackpot when he appeared as the villain of the Saw series, and now he's just signed on to portray Satan himself in an indie flick called Highway 61. We're not entirely sure if this is a full-bore horror movie, or simply a dramatic piece with an occult twist -- but if you need someone to play The King of Darkness, you could do a lot worse than Tobin Bell. (Like many horror icons, Mr. Bell was a well-established and recognized character actor long before the horror genre suck him in.)

Written and directed by Luke & Jeremy Jackson, Highway 61 is about a floundering rock band that decides to sell its collective soul to you-know-who. According to Variety, Nick Thune is also on board as the band's lead singer. As far as Mr. Bell is concerned, here's what he's appeared in since the first Saw movie: Buried Alive, Decoys 2 and the upcoming Boogeyman 2. Someone please get this guy and Robert Englund in the same movie already. (Oh wait, they already were.) Here's hoping Highway 61 is a solid flick. It's not like Mr. Bell needs the money these days.

Saw sequel maker Darren Lynn Bousman has posted production blogs on several movie sites over the past few years, but this year he's settling down at FEARnet. His inaugural blog entry doesn't deliver any new casting notices or shocking surprises, but he does dole out an explanation as to why he recently signed on to direct a third Saw sequel. (As if you'd walk away from such a profitable -- and clearly enjoyable -- movie gig.) The guy's locked up for Repo: A Genetic Opera and a remake of Scanners, but for the next several months, DLB is all about the Saw sickness.

With production on Saw 4 set to begin in Toronto next week, Mr. Bousman is prepared to give us twice-weekly updates on how his third sequel is going. To kick things off he expresses a lot of affection for the Saw production family, makes no apologies for sticking with the sequels, and offers an insightful breakdown of the Saw flicks' genre-bending ways. (He also promises to chat about non-Saw-related topics, which might mean some early info on his future projects.)

In related news, Dread Central is reporting that Lyriq Bent will be returning for his third Saw installment, while Bloody-Disgusting.com indicates that Justin Louis (Dawn of the Dead) has joined the (rapidly growing) Saw 4 cast. (The backward-hat-wearing guy from Gilmore Girls has also been signed up.) Meanwhile, every horror-friendly website on the planet reminds us that Saw-master Tobin Bell will also be back for some more punishment. Unfortunately, I think it's safe to assume that the lovely Dina Meyer will not be showing up in the next sequel.

If you're not down with the Decoys, they are a race of blonde babes from a dying planet who have traveled to Earth dressed in their best silver leather jackets and sparkle eye-shadow in order to mate with unsuspecting men, in the hopes that this inter-species collaboration will stave off Decoy extinction. Since they all look like Playmate of the Month, finding willing partners is easy, but the mating sessions usually end badly for the Earth men, because a Decoy hides within her ample bosom a tangle of ultra-cold tentacles that digitally explode from her chest mid-coitus, wrap around the man's torso and freeze him solid. Got all that? Good. The second installment of this horror-comedy series, Decoys: The Second Seduction, finds the Decoys -- once again led by the bespectacled honey-blonde brain of the bunch, Constance (Kim Poirier) -- descending on some sort of low-rent liberal arts college with an abundant supply of walking hard-ons that can be lured away from their dorms and turned into satisfied popsicles with little fuss.

The Decoys don't aim to kill their sex partners -- the pregnancy is worthless if the man dies -- but they don't sweat it much when it happens. One of the film's oddest scenes has them holding an impromptu strategy meeting on campus to discuss how they might go about improving the survival ratio of their mates. One of those male survivors from the first film, Luke, (Corey Sevier) returns in this film, to take on the 'Linda Hamilton in T:2' role -- presumed crazy and ordered to stay on meds, lest he start with the insane rantings about dangerous alien sex-kittens again. Luke's mandatory therapy sessions are presided over by the world's hottest psychiatrist, Dina Meyer, who is doing someone an enormous favor by appearing in this film, along with her Saw co-star Tobin Bell, who plays an anthropology professor with a blow-dried, loose-collar appearance fit for a drug kingpin on Miami Vice. The only other cast notable is Sam (Tyler Johnston) a kid whose resemblance to a very young Tom Cruise is almost weirdly distracting.

I was really surprised when Boogeyman went on to gross over $45 million last January, but I guess that's what happens when you snag a simplistically slick title and market the thing to 14-year-old kids. And yes, there's now a sequel coming (very) soon. We've already reported on the writer, the director and some of the initial cast members, but here's a mini-bombshell that could cause gorehounds the world over to give Boogeyman 2 a fair shake: They just cast Tobin Bell as one of the sequel's leads. Yes, that's right: Jigsaw himself is moving over to the Boogeyman franchise -- and that sound you just heard was Bell joining the ranks of actors like Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), Doug Bradley (Pinhead), Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface) and Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees).

Also added to the cast were folks with names like John Simmons, Matt Cohen and Chrissy Griffith; they'll be joining Danielle Savre, David Gallagher and Mae Whitman in the Boogeyman 2 cast. What is the plot? A chick with a boogeyman phobia checks into a mental health facility, then things go terribly wrong. Editor Jeff Betancourt makes his directorial debut on this one, and he'll be working from a screenplay by equally green screenwriter Brian Sieve. Jigsaw or no, this project still screams Netflix rental to me -- at best.

