The Collector (2009)

The Collector: Directed by Marcus Dunstan. With William Prael, Diane Ayala Goldner, Juan Fernández, Josh Stewart. 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.

“As the story of the Collector unfolds, it quickly becomes obvious that writer/director Marcus Dunstan is knowledgeable when it comes to the horror genre and knows what makes people click. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFirst, there is a 70s/80s feel to this movie. From the dirty-ish cinematography to the pacing, editing and the casting choices, a lot of this reminds me of the less polished horror films of these decades. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne of the aspects where this movie shines is with its protagonist Arkin. A down-on-his- luck handyman struggling to pay his bills. Josh Stewart was a revelation for me in this role. I canu0026#39;t wait to see what the future has in store for this actor. Is he a one-note actor who was perfectly cast or is this some serious talent? I for one would lean toward the latter. Stewart is perfect in making us feel Arkin is a decent guy with a will of is own but just suffers from a total lack of respect by the people around him. He oozes charisma despite the u0026quot;loseru0026quot; role he has to work with and reminds me a little bit of Sean Penn. What makes the film effective is really exploring the character of Arkin early on. There is a simple situation driving this man to do what he is about to do and we can relate to him. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnfortunately, the movie begins to lose steam when Arkin gets inside the house. At first, the traps and situations are intriguing. But character and story development halts to a crawl. Who is the collector and what is the meaning of this collection? We donu0026#39;t really know and Dunstan doesnu0026#39;t seem to care in the least. Themes explored throughout the movies? Again, doesnu0026#39;t seem very relevant. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs the story progresses, the traps become the star of the film and the whole thing seems more and more far-fetched. What should be the meat around the bone becomes the entire movie. The concept seems more like the latest horror gimmick. Itu0026#39;s a somewhat interesting and entertaining one but one must deplore all the character development of Arkin if the rest of the movie was really just about mindless fun. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll in all, this is a solid movie reminiscent of the trashy, dirty 70s and early 80s horror flicks. But it seems to be lacking in themes and symbolism that made those movies so great and I sensed the writing lost its purpose mid-way. I also deplore what I sense like a desperate attempt to build a franchise, as opposed to make a great movie. The movie seems like a setup for sequels, a TV series pilot more than a single work of art to be enjoyed. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie deserves a 5.5 and is relatively well-done. If this review seems harsh, itu0026#39;s just that the first half hour or so lets you think the movie will be much more powerful than it actually ends up being. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eVery curious to see if a sequel will be done for this one.”