The Collector (2009)

This movie was pretty average as far as plot and cinematography goes, but MY GOD this was entertaining. I would say more creative than SAW. Wife couldn't stand the blood, and there was even a scene that got me to shudder a bit. All I will say is bugs. Also the dog part was A1

Being a fan of horror can be a bit rough sometimes. Because on the whole... this is a fan-base that can never quite seem to completely agree on what works and what doesn't, and the in-fighting is rampant and sometimes disheartening. I think it's because ultimately horror and terror are subjective experiences. There's no one thing that scares everyone, and what might work wonders for certain audience members will feel tacky and dull to others. You see it every time a film comes out that builds some serious buzz... It will be simultaneously hailed by one side of the fan-base while being derided and ridiculed by the other. And director/co-writer Marcus Dunstan's 2009 home-invasion freak-show "The Collector" is certainly no exception.Having followed Dunstan's work alongside his writing collaborator Patrick Melton for some time, I went into "The Collector" excited to see what sort-of insanity they could cook up. And I wasn't disappointed. Wild, subversive and very wicked, I found the film to be a refreshing and endlessly entertaining trip into depravity and I absolutely adored it. And yet, just like so many other horror films I've admired, I see it to be a hotly debating and polarizing experience for many viewers. Which is a shame, because I think it's well-worth checking out. Yes, you can pick apart the film's liberal use of suspension of disbelief and sometimes cartoonish atmosphere, but what's the point? The film knows exactly what it is aiming for and is never taking itself to be a completely grounded and realistic film. It's a trip to Hell, where the worst-case scenario is playing out for the sake of entertainment and suspense.We follow ex-con Arkin (Josh Stewart), as he goes on that mythical "one last job" we hear about so much in the world of film. In this case, robbing the house of a wealthy jewelry dealer in order to pay- off loan-sharks that are threatening the safety of his wife and daughter. Knowing the house inside and out from his day-job there as a carpenter for renovations that are being done, Arkin sneaks back inside one night to relieve them of a precious ruby they have kept, locked away in a safe. But things aren't what they seem, and it soon becomes apparent that Arkin isn't the only one who chose this night to break in. A devious and torturous madman has broken in and is keeping the family hostage, having rigged the house with dozens of booby-traps to keep them from escaping. And so, Arkin must set out to save the family he originally intended to burgle.The game is essentially a prolonged 90-minute game of cat-and-mouse where the stakes are torture and death... and it's so much fun to watch. Director Dunstan has a knack for building suspense, and his smooth, slick camera-work helps build a tremendous amount of dread and terror. The camera often feels like a viper, ready to strike at any second, and the sense of flow and composition lends well to many breathtaking sequences of tension. The script by Dunstan and Melton is also a blast and a half, and once it gets going, it never lets up. The stakes rise with each and every passing scene, the atmosphere builds consistently from beat to beat, and the characters are all instantly defined and established with ease. I also appreciated that the duo injected some much-needed black humor into a few key sequences so that the suspense is never overpowering and doesn't lose its edge.The adversary of the film (the titular "Collector") is one heck of an antagonist, and makes for a great modern contemporary of classic horror villains. He's kept mysterious and vague, but also gets just enough screen time that you get a sense of personality. He's a great foe for our anti-hero Arkin to face, and I could definitely see the concept being used for an ongoing franchise, because there's great potential there. Speaking of which, Stewart makes for a compelling and both troubled but sympathetic lead. He gives Arkin a heart beneath his dark surface, and you totally believe him in the role. It's nice to see Stewart getting a starring vehicle in a major film. Supporting roles by the likes of Michael Reilly Burke, Karley Scott Collins and Robert Wisdom are also very well-played and flesh out the cast well.The only thing I can say to the film's fault is that it is very much reliant on the good-will of the audience... something that has clearly turned many off. As I brought up above, the film uses (and sometimes abuses) the concept of suspension of disbelief, and unless you're willing to give yourself over to it, you may find yourself drifting from the narrative. I personally never had a problem with it, but evidently others have. Still, beyond that, the movie is clearly striving to be one thing above all else... fun. And I think it's a lot of fun. The villain is menacing and eerie. The protagonist likable and charming. And the twists and turns and sense of dread completely enthralling. I was very engaged with the film the first time I saw it, and have revisited it several times since. And it's never gotten old. It's sharp, witty and incredibly intense. And for that, I give it a very good 8 out of 10. I'd say give it a shot, and be willing to cut it some slack. It's definitely an underrated and under-appreciated film of the genre.

This is a horror film of the home invasion/splatter type. Premise is simple, a guy goes to burgle a house to pay off his wife's debts to a loan shark and has the misfortune of arriving at the same time as a sadistic killer.The central gimmick of the film is that the killer lays an array of elaborate booby traps around the house, it's absurd, so many traps are laid in so little time, including nails protruding from the stairs and boards across the windows, things that no one could have possibly done without making some sound.Anyway the killer wears a mask, doesn't speak and takes people down into the basement of the house, which looks amazingly apt as a serial killer's torture dungeon considering it's not the killer's house. So upstairs you get people falling into booby traps and down in the basement is where the film takes its time to really dwell on the killer's sadism.That's pretty much it as far as story goes, well there's also some guy in a box who mentions that the killer kills those he doesn't want and takes those he does want for his 'collection', but this isn't developed on at all. The killer isn't interesting, just detestable in a very straight forward way. It feels like they played with the idea of having an actual concept for about 5 minutes and then just fell back on plain old sadism and gore.I'm a big fan of horror but this just seemed half-baked, a film with no ideas other than traps and ways to torture people. It's a frustrating, obnoxious film that feels like it's being rubbed in your face.Objectively I'll admit that this deserves more than 1/10, it's at least technically competent, the acting is good enough and so on, but I feel so annoyed by having wasted my time watching something that's so nasty in such an unimaginative, boring way that I'm giving it 1/10.

Rich man calls men to help him with the house and since the beginning movie started well. I liked those scenes while he is in the house noticing someone else expecting to be a murdered. It was so unchilled and very scary to watch so it was done excellently but when I saw all those traps set within few hours it was so unreal - I took 2 grades of the maximum, it just spoils the horror. There is no way someone would've done so many traps in so little time and it's too sick to be real. Texas chain saw massacre is great horror, abhorrent but keeps the real out of unreal, this is way too unreal. Especially on the end, Arkin goes to wave the police and the police hit him?! Would you stand in the middle of the road, no you wouldn't. The murdered is still alive and he entered the first aid vehicle. No way, so unreal.The biggest goof you can not miss is while Arkin is in the house, he has killer boots on him self. I was very big goof.After all those unreal parts, it's just a great horror if you like tinglings but as a movie it's pretty bad.