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.

What looks to be the only successful horror franchise at the moment (box office wise) has apparently just wrapped production on its latest entry, and entered the editing phase. Over on his MySpace blog, director Darren Lynn Bousman proclaims, "Saw IV shot - and onto editing!!! HELL YEAH!!!!" Based on all the capital letters and exclamation points, I take it the dude is just a tad excited about the whole thing. And why wouldn't he be? After helping kick-start this whole "torture phase" that the horror genre has been in as of late, it's the only franchise still alive and capable of making a killing at the box office. So much so that most horror flicks now have to steer clear of Halloween (the holiday) because they're afraid Saw (insert number here) will demolish them. Could this be why Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween is coming out on, um, August 31? Probably.

Not only are the films successful, but they're also pretty good ... according to those friends of mine who actually had the guts to sit through Saw II and Saw III. That's right, after enjoying the original, I stayed away from the sequels because I'm not crazy about throwing up after I watch a film. I know, I'm a sissy -- blame my parents. Anyway, they're successful, they're entertaining and the filmmakers are somehow able to shoot and edit these suckers faster than it takes to figure out the plot of the previous installment. Written by Project Greenlight boys Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton (Feast), Saw IV will have something to do with the serial killer Jigsaw screwing with people who are locked in a room. (Although I haven't seen the last two flicks, I speculate that plot description is right on.) Saw IV is currently scheduled to hit theaters on October 26.

The Jan 8-14 print edition of Variety lists the 250 films at the domestic box office in 2006, arranging the numbers in a different way from those of us who compile a top ten of a given year. For one thing, there's a considerable amount of overlap from 2005. For another thing, the prestige films of 2006 hadn't benefited yet from their predicted Oscar boost or a wide release, and dawdle at the end of the list. Anyway, here are the numbers we're sure you cannot live without:

Of the 250 top films of 2006, 23 were sequels (including prequels); 20 were remakes or spinoffs from TV shows (Miami Vice and so forth). Add that number and you have 43. 43 out of 250 means nearly a one out of six chance that you were watching a story you'd seen already in some other form. There were 16 animated films in release, with Cars, of course, as the biggest hit at more than $244 million; the least-earning on the list was Chicken Little, at just over $3 million.

The most successful horror film of the year was Scary Movie 4 (wow, scary) with the $80 million-grossing Saw III in second place; bringing up the rear was the assortment of controversial indie horror flicks, 8 Films to Die For. 18 movies broke the $100 million mark; Borat, at $125 million, is probably the most lucrative subtitled film ever made; no other foreign-language film made more than $10 million.

Audiences everywhere proved it's not quite time yet for Christmas flicks, as Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan not only held onto first place at the box office this weekend, but it promptly took its lead and used it to beat down those playing catch up -- most notably, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. Borat chomped on those numbers and spit out a whopping $29 million, whereas Tim Allen's holiday pic hobbled into second place with $16.9 million. See, your film can have all the buzz in the world heading into its release, but at the end of the day if the final product fails to entertain (ahem, Snakes on a Plane), it's all for nothing. (Oh, and it also helps to screen your flick beforehand. Hint, hint.)

If you took Borat out of the equation, most of its audience probably would have helped propel Will Ferrell's Stranger Than Fiction into the weekend's top spot. However, with the Kazakhstani news reporter wreaking havoc, Ferrell's film fell to third with $14.1 million. Regardless, after a fall full of drama, violence and horror, it's nice to see three comedies dominate the box office. I say bring on the laughs -- we desperately need them. Speaking of horror, Saw III managed a fourth place finish, even if its $6.6 million was a little blah. But what does that say for everything behind Saw? Not much, apparently. Hey, but you have to hand it to Babel ($5.65 million) for beating The Departed ($5.2 million), The Return ($4.8 million), The Prestige ($4.6 million) and Harsh Times ($1.8 million).

Full numbers after the jump.

At this rate folks, I'd expect a new Saw film for the next -- whaddya think -- 10 years or so? Saw III absolutely annihilated the competition this weekend, racking up an estimated $34.3 million for the franchise's biggest opening yet. Not only is this huge for Lionsgate, but it also ruins at least the next Halloween for everyone else, as Saw IV will most likely hit theaters this same time in 2007. Eventually, we'll get another Friday the 13th and Rob Zombie-directed Halloween sequel, but will they be enough to tackle Jigsaw and his wacky diabolical schemes?

