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Casper Von Sidecar Calls THE COLLECTOR 'Fun' And 'Badass'!!
Merrick here...
Casper Von Sidecar sent in this look at THE COLLECTOR.
In the unlikely event you've managed to escape the film's television marketing blitz, you can view its trailer in Glorious QuickTime HERE.
A week or two ago, Massawyrm declared his love for this film (HERE). Does Casper share his opinion? Read on...
Last night I had the privilege of attending a screening of The Collector at the Alamo Ritz. My Fantastic Fest badge has become the gift that keeps on giving since moving to ATX. The Collector is the story of a down-on-his-luck pseudo-baddie who cases houses for a local hood king. He is then employed to snatch valuables from safes in those houses using his safe-cracking skills and his Cary Grant-like thievery talent. So when his baby mamma needs cash to pay the loan sharks—his usual motivation for larceny—he decides to lift a rare rock from the home of a jeweler. What happens next exemplifies the expression wrong place at the wrong time.
I dug this film. This review may seem paradoxical because a good deal of the praise I am going to give this film is going to sound derogatory. This film is typical of modern horror with its reliance on torture and gore as a means for building suspense. We could argue the merits of that til judgment day but the fact is that these have become staples of horror films today. Moreover it is a fairly run-of-the-mill home invasion horror film. We've seen these movies crop up again here and there trying to make a comeback, but The Collector will not be enough to rejuvenate that subgenre. The compartmentalized nature of home invasion horror makes it easy to build suspense. If there is the slightest bit of tension delivered by the film, it effectively has nowhere to go and we are trapped in a closet with it (better than being trapped in a closet with lecherous R&B singers, right?). So yes, this film was tense but given the format, it's not that impressive.
So why did I like such an ordinary horror film? I really believe it's the simplicity and unassuming nature of the film that made it work for me. I don't go into modern horror looking for high art anymore; more often than not you will walk out disappointed if you do. That’s not to disparage the genre, but if we implement art house criteria to our assessment of horror, then we squander golden opportunities to experience the essence of it: the thrill. If a horror film is not striving to bring something wholly new to the table, then my only expectation becomes fun. I revel in the fact that horror is one of the few genres wherein we can legitimately ask ourselves, did we have a good time with this film? In regard to The Collector, my answer is a big yes!
Yes, there are superfluous boobs. Yes, the violence is horrendous and shocking. Yes, there are buckets of blood and entrails spilling forth like the contents of a busted piñata. But damn it, I love horror films of all makes and models. So yes, I enjoyed the gorgeous pair of boobs. Yes, I punched the air in celebration of all the cool kills and cringed at the grossest of torture scenes. And hell yes I enjoyed the house o'traps!
Oh Sweet Merciful Jesus Flakes the traps! They are one of the key reasons to see this film. The killer turns the entire home he is invading into a giant labyrinth of certain, and very messy death! Keep in mind that the writers of this film, one of whom also directed, are the brains behind all of the Saw films. Again, we could argue the merits but if there is one thing that is certain it's that these guys know how to create traps! The traps are sinister and nasty, but also morbidly playful. It was like watching Home Alone if it starred the Macaulay Culkin from The Good Son. This is where the fun in this film truly lies; a rollercoaster of carnage!
I will not pretend that this film is without flaws. My biggest problem was the soundtrack. There is a very odd trend in horror, especially recently, wherein the sound designer mistakes loud with scary. Sorry guys, but a singer from a has-been goth band screaming into the microphone does not equate to atmosphere. And dragging nails across blackboards at decibel levels that would deafen Angus Young is not the same as setting the mood of the film. My only other qualm is that the killer is called the Collector because they try to establish that he collects people. But it is never really clear how he collects them or which person he's ever really after. I don't mean in an eerie, ambiguous way. No, I mean the lines of dialogue directly contradict each other as to his collecting habits. I know that The Collector was not the original title of this film and that there were late reshoots so maybe the problem is that the concept had to be tweaked at the last minute. Maybe a little bit of continuity was sacrificed in favor of getting the film released on schedule.
But these are quibbles really in the grand scheme. Again if the film is free of pretense and plays to the genre crowd effectively, then why not take it at face value? If you can’t abandon film school logic and take the occasional cognitive vacation, than this is not the film for you. Frankly, this isn’t the genre for you. Horror films aim to entertain first and quality is secondary. There are exceptions, but they are just that….exceptions! And those film really knock us on our asses, whether you are the core audience or not. So is The Collector great? Absolutely not. But my argument is that convention is not the enemy. Even the great horror films borrow, or in some cases shamelessly steal, from other films.
See this film if you can put aside black and white abstracts of good film vs. bad film. The Collector is fun, badass entry into the horror annuls that you can watch once, gleam all the conversational treasures you can, and forget.
I dug this film. This review may seem paradoxical because a good deal of the praise I am going to give this film is going to sound derogatory. This film is typical of modern horror with its reliance on torture and gore as a means for building suspense. We could argue the merits of that til judgment day but the fact is that these have become staples of horror films today. Moreover it is a fairly run-of-the-mill home invasion horror film. We've seen these movies crop up again here and there trying to make a comeback, but The Collector will not be enough to rejuvenate that subgenre. The compartmentalized nature of home invasion horror makes it easy to build suspense. If there is the slightest bit of tension delivered by the film, it effectively has nowhere to go and we are trapped in a closet with it (better than being trapped in a closet with lecherous R&B singers, right?). So yes, this film was tense but given the format, it's not that impressive.
So why did I like such an ordinary horror film? I really believe it's the simplicity and unassuming nature of the film that made it work for me. I don't go into modern horror looking for high art anymore; more often than not you will walk out disappointed if you do. That’s not to disparage the genre, but if we implement art house criteria to our assessment of horror, then we squander golden opportunities to experience the essence of it: the thrill. If a horror film is not striving to bring something wholly new to the table, then my only expectation becomes fun. I revel in the fact that horror is one of the few genres wherein we can legitimately ask ourselves, did we have a good time with this film? In regard to The Collector, my answer is a big yes!
Yes, there are superfluous boobs. Yes, the violence is horrendous and shocking. Yes, there are buckets of blood and entrails spilling forth like the contents of a busted piñata. But damn it, I love horror films of all makes and models. So yes, I enjoyed the gorgeous pair of boobs. Yes, I punched the air in celebration of all the cool kills and cringed at the grossest of torture scenes. And hell yes I enjoyed the house o'traps!
Oh Sweet Merciful Jesus Flakes the traps! They are one of the key reasons to see this film. The killer turns the entire home he is invading into a giant labyrinth of certain, and very messy death! Keep in mind that the writers of this film, one of whom also directed, are the brains behind all of the Saw films. Again, we could argue the merits but if there is one thing that is certain it's that these guys know how to create traps! The traps are sinister and nasty, but also morbidly playful. It was like watching Home Alone if it starred the Macaulay Culkin from The Good Son. This is where the fun in this film truly lies; a rollercoaster of carnage!
I will not pretend that this film is without flaws. My biggest problem was the soundtrack. There is a very odd trend in horror, especially recently, wherein the sound designer mistakes loud with scary. Sorry guys, but a singer from a has-been goth band screaming into the microphone does not equate to atmosphere. And dragging nails across blackboards at decibel levels that would deafen Angus Young is not the same as setting the mood of the film. My only other qualm is that the killer is called the Collector because they try to establish that he collects people. But it is never really clear how he collects them or which person he's ever really after. I don't mean in an eerie, ambiguous way. No, I mean the lines of dialogue directly contradict each other as to his collecting habits. I know that The Collector was not the original title of this film and that there were late reshoots so maybe the problem is that the concept had to be tweaked at the last minute. Maybe a little bit of continuity was sacrificed in favor of getting the film released on schedule.
But these are quibbles really in the grand scheme. Again if the film is free of pretense and plays to the genre crowd effectively, then why not take it at face value? If you can’t abandon film school logic and take the occasional cognitive vacation, than this is not the film for you. Frankly, this isn’t the genre for you. Horror films aim to entertain first and quality is secondary. There are exceptions, but they are just that….exceptions! And those film really knock us on our asses, whether you are the core audience or not. So is The Collector great? Absolutely not. But my argument is that convention is not the enemy. Even the great horror films borrow, or in some cases shamelessly steal, from other films.
See this film if you can put aside black and white abstracts of good film vs. bad film. The Collector is fun, badass entry into the horror annuls that you can watch once, gleam all the conversational treasures you can, and forget.
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Who're you, Borat?
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aw shucks....
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...moving on.
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Learn the fucking language, asswipe.
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... just remind us all that horror movies don't have to be brainless examples of torture porn?
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And it will be out on DVD in a month
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into another mindless slasher flick?
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You'll never catch me..! I'll come to your bed at night and scratch your eyes out!
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is so bad, one would think it was written by someone attracted by my dwarf proportionism which makes me look like an 11 year old girl
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...and this is pretty much what this looks like.
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and took out the extra "is." Don't leave us hanging, get all pissy about it like Beaks does. Please?
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It was a lot of fun indeed. I was a bit slow at the begining, but well worth the wait in the end.
Best way I can put this movie is, if the kid from Home Alone grew up to be a serial killer. Best description I can think of. -
The title of this is kinda corny, I wonder what the bad guy talks about?"I am The Collector! Would you like to see my collection of buttons? Perhaps, you would enjoy my collection of baseball cards or even my collection of coins..."
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Farting Brazillian girls, Squirting Women on FuckingMachines, Japanese vomit porn, large insertions, shemales, scat, beastiality, and the most disgusting of all: Face-to-face man on top of woman missionary position porn.
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Seriously, I'd fucking pay money to see a new adult Saw like Home Alone movie
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That movie sounds like it wants to collect my semen on its chin and so does the reviewer.
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But when the reviewer says things like " Turn your brain off and just enjoy it" or "It's not going to be a great movie ,or Oscar worthy but it's sooo much fun" Things seem a little leafy to me. Almost like the reviewer is saying, Hey,it's not great but it's something to watch and it's got blood and boobs in it...Yah! Who gives a shit? If I want to "turn my brain off" and watch blood and violence with some boobs flashed now and then, I'll rent Out for Justice or Double Impact.Not some Hostel/Saw shit that's idea of horror is some poor sap getting his nuts slammed in a vice grip for an hour an half by some masked "Riddler" meets Eli Roth douch bag with no back story or even a reason behind the bullshit. The torture shit is so old at this point.
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lots of them.he has a bear infestation problem.
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You testicle-impaired studio plants should really be edgy and mock some other belief system, quit taking the easy road.
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... like most horrors these days.
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inbreeding, lead in the water, lower school standards, single parenting, household chemical overexposure, prenatal drinking, the lack of special education classes, Sarah Palin, and the general fucking idiocy of certain sections of the America public, these movies wouldn't do very well.
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Hey Cujo,
Pretty sure Sarah Palin knows there are less than 57 states. Also pretty sure she knows that breathalizer tests aren't used on kids with asthma.
Also pretty sure she doesn't see movies like this. -
Why does a killer need a back story or a reason for killing? It's thinking like that which leads studios to give us unnecessary exposition in films because they think audiences demand to know more than they need to. Thank you for proving them right. Back stories and reasons can kill suspense and/or interest. Watch the original BLACK CHRISTMAS then watch the remake and see what can happen to a story when you add a reason. Many times films are frightening specifically because you have no idea why the killer is doing what they're doing.
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Just FYI, the writers of this film are not the writers of all the Saw films. They came on at IV. I guess they missed my email. Sorry bout that
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Harry Potter and Trans 2 really did scary away all films from the month of July. Because I only went to the teater once for Moon, everything else is coming out in Aug.
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Is getting a full release right? None of that limited shit? Hopefully it becomes some hit because I'll be gone for two weeks I don't want to miss this.
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Did anyone actually see Orphan, it looked so bad. You want to see a good non tourture porn horror movie watch Joshua. Much better version of Orphan. That or Spiral was pretty good.
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I don't need a thrown together back story ala F13th remake or Rob Zombies Halloween. Thats not what I meant. I guess what I meant was,I'm tired of these movies like The Strangers and Funny Games where the "villian"s entire existence is based on not having any reason or purpose to do what they are doing. See what I'm saying? I grew up on horror like the original Halloween ,A Nightmare on Elm Street and Texas Chainsaw Massacare.In those films it was a standard ghost story ,ten minute explination of why a certain evil may exist and why you better be fucking scared of it. I didn't mean to imply that I wanted to see The Collectors horrible childhood with redneck parents that made him collect miller high life beer cans or wear his sister clothes to school. I'm just kind of tired of that type of horror at this point. Think about it , With this film,The Saw Franchise,The Strangers,Funny Games, and a few other films...Basic premise is unknown unseen figure tortures family/couple in there home/apartment/cabin all the while taunting them through there voice distorted costume/video/phone calls until every one is dead or there is one lone survivor who escapes long enough to see the person responsible disapear leaving only a mask or clue behind.In the mean time you get to watch as the victims get mutilated with no recourse or revenge. Just them laying in a bear trap screaming for help. Sounds like a great time at the movies.
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I'd argue that not knowing is more frightening than knowing. To me a killer who has no known motive can't be prepared for. Anyone can be a victim. I haven't seen The Strangers, or Funny Games but they'd appear to be more unsettling to me because I have no idea why what's happening is happening. I gather their reasons are that torturing people is fun for them, same as Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That frightens me. I could be a victim. I'm never going to visit Camp Crystal Lake so I'm not scared of