The Collector (2009)
The Collector was written and directed by Marcus Dunstan as well as co-written by Patrick Melton. When I first heard that the writers of Saw 4-6 were making another horror film I was a bit weary. They never felt to me to be the strongest movies in the Saw franchise and I really wasn't able to get drawn into them but I will be the first to admit that I was wrong. I will happily admit to being wrong as well since when they are creating something new and not using someone eles's material Marcus and Patrick can put together something amazing.
The introduction to the film is pure character development without a hint of where the plot is going to go. We are introduced to Arkin (Josh Stewart) who at first appears to be a handyman helping restore a house. Its soon shown that this handy man is actually a thief who is casing the house looking for where a certain item is kept. He finally finds where the item is stored and soon finds out his wife owes a lot of money and has until midnight to pay. Knowing he is low on time he moves up to plotting the theft to that night though when he get's back to the house things are not as expected.
While breaking into the safe Arkin hears someone else moving in the house and attempts to avoid him. He soon though stumbles across Michael(Michael Reilly Burke), the father, who looks beaten and is violently dragged from the room. It is at this point that the movie truly takes off and keeps up a great mixture of both suspense and action until the very end.
Both Michael and his wife Victoria (Andrea Roth) are both being held captive by a mad man in a mask. Arkin quickly finds out that the entire house is set with traps and he must navigate through them to try both rescue the family and escape. While he attempts to rescue the parents he soon finds that both of their daughters Jill (Madeleine Zima) and Hannah (Karley Scott Collins) have not been caught by The Collector.
As Arkin tries to save the family he is constantly having to hide from The Collector who appears to "collect" people for his own unknown reasons. Every time he is able to make progress either he or the parents are injured and when escape looms near the daughters are brought into the film. I won't go into the end of the film as you'll want to see the twists for yourself but I will say it is a fun romp in horror, gore, and suspense.
Previously, as I said, I was completely iffy on the idea of Marcus and Patrick doing another horror film. After seeing what they can really do though I am hoping they keep making them! My only hope is that they learned from the Saw series so if they do create a franchise it doesn't end up the same way.
