The Collector (2009)

The Collector (2009) Dir. by Marcus Dunstan

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.



Marcus Dunstan is a name everyone should know, but not for directing. He is one of the writers for one of my favorite horror trilogies of all time, Feast Trilogy!!! He has also had his hand in writing for the last four Saw movies. As good as his writing is, I really feel he has a future in directing. He has a way with the camera and it is apparent in The Collector (Which is a planned Trilogy).

The acting in this film was far better than I had expected going in to it. In fact, everything was better than I expected, but Josh Stewart (From Criminal Minds) was great as the lead. He was extremely believable as the ex-con man who has to constantly weigh his own decisions while trying to elude the killer rather than confront him. The rest of the parts were all pretty small but worth mentioning. The little girl, played by Karley Scott Collins, was exceptionally strong especially towards progression of the story. There is a large portion of the film where she is none-existent, but when she returns it is a game changer for the Protagonist. I'm going to pull the nerdy guy card here, but Madeline Zima (Gretchen from Heroes) totally gets naked! Sorry, had to say it.



The film itself is extremely original in many ways, and I'm only saying that because it takes alot of the same concepts of other movies an mashes them together in a near perfect concoction. There is plenty of gore to satisfy the horror hell hounds, and yet it never strays away from its original theme of survival without conflict. The main character has his ulterior motives for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he stays true to what he came to do. The film is beautifully shot, and blew me away at some parts. The camera work and the photography were damn near perfect, and being a film SAP I loved every minute of it. There was an overhead shot of four separate rooms that had me grinning delightfully. Plus there is an awesome seen with a cat(you Will know what I am talking about). The contraptions in the house aren't overly dramatic, but some of them turn out to be more intricate than they appear. There were some very SAW-ish scenes, but it only added to the story. I thought it was great not having any story or background into the killer. The only information comes from the victims, so it is like you know as much as the characters. The colors are intense and the lighting really sets the mood, and I'm a sucker for good lighting. I really enjoyed this film overall and I look forward the purchasing it on DVD, and seeing the rest of the trilogy. Check it out

Entertainment Value: 9/10 Deadbolt Locks
Cinematic Value: 9/10 Deadbolt Locks