You know that Tobin Bell guy from the Saw movies? Yeah, what a cut-up. No, not like that; I mean he's funny, or at least I hope he is, because he's starring in a supernatural comedy called Buried Alive. While premature interment may not sound like a barrel of laughs, Bell thinks otherwise."Partly, it's a very funny film in a certain way," he said in an interview. "Buried Alive is a little scary, but also a comedy at the same time." The movie, which is currently shooting, will be directed by Robert Kurtzman, who directed Wishmaster, wrote the screenplay for From Dusk Till Dawn and served as an effects artist on films as far ranging as Vanilla Sky, Bubba Ho-Tep, and Predator. Joining Bell in the cast will be Steve Sandvoss, Terence Jay, Erin Lokitz and Leah Rachel.

"In Buried Alive, I play a guy who is a groundskeeper, a Vietnam-veteran groundskeeper, at a lodge," says Bell. "And these college students come to this lodge. The lodge is owned by the father of one of the college students. This guy lives in a trailer in the property. He's a Vietnam veteran, kind of an odd fellow, kind of like a housepainter." Bell as an unhinged Vietnam vet? I can see that working.

While packing a visceral kick, the title Buried Alive doesn't win points for originality. The IMDB lists ten films by that name, most notably in my mind one truly nasty Italian gore flick from 1979, known in its native language as Buio Omega. No laughs to be had in that flick; take my word for it. But what's in a name? With Buried Alive shooting for a Halloween 2007 release, and with Saw IV presumably releasing around that same time, it looks like Bell's association with Halloween might one day rival Jimmy Stewart and It's a Wonderful Life's hold on Christmas.

If I were to approach you during a New Years Eve party and say "Hey, I bet there'll be a New Years Eve NEXT year, too!" -- you'd probably walk away very quickly, or ask me where the bar is. That's pretty much how I feel about this next piece of mini-news:

Saw 4: Next October.

Boasting a track record of consistency not seen since the halcyon days of the Police Academy series, the Saw flicks keep on arriving with remarkable tenacity. Whether or not this is a good thing is entirely up to you, of course -- but I don't see anyone holding a gun to the heads of the squeamish and forcing them to enjoy Jigsaw's evil schemes.

Most recent word is that Jiggy himself, Tobin Bell, has been signed "for five sequels," and also that the Sawmakers are presently scouring Southern California for a few new scribes. (Hey, you try coming up with six horrifically cinematic torture devices every dang year!) Apparently the fate of Saw 4 lies within the box office returns of next weekend's Saw 3 -- but considering that the first two films cost about $6 million combined and have grossed over $245 million around the globe, well, it doesn't take a brain scientist to figure out the math.

In related news, the Saw movies are not for children. Just sayin'.

Movie marketing is out of control these days with folks constantly searching for ways to up the ante and get their advertisements in front of as many eyes as possible. Not for nothing, but I'm just waiting for the day where someone gets seriously injured or even killed promoting a film. While it would definitely be a traumatic event for all involved, I'm sure some evil studio exec would love the publicity.

When it comes to Saw III, Lionsgate is looking to go above and beyond with their latest poster campaign. Instead of simply placing actor Tobin Bell (who plays the serial killer Jigsaw) in a red cloak, they've decided to go ahead and use Bell's own blood to enhance the color. I'm not joking, a vial of blood was drawn from Bell, then mixed with red ink and printed on a poster. (I take it Bell wasn't down for having one of his body parts ripped off instead -- they've saving that for the Saw IV marketing campaign.)

On the bight side, as they've done with previous Saw installments, Lionsgate will hold a blood drive in conjunction with the film's release on October 27. And, if you're interested in one of the posters, 1,000 from the first print will be sold for $20, save for the original which will be auctioned off with all proceeds going to the Red Cross. Seeing as the Saw franchise is known for causing controversy with their bizarre advertisements, the word is still out on who will have a beef with this latest edition. I take it vampires will be first in line with a complaint.

Among other things yesterday, ComicCon saw the folks from Lionsgate toss out a whole lot of Saw III info for you nutty gorehounds. And, since Scott The Horror Guy has chosen this moment to sleep for the first time in a week, it falls to me to share the details with you. While I can't match his enthusiasm for and knowledge about world of horror, I'll do the best I can. Here we go:

• The teaser for the movie will roll out with The Descent, which opens on August 4 -- you've got less than two weeks to wait. Hooray for torture and gore! (This is me, channeling Scott.)
  
• A clip of the movie was shared before the Q&A with the movie's cast, and featured footage of "an ex-convict named Troy ... chained inside what appears to be a classroom." Via a TV feed, Jigsaw disparages Troy for throwing away his kickass life with repeated trips to prison, telling him "Despite all the privileges you were given at birth, you returned to prison again and again." (Because, as you all know by now, had Jigsaw's childhood been better, he would be out feeding hungry children instead of torturing people.) And this is where my stomach starts to turn: "Troy has chains pierced through his hands, feet, lip, chest and back." Oh, goody. "A beat-the-clock scenario then ensues where the ex-con must rips the chains from his flesh as the seconds run down. Blood gushes from the horrific wounds the ex-con inflicts upon himself while trying to escape his grim fate." Um ... yay? Why people watch this stuff willingly is beyond me, but I know a lot of you do. So, three cheers for violent mayhem! (That's Scott again.)
• After the clip, the cast and director answered questions from the press; the Q&A is transcribed here for your reading pleasure, but I'll leave you with this teaser: When asked if the movie would focus on the relationship between Amanda (Shawnee Smith), and Jigsaw, Smith said "You get to see that relationship grow into something special. How do you say it...Boom-Chick-A-Boom!" Yeah, baby.