The Collector follows the story of a young man seeking money to give to his ex-wife, to pay off some loan sharks. He plans a heist at his employers country house in order to obtain this money, unaware that another person has also targeted the house, and rigged the whole house with booby traps.
Even with it's very simple storyline of "don't trip that wire or that chandelier equipped with sharp knives will fall on you" and it's even simpler characters like "stay behind me....oh wait she's running up the stairs...oh now she be stabbed" it is quite an enjoyable film.
From the writers of Saw IV, V and VI, I expected this sort of gruesome tale along with relentless torture but The Collector stayed clear of it's brother films and focussed on the art of a straight forward "survivor film".
The main character, a man who is just desperate to help his loved ones, is caught in something that, had he decided to steal another night, he would have never known about.
The opening of the film sees a couple return home drunk from a night out to find a box in their room with a note on top saying "for collection". The older man opens the box, looks scared and then arms appear around his face and we cut to black. We then, from start to finish, follow the main man in his attempt to rob the house but then change his ways and save a survivor trapped within surrounded by these deadly traps.
A strong opening introducing something that is very thick to the storyline later is something that Saw fans will see at the beginning of every film. It sets in stone what is to come, which I like! and it's ability to keep you watching is quite amazing considering there is no scenery change.
The characters are quite predictable. The hero and the villain have your typical rivalry. A good young girl and a rebellious teenager that annoys her parents and the ex-wife who still demands money........
Some of the traps lack "Sawness" in my eyes. There is one torture scene in which a man's tooth is chiselled out but that is all..... oh..... and a mouth is sewn closed but we have seen all that before in Saw so it was all a bit "yeah.....what else"?
Staying on traps I am not denying that they were imaginative e.g. a floor of bear traps, a room of hanging fish hooks and a phone with a pin attached to the earpiece. I'm just saying that they could have been used a bit more.
The concept of the film I thought was the best thing. A robber getting caught, by the wrong person, and suddenly becoming the hero saving a young girl from a mask wearing weird person.
I remember hearing last year when this came out (June 2010) that The Collector was pitched as a Saw prequel. I am so glad that they did not follow up on that because I think that It would not have succeeded had come into the world as a little baby Saw.
Overall an enjoyable film with a frankly perfect twist and a creepy ending that leave you quite satisfied.
Do not watch expecting it to be like Saw as it serves well as a stand alone film.
Worth a watch with friends one night with some popcorn and a pizza but watching it alone can really give the feeling that someone is in the house with you.
4 Stars!
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