Review: The Collector
Filed under: Horror, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, Summer Movies
The new horror film The Collector doesn't dilute its intense scenes with comedy or cartoonish visuals: it goes straight for the shocks. The pre-credits teaser scene gets your adrenalin going without visible bloodshed, and prepares you for something suspenseful and a bit strange. To set your expectations, it might help to know that writer Patrick Melton and co-writer/director Marcus Dunstan also scripted the Feast films and the third through sixth Saw films. In fact, the script was once considered for a Saw prequel film. Now you know what you might be getting into in terms of horror style.
The first 20 minutes of the film start a little awkwardly -- it takes a few minutes to figure out who's who -- but then the stage is set for major suspense and scares. Arkin (Josh Stewart) finishes a contractor job at a family's fancy house in the country. He's not paid enough to give his own daughter's mom the money she needs to evade some nasty loan sharks, though. So he decides to break into the rich family's house, since he knows they just left for a vacation, and steal some jewelry to make up the difference. He's got a deadline of midnight. And while Arkin's working to crack the safe, he hears disturbing sounds coming from the cellar ... what else is happening in what is supposed to be an unoccupied house?
The mysterious noises helped set me up for the kind of horror movie that forces you to use your imagination to visualize all sorts of unspeakable terrors. Unfortunately for me, this wasn't the case. The Collector takes a decidedly graphic turn with its violence. For the rest of the movie, I had to wince my way past a variety of visuals of painful scenarios. I have enough trouble with knives, but also had to tolerate razor blades, pliers, bear traps, and other implements that I will leave you to discover if you watch the movie.
The plot is focused almost entirely on escape -- there are no nuances and few other complications, and it's all on the level of a particularly nasty Itchy and Scratchy cartoon. The point is to make you gasp and jump and feel riveted with tension. The initial setup and characters take a back seat to the central set piece of the house and the way it has been transformed. Some things simply make no sense -- how could the house be so elaborately changed in such a short time? And why doesn't a contractor/thief carry a cell phone?
Josh Stewart plays Arkin in a Clive Owen-ish sort of way, which is not at all a bad thing -- it's his character that kept me interested in the film. Most of the other characters are unpleasant, unsympathetic and not very bright, and the villain is barely a character at all. Still, having to sit through a bad guy's backstory can be tedious, and the film moves quickly by avoiding this kind of slowdown. He is what he is.
And the movie is what it is: a very straightforward showcase of horrors. Like Drag Me to Hell, The Collector takes audience members on a crazy rollercoaster ride -- the difference is that Sam Raimi's style is comically cartoonish, but The Collector is uncompromisingly hardcore in its depiction of horror. The contrast is extremely clear when you compare the scenes involving a pet cat in both movies -- we don't see exactly what happens in Drag Me to Hell, but The Collector's cat scene was unbearable.
By this time, you can tell that I'm not a fan of movies that feature prolonged graphic violence. I prefer my horror to be spiked with dark humor or occurring offscreen. The Collector was obviously not the movie for me. However, the action moves quickly and there's never a dull moment after the first act, although the film is hampered with more endings than The Return of the King. If you want 90 minutes of staring intense shocks and scares in the face, without fussing over storyline or characters, you might give The Collector a try.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-02-2009 @ 4:22PM
Brooke said...
This is the first movie I ever walked away from. After one hour, I had had enough visuals of the almost constant sick and depraved ways the Collector (the exterminator) tortures and kills. This film had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Tripe, pure tripe... if you can stomach it. What a waste of a movie ticket!
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8-02-2009 @ 4:48PM
gadlaw said...
The only movie I ever walked out on was some Pia Zadora thing from way way back when I was but a youth. Something involving a rape scene involving a garden hose. That was enough for me. These kind of Horror Porn movies need to be outlawed and the people who enjoy them need to be institutionalized. To derive pleasure from the pain and suffering of others is truly a sickness. At the very least parents need to be made aware of just how horrific these sorts of movies are so they can take the parenting steps necessary to protect the mental health of their children. Good call on leaving the theater.
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8-07-2009 @ 4:56PM
C.A. said...
I can't understand the "parents need to be made aware of just how horrific these sorts of movies are so they can take the parenting steps necessary to protect the mental health of their children".
It's rated R and the MPAA rating says "Rated R for pervasive sadistic bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity".
Seems clear to me...
8-02-2009 @ 11:06PM
Sara said...
This movie was all in seat anticipation, but the ending ruined it. I don't think I will pay to go see the 2nd on. So many things didn't make scene. why was that guy in the box upstairs in that house..was there no where else the collector could have put him? How did the collector rig that house in the evenings time? There was no story line at all in this movie. I wouldn't recommend paying to see it at a theater.
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8-02-2009 @ 10:16PM
Jonathan said...
While I value your opinions, putting people down for going to see these kinds of movies is childish and self-righteous. I am a 23 year old male who absolutely loves movies - all kinds of movies, romances, westerns, comedies, you name it. I normally see anywhere from 120 - 140 films a year. I also really really enjoy horror movies. I am a fan of the Hostel films, Saw films, and yes, even The Collector. I don't go to these movies to enjoy watching people get maimed and tortured, but I go for the adrenaline rush of watching our hero or lead of the story escape and give the bad guy his or her comeuppance. It's a huge rush and it is truly a rollercoaster ride. It's true some of these films may go a little overboard with the violence (although it doesn't really bother me), but to demean and put down people who go to these movies is just ridiculous.
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8-03-2009 @ 9:18AM
Therin said...
As someone who was doing work in the building over a series of days, the internal wall work could have been rigged throughout the construction itself. The more obvious external bits could all be rigged in an afternoons time.
Thieves should never carry cell phones. If it goes off mid-job your ruined.
He could have put the guy in the box because it was convenient to put him there considering they were already working in the house.
This movie was a call back to the old old school horror slasher films with the 'traps' theme which is more modern. The bad guy doesn't always need a reason to do what he does. He just does it because he enjoys it. He's evil, and that's all there is to it. I really enjoyed the film personally and as for institutionalized? Excuse me but if you didn't like that type of film do the research to find out what it is before hand. No child should see it, but adults have every right to enjoy the film.
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8-11-2009 @ 12:31AM
justin said...
i just watched this movie today im 16 and had to say im glad i didnt watch it on a full stomach honestly the first half is ok but it quickly become a bad movie their is no story line and come on how is the house rigged in a ccouple hours and the ending to the cops take forever to get their in reality it would take a minute for them to get to their location if no one answered the call trust me my little brother once called the cops by accident and they were at my house in a minute or two and when ark was in the ambulance why werent their cops leading them to the hospital i mean cmon be realistic in the end me and like se ven other people were shouting at the top of our loungs that the movie sucked i wouldnt recomend it for children
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8-11-2009 @ 9:21AM
David said...
watch The Collector online
http://megashare.info/watch.php?id=TWpZeQ
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