THE COLLECTOR (2009)

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"Scary as Hell!"

A new horror icon has arrived and he doesn't speak! THE COLLECTOR is one of the best, most terrifying films of the year. No star power, no supernatural mumbo jumbo, and yet Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton use... their experience writing SAW Movies and take it up a notch. It's torture porn with trickier, dirtier booby traps. Scary as hell!

If you truly love horror movies, THE COLLECTOR will get you laughin' after each scary moment, not because it's cheesy but because you'll feel happy that the movie does what it's supposed to do. Dunstan and Melton make the creepy silence and the still dark of night their friends. I know it's not a bid budget movie but the camera work is very impressive, it milks the intensity that comes with the cat-and-mouse game between the villain and the unlikely hero. It's like watching mice in a labyrinth from up above. One minute you see the prey and the predator on the opposite sides of the wall, the next you see the predator closing in on its prey but the prey is one step ahead. It's pulse pounding how he tries to evade capture in heartbeat while evading the traps at the same time.

What I really find refreshing about THE COLLECTOR is that even though it's pretty much like SAW, the villain doesn't say a word. He doesn't preach about what you did wrong, he doesn't even care about your plead. Outsmarting and outplaying him is tough as nails and only a thief, well-played Josh Stewart, would know what to anticipate, and even that is not as predictable as he expects it to be.

You'll be fascinated at the extent that Dunstan and Melton went through to rig the entire house. Every room becomes deadly, all kinds of creative ways to die are set in such a crazy way that you can help but be fascinated. What's fun is that Dunstan and Melton don't necessarily give away the secrets. You'll get a glimpse of the trap, represented by some wire and the camera would take you to where the wire ends and the fatal consequence that would happen if it got disturbed, but that journey from finding the wire to the sharp end is done so fast, you won't be able to fully understand the mechanism but you know you wouldn't wanna be there when that thing worked. It's like a magician who never reveal his secrets.

This year had a rough start, horror genre was tainted with disgrace like The Uninvited and The Unborn and Friday the 13th Remake but Drag Me To Hell and THE COLLECTOR has restored our faith. A new franchise has been born and I can't wait to see the next installment.