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    The Collector

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
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    "The Collector" isn't for squeamish audiences. A lot of people will dismiss it as simple "torture porn" but it's actually a tense thriller that will keep you guessing and that delivers the goods that horror fanatics are aching to see. I don't want to give away too much of the premise so I'll just tell you about who the two key characters are. The first is Arkin (Josh Stewart) He's a handyman that's down on his luck. Way down on his luck to the point where he has to resort to his old profession, burglary to settle a big debt. The second principal character is a serial killer. As he isn't really named, we'll call him "The Collector". Like any good horror icon, he's got a special gimmick to him. Hannibal Lecter eats people; Freddy Krueger kills you in your dreams. The Collector sets up traps. Like a demented Kevin McCallister, The Collector breaks into your house and rigs it up with deadly snares, razor-sharp blades; painful choices and unexpected surprises that will make you wish you were dead… if they don't outright kill you. When these two characters' paths intersect, the plot really kicks off.

    The film starts slowly, taking the time to develop a main character that we would not normally care for, but in this instance sympathize with. Normally a character like Arkin would the guy that bites the dust first. It's the same as those teenagers that are doing drugs in the middle of the woods. He's in a spot where he’s got no business being and he’s planning on doing something wrong. Once his character is established and we see the kind of danger he is in though, your heart goes out to him. He is a man we feel sympathetic for because of the hardship he faces and if that wasn't enough, he has to play cat-and-mouse with The Collector. Getting caught would mean a fate so gruesome you wouldn't wish it upon anyone and he's smart and crafty enough that we might even get a happy ending after all.

    What I really enjoyed, more than the elaborate traps or the gory moments (and make no mistake, this is not for the squeamish) is that you really are on the edge of your seat all the way through. There are always new elements that come up in this story to keep the action interesting and to keep you from figuring out what will happen next. I love that Arkin is a character that simply stumbles upon this horror story and has to keep his wits about him despite all of the horrors he witnesses. What would you do in his situation, and how would you ensure that you could leave the place with a clean conscience and all of your limbs intact? How long can he stay out of sight and will he be able to make it out ok with the money he needs?

    As for the torture and gore elements, there actually isn't as much as the premise implies. Most characters are killed quickly and the pain that they endure is off-screen or implied with injuries instead of long close-ups. The carnage will frighten you because picturing all of these sharp devices, elaborate setups and the potential pain that they would cause will make you uncomfortable. However, it's not about seeing people pull out razor blades from under their fingernails, it's a game of cat-and-mouse In a place full of mouse traps from hell. I wouldn't say that the violence is that much higher off of your harder R-Rated slasher films. If you can handle a teenager getting impaled on a spike or decapitated, this will be just brutal enough that it will be shocking without making you want to turn the movie off in disgust. While it does at times linger on scenes that we don't want to see, most of the time this is to show what our protagonist has to go through in order to escape. It makes the stakes feel real so it does not feel like its exploiting human suffering. It didn't to me at least. If anything, the movie suffers from gratuitous shots of nudity more than It does excessive gore.

    What we have here is a great villain, one that is just as good as the Chuckys, the Jasons, the Angelas or the Pinheads. It's an inventive horror film that has me wanting more, but in a good way. Overall, it's a violent, disturbing horror film with a great premise. If it sounds like your kind of thing, I bet you that it will be, and it’s got a terrific ending so check it out. (On DVD, December 8, 2012)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  16.6.2015 age: 26-35 2,866 reviews

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