As much as it doesn't seem possible, there were other movies playing around the country this weekend. The Departed managed to hang on, dropping only 27 percent in box office sales over the last week, taking home $9.8 million. Not far behind was The Prestige ($9.6 million) which took a bigger hit, dropping 38 percent from the previous weekend. With its $90 million budget, Flags of Our Fathers ($6.35 million) currently holds a 10-day total of $19.9 million, which means Eastwood and friends are praying Oscar and his pal Buzz help drag this flick out of the gutter. Open Season (man, will this pic ever go away?) finally forfeited the fourth spot, sliding into fifth with $6.1 million.

And what about those Dixie Chicks and their controversial documentary Shut Up and Sing? Well, that puppy made plenty of noise in only four theaters, taking in a healthy $50,798. In just seven theaters Babel ($365, 801) also brought home some hefty figures. However, Catch a Fire (which debuted in 1,306 theaters) crashed and burned without much of a fight, as it wound up with a measly $2 million.

Full numbers after the jump.

Well there's a reason why the Saw franchise keeps churning out sequel after sequel -- on Friday alone, the bloody thing took home $14 million. That's up from the $12.1 million Saw II took in on its opening day. Damn, is it just me or are people really into this Jigsaw dude?

And it's not just audiences who are scared of the clown-faced serial killer, no one was down with releasing any of this fall's top box office contenders anywhere near Saw III. Both The Departed and The Prestige (less than $3 million each on Friday) were left to duke it out for second place, but their final numbers will come nowhere near the horror sequel, and Catch a Fire (the only other film going wide this weekend) couldn't catch this puppy even if Saw had its weekend gross sawed in half. When it's all said and done, Saw III will most likely double the original's opening with somewhere in the neighborhood of $36 million. With a fourth installment already in the works, just how many of these do you think we'll see?

For his next project, director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II and III) is looking to do a little something different. No, he's not bringing Saw to Broadway, although watching Jigsaw break into song and dance right before he killed someone would be quite the treat to watch. Instead, he wants to take the off-Broadway musical Repo! The Genetic Opera and turn it into a film.

Bousman, who briefly directed an early version of the musical on stage in LA, has already put together a presentation reel using some of the cast from Saw III in an attempt to drum up some interest in the project. While I've never heard of it (and I live in New York City), if it's anything like Bousman's description, it sounds pretty, um, morbid. He says, "It's dark. It's horrific. And it's ... not like Singin' in the Rain or even Rent. It's like if The Rocky Horror Show met Saw." Story surrounds some genetic engineers in the near future who help provide organs during an epidemic. However, the business soon goes under and repo men are assigned to retrieve all the organs. Imagine someone showing up to your door with a smile and one request: "Sir, we're going to need to take back that liver back. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Anyone see the show? Do you think it would make a good film?

Okay, so how many times today has someone said to you, "Hey, be careful out there -- it's Friday the 13th ya know?" Yeah, we know. And there's nothing better than a Friday the 13th only a couple weeks before Halloween. It feels right. The cold, crisp October air (well, for those of you in places where the seasons actually change) sets a nice, spooky mood for what has to be one of my favorite days of the year, if only because it's easy and fun to freak people out. In the spirit of Friday the 13th, here are a few things you film freaks can do to celebrate the day:

• First, why don't you start by reading up on the history of Friday the 13th? No, not the movie -- the actual day. For example, some feel the original Friday the 13th (or Black Friday) was when hundreds of Knights Templar were simultaneously arrested on Friday October 13, 1307. Oh, and cherish the fact that today's Friday the 13th is taking place in the month of October, because this will not happen again until 2028 2017. Our next Friday the 13th will come in April of next year.
• Okay, now that you're done with that, you can finally go and check out the history behind the movie version of Friday the 13th. Do you know what year Jason Voorhees was born? How about the identity of his first victim? Does Camp Crystal Lake have a nickname? If so, what is it?
• By now, you're probably dying to watch Friday the 13th, or one of its many sequels. Friday the 13th: The Website lists a few theater locations throughout the country that are screening various parts of the classic horror franchise tonight. Too superstitious to leave the house? Bravo will be airing the original Friday the 13th tonight at 8pm and midnight, followed by Friday the 13th, Part VII: The New Blood.
• For those of you not in the Jason Voorhees kind of mood, The Grudge 2 (which opens in theaters today) should enable you to get your spook on.
• Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn't do it for ya, huh? Well, in anticipation of Saw III (slicing its way into a theater near you on October 27), why don't you pick up parts 1 and 2 and have yourself a little Saw marathon. Afterwards, make sure to check out the third installment's final trailer and that much-talked about movie poster featuring actor Tobin Bell's blood.
• And finally, all these horror movies probably have you itching to make your own. First, you must watch American Movie. Afterward, it might be a good idea to read, "How to Make a Horror Movie That Doesn't Suck."

Am I leaving anything out? How will you be celebrating Friday the 13th?

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.