What's so bad about "The Collector"? I mean come on! The premise is intriguing and ostensibly viable: Arkin, an ex-convict trying to get back on the straight and narrow, works as a handyman for the lovable Chase family. When he his wife reveals that she needs money to pay off some loan sharks. Arkin is forced to rob the Chases to get the money. Just one problem. The Chases are a bit busy being tortured to death by a psycho in their home, which has been booby trapped with a squirm-inducing variety of death traps.
Sounds awesome! Even the acting is generally great! Josh Stewart is sympathetic and believable as Arkin, and young Karley Collins does a great job as Hannah.
The death traps and kills are interesting and complex, making even the most gruesome dispatching a joy to watch.
Brandon Cox's cinematography is masterful, giving the film a shimmering, modern look, deftly evoking tension from scene to scene (if somewhat heavy on visual stereotypes.) Hell, even director Marcus Dunstan shows he knows what he's doing. He builds tension for a painfully long time before ever triggering the first horrible booby trap.
"The Collector" is sick, slick, and pretty to look at! So...what's wrong with it? Well for starters the story stops making sense after the first 30 minutes. I wish I could rattle off a list of the ridiculous leaps of logic and poorly thought out plot points, but it would give too much away.
Trust me, by the end of the movie the characters will be behaving so nonsensically you'll wonder if you're really watching a Saturday morning cartoon.
You can have all the fancy cinematography and special effects in the world, but it doesn't make a good movie. It's pretty hard to f*ck up a good screenplay and make a bad movie. But it's impossible to make a good movie out of a terrible screenplay.
3 out of 10 for being an insipid piece of torture porn.
Sounds awesome! Even the acting is generally great! Josh Stewart is sympathetic and believable as Arkin, and young Karley Collins does a great job as Hannah.
The death traps and kills are interesting and complex, making even the most gruesome dispatching a joy to watch.
Brandon Cox's cinematography is masterful, giving the film a shimmering, modern look, deftly evoking tension from scene to scene (if somewhat heavy on visual stereotypes.) Hell, even director Marcus Dunstan shows he knows what he's doing. He builds tension for a painfully long time before ever triggering the first horrible booby trap.
"The Collector" is sick, slick, and pretty to look at! So...what's wrong with it? Well for starters the story stops making sense after the first 30 minutes. I wish I could rattle off a list of the ridiculous leaps of logic and poorly thought out plot points, but it would give too much away.
Trust me, by the end of the movie the characters will be behaving so nonsensically you'll wonder if you're really watching a Saturday morning cartoon.
You can have all the fancy cinematography and special effects in the world, but it doesn't make a good movie. It's pretty hard to f*ck up a good screenplay and make a bad movie. But it's impossible to make a good movie out of a terrible screenplay.
3 out of 10 for being an insipid piece of torture porn.
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