The Collector (2009/I)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Marcus Dunstan

Writers (WGA):

Patrick Melton (screenplay) &
Marcus Dunstan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

31 July 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

He always takes one

Plot:

Desperate to repay his debt to his ex-wife, an ex-con plots a heist at his new employer's country home, unaware that a second criminal has also targeted the property, and rigged it with a series of deadly traps. |

Plot Keywords:

Debt | Trap | Hidden Safe | Acid | Fall Through Staircase

Cast

Madeline Zima	...	Jill
Josh Stewart	...	Arkin
Daniella Alonso	...	Lisa
Andrea Roth	...	Victoria
Robert Wisdom	...	Roy
Michael Reilly Burke	...	Michael
Juan Fernández	...	The Collector
Gregory Alan Williams	...	Sheriff
Diane Ayala Goldner	...	Gena Wharton
Krystal Mayo	...	Dancer
Haley Pullos	...	Cindy (as Haley Alexis Pullos)
Karley Scott Collins	...	Hannah
Alex Feldman	...	Chad
Michael Showers	...	Deputy sheriff
Hiro Koda	...	Medic #2
Bill Stinchcomb	...	Bar Patron
Jabari Thomas	...	Medic
Eric Kelly McFarland	...	Firefighter
Brett Forbes	...	Office Hoss Wiggins
Colvin Roberson	...	Roy's Driver / Bodyguard
John Snell	...	Yard Worker

Also Known As:

The Midnight Man (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive sadistic bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45306) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba)

Filming Locations:

Mansfield, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Fortress Features

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where the collector is to be electrocuted with the television and fish tank, the power is supposed to be off in the house.

one badass mousetrap

for horror movie fans, 'The Collector' has everything you would want and nothing you expect. From the writers of 'Saw 4-6' comes a new chapter in America's love affair with the sub-genre known as "torture porn". To me it plays more like an R-rated 'Home Alone'. You know, if Macauley Culkin's traps were made VERY effective.

I was expecting a standard horror/slasher flick when taking my seat and was pleasantly surprised. the opening credits mix somewhere between the opening sequence of 'Se7en' and a Tool music video, sets up perfectly the mood in which you will spend the next hour and a half. confused but intrigued. freaked out but with a big grin on your face. there is plenty of gore for fans but not nearly as much as one would expect from graduates of the Saw school of horror. whilst our "hero" sneaks amongst the booby-trapped household trying not to set up a carpet of steel bear traps (awesome!) or tripwires connected to swinging blades of death (also nice), perhaps the creepiest thing in the movie is the way in which the director (sparingly) uses the killer. We rarely actually see him acting out his brutality upon his victims. But when crouched in a corner, watching two hot young teens do what they do best, and the light reflects off of the corneas of his dead eyes hidden behind that odd silk mask... yeesh! Another pleasant surprise to the film is it's use of quiet, a rarity in horror movies (especially torture porn). Most of the film's action is in hiding which means the protagonist must avoid detection at all times. There were screams in the theater, but about 89% of those were coming from the audience.

I would definitely recommend this to a movie fan with a strong gut and a healthy sense of "what's going to be behind Door #3?" curiosity. Bonus points for being the fist movie to actually visualize the classic childhood game of "Can't-Touch-the-Floor-Because-the-Floor-is-Hot-Lava" well played