A lot of critics are labeling The Collector as "torture porn". I guess it does fit the mold, as the movie is built around a series of grisly deaths and booby traps that the film's masked villain has placed about an innocent family's home. But, I enjoyed this movie a little bit more than I did such similar films as Hostel or Captivity. It has an interesting plot hook to hang the death scenes upon, and actually manages to create some genuine tension for most of its running time.

The film is the brainchild of Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, who are currently writing the Saw films. With that particular horror franchise growing stale, it's probably smart that these guys are trying to jump start another one. The film centers on a carpenter named Arkin (Josh Stewart, who bears a strong resemblance to a young Sean Penn), who is doing a job for a wealthy family, and is also taking stock of their valuables as the film opens. Arkin's ex-wife and young daughter are in trouble with some loan sharks, and in order to save their lives, he plans to break into the family's home that night and steal what he can for some money. The family is leaving for a vacation that night, so he figures it will be an easy job. When he returns to the house that night, he quickly learns that he's not alone. A silent and masked figure (Juan Fernandez) is lurking about the house, and has rigged the entire home with various deadly traps. Not only that, he has taken the entire family hostage, and is slowly torturing them for his twisted amusement. Arkin becomes an unlikely hero as he tries to help them escape, while also trying to avoid detection by the mysterious madman. He also has to search for the family's youngest daughter, Hannah (Karley Scott Collins), who is hiding from the killer somewhere in the house.

Like all horror movies, The Collector is not really one for logic. The obvious question that screams at the viewer while they're watching it is how did the villain turn the family's home into an unescapable death trap during the time Arkin left the house that afternoon, to the time he returned that night? In that short amount of time, the madman has rigged seemingly hundreds of deadly tripwire traps in every room of the house, boarded up all the windows and doors, lined the stiarcase with sharp needles, and even covered the floor of one room with flesh-melting acid. This guy could make a killing in the home redesign business with how fast he seemingly works, if only he didn't rely on knives, guns, and acid. Despite this, the movie still does a good job of making the character menacing. He doesn't really get a lot of screen time, but he's always there, and the movie keeps on reminding us of this from the screams Arkin hears throughout the house. We don't learn anything about the villain or his motivations. All we know is that the man seemingly loves his work, and he's very good at it. Should there be a sequel, I hope they don't make the mistake of giving this guy an origin story.

The characters and victims aren't exactly deep, and mainly exist to be cut up, bloodied, and tortured in various ways, but Arkin makes for an interesting enough unlikely hero. He doesn't get a lot of dialogue, but Josh Stewart is able to convey enough in his performance for us to get behind him. He's doing the robbery to save the life of his little girl. This fact is also what keeps him inside the house in the first place, as the family's youngest daughter reminds him of her, and he wants to make sure she's all right. The scenes where he is sneaking around the house, trying to avoid detection by the shadowy figure patrolling the house creates some strong tension. Here again, the mystery of the villain pays off. We know as much about what's going on as Arkin does, so we almost know how he feels. It's not until the fairly standard slasher movie final half that the spell is broken, and everything goes according to formula.
The Collector has some artistic sensibilities in its dark visual design, but it's really just a simple and mostly effective thriller. It's very to the point as well, with a running time of just under 90 minutes, which doesn't waste its time and ours with a lot of pointless exposition. It's obvious the filmmakers are hoping for a franchise here. More power to them, though I think the idea's a little thin, and I can see it wearing out quickly. I still look forward to the inevitable sequel where the villain booby traps a spaceship. Because all horror franchises eventually go into space at one point. Hey, if the Leprechaun and Jason can do it, so can The Collector.

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