I've been a fool. I tried watching this a few years ago, and couldn't finish it. That inkling to give it another go just wouldn't go away. Well. Guess what? Not only did I watch the whole movie, but I wound up digging it for the most part! The comparisons to the Saw franchise are apt, I suppose. But the Saw series started to become redundant. The Collector is much more than just another cash-in attempt to make some coin. Director Marcus Dunstain clearly had a vision with this one. The killer in this one is not someone that asks questions. Jigsaw was a nasty individual as well, but he had a motive for doing what he was doing, a reason if you will. The Collector (Creepily played by Juan Fernandez) just likes to hurt people. He's gleefully psychotic and kills people in the most sickening ways imaginable for his own demented pleasures. There is no background on this guy, and that makes him all the more terrifying. In some ways that could have worked against it, but I didn't feel it was needed here, and added to the atmosphere. The gore scenes deliver. I won't spoil them, but gore hounds will be replenished for their thirst. My only real carps are I wish the finale went on a tad longer, and that is was hard to make out what was going in a couple scenes because I had trouble seeing. It was a bit too dark. William Prael plays for a very good reluctant hero. His desperation had me rooting for him. I enjoyed him a lot

Final Thoughts: Sometimes a second viewing does wonders. It sure did with the Collector. It's not perfect, but it's a highly suspenseful thrill ride that lacks the budget of a Saw, but is arguably better than a lot of the Saw sequels. Recommended. I'm looking forward to The Collection!

6.5/10

An ex-con, desperate to help pay his ex-wife's debts, breaks into the seemingly deserted house of his employer, only to find that he isn't alone: a twisted nut-job in a gimp mask has taken the owner and his wife captive and has littered the building with deadly traps.

The masked killer in The Collector has got to be one of the most organised and productive psychos in movie history. In one evening, he not only takes prisoner and tortures a married couple, but he also finds time to install numerous booby traps in their mansion, ranging from simple 'bear traps on the living room floor' to the more complex 'accidentally touch this filament and a chuffing great blade will swing down and cause you much pain'. I don't know about you, but it takes me the best part of a day to put up a bloody shelf.

The thing that really puzzles me, though, is why he bothers with all of these devices in the first place since he's already trapped most of the family (the youngest daughter is hiding in one of the many rooms), and the oldest daughter (played by buxom babe Madeline Zima, who kindly provides the requisite topless scene) surely wouldn't represent much of a problem when she returns from her evening out with her boyfriend. Still, without the traps there wouldn't be much of a film, and since I had a lot of fun watching the characters meet their gruesome fates via various ingenious means, I'm willing to be a little forgiving about both lack of logic and motive.

It's clear that what matters most to director Marcus Dunstan is not explaining why and how his killer does what he does, but rather that his film creates a palpable sense of dread—which it does—and that people die horribly— which they do. Dunstan successfully builds a decent amount of suspense and atmosphere and sure doesn't hold back on the graphic stuff, delivering plenty of moments that'll be particularly uncomfortable viewing for the more squeamish of movie-goers: amongst the gory treats we get a delightfully bloody death by bear-trap, a disembowelled body, finger chopping, impalement on spikes, fish hooks in the face, a mouth being sewn closed, and a cat slowly dissolved in acid before being sliced in half!

And since there's nothing quite like a half-melted moggy being bisected by a window rigged with a guillotine, I'm happy to—despite the flaws in the narrative—rate The Collector a pretty decent 6.5/10, rounded up to 7/10 for IMDb.

A slow burner at first, but completely worth it. Very different to many and stands out on it's own.