THE COLLECTION is the second movie in the "Collector" series. About a serial killer who uses mazes and traps to capture and torture his victims.
I won't go into details of the film except to give some background and a little commentary. This review is more of my thoughts and feeling towards the film itself.
First, I'll briefly review "The Collector"
From some of the guys who made some of the SAW movies. Apparently this was a project that was a vision long in the making. About a serial killer who uses mazes and traps to capture and torture his victims (as stated above).
I thought this film was semi original and smart in that it had all of the "trappings" (pun intended) of the SAW movies, torture of Hostel, and add a knife wielding psycho...you have The Collector. The big difference here is that the "Collector" is smart, fast, and skilled. These combinations make for a suspenseful and painful (in a good way) movie to watch. Some critics called this film torture porn, I don't think that's the case, although it's pretty graphic, not for the squeamish. A negative about the first film is that the subplot that gets the main character in the film to the location is weak. It feels like you are dropped in the middle of something with little to no context. Once the shit hits the fan though, you forget all about it. Every horror film bad guy or film like SAW has a "thing" something that is unique to them or part of their M.O. In this case it's the he captures someone, keeps them alive and sticks them in a box (red trunk) to be found. From here all hell breaks loose.
The Collector is a creepy looking dude in a black mask that looks like heavy gauze with eyes that seems to be "shined" so that he can see in the dark. he doesn't speak and makes these little tweaky movements with his head. CREEPY.
The pace and freshness of this film was great and then ends on a cliff hanger. I give this film 4 HELL YEAH'S out of 5
NOW on to the THE COLLECTION.
As sequels go it's OK. Much like SAW II or Hostel 2, although not as good as Hostel, which is a VERY high bar, this was supposed to be a continuation of the story. AGAIN the story starts off out of context and randomly. The "Collector" has committed the cardinal sin of ramping up his game and killing/kidnapping MANY MANY people in a short amount of time.
This leads to one of the most over the top "Death By..." scenes in Movie History...Imagine a giant push lawn mower, the type with blades that turn in front like a wheel, and a club full of ravers. LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR.
The film doesn't take itself too seriously. In fact it does about the only thing is can do, which is GO BIG and NASTY. It's not as smart as the first one because the view kind of knows how things go. The films tries to turn the tables on the "Collector" and show him as being hunted. It also sort of dives in to who he is. (at the end. There are a few new elements to story, and SEVERAL "fish tank" collection surprises, but again this all goes to the attempt to increase the scale of the film.
I would have liked it better had they kept it a bit more simple, BUT then again what do I know. :)
Again the film ends in a way that perhaps could lead to more sequels but I'm thinking that this film may not have done as well as the original. BUT we'll see. The Saw franchise pumped one out a year just about for almost 7 years (I think)
If you are a SAW/HOSTEL fan, or a horror/slasher film fan this is worth seeing, perhaps in DVD or streaming later on but definitely a watch especially if you say the first one.
3.5 HELL YEAH's out of 5