The Collector (2009)
Starring Josh Stewart & Juan Fernández
Directed by Marcus Dunstan
Written by Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan

 

Arkin (Josh Stewart) is an ex-con whose wife and daughter have gotten into some serious debt, and so he pulls a heist on a wealthy home to gain enough funds to save them from the encroaching loan-sharks. At the house, though, he finds an unexpected surprise. The family he'd thought was gone vacationing has been trapped by a serial killer, who has bound and is torturing them. Stricken by a bout of conscience, Arkin uses his focus, skill, and stealth against the Collector to save his former victims.

As a fan of Lupin the 3rd, I couldn't resist that thief angle.

For the most part, The Collector does deliver on the promise of its premise. Arkin's character demonstrates a great deal of dexterity and forethought, and his skills are well-used against the brutal, charging assault of the movie's titular character. But there are many who are extremely critical of the film, and in some regards the critique is justified.

Director Dunstan has gained his film chops as a writer for the Saw series, and the influences of Saws IV-VII can be clearly felt on his work. The plus side of this means that the horror is completely unrelenting. There's some quick, vital character building scenes at the beginning of the film (the identity of the Collector is fairly obvious a mystery, also via Saw), and then the terror starts, never stopping till the credits roll, and it never blinks away or flinches from the brutality. On the downside is the classification of torture-porn, and an abundance of crazy, sometimes stupid, deathtraps.

First off, I hate the term torture-porn. Is this really a genre? Are there really the billions of Saw knock-offs that critics seem to think there are? Saw, Hostel, and I can think of at least one straight-to-video series that glorifies the method of slowly killing a victim and boobies in tandem. Personally, I don't see enough difference from other slasher flicks to give this new dismissive label to so many films. Do I like Hostel or Saw? Not really. But do I think it fair to dismiss any movie with boobs and weird and painful methods of murder? No. Just call them really graphic slasher flicks. Boobs and bloody death seem essential to most horror classics. Bah. Damn those critics.

But, its true enough, Dunstan certainly brought out some crazy-ass traps from his bread-and-butter movie franchise. The more subtle traps really work; needles on the phones to stick would-be cop callers in the ear, razors over boarded windows to slice the fingers of escapees. The ridiculous elements include acid pit flypaper floors and a room full of bear traps. When did this guy have the time to set all this crap up? Certainly not while the family was still up and moving around. So, The Collector caught the family, and then spent the following four or five hours setting up traps for other people to fall into? It just got to be a little too intricate, and a little over-the-top. Regardless, most of the surprises the film has to offer really work.

As for film craftsmanship, its generally not bad. I don't know that I'd call it award-winning either, its certainly a rookie effort, but good for a first-timer. The film and its techniques are just a little dated. The color palette definitely comes from Saw, but the sound and lighting came straight from the 90's, a few times I thought I was watching a Gravity Kills video. You could tell me the guy who lit the gangster scenes had previously done Carlito's Way, and I'd believe it, they look so similar.

So, its rough. There's a few technical things to smooth out, the story and real tension get away from the creative team a few times, and the cast has definitely never lead a movie before (though, I could see Josh Steward moving on to a major part in a TV series, or something). Despite that, The Collector is a surprisingly solid film, with just enough real suspense and creepy imagery to give it an edge. There are surprisingly few cheap jump-scares, which is always a blessing in modern horror. From here, Dunstan could go a cool route, and find new ways to tell old scary stories and find new frights for tired and experienced audiences, or he could be a douche and keep pumping out more Saw-like horror. He'll be watched with great interest and scrutiny.

I'll say that this is a very polarizing horror film. Most seem to absolutely love or hate this film. The Collector's limited release schedule made it incredibly hard to find in theaters, but if you can find a way to see it, do. Its an excellent Indy effort and, I think, extremely entertaining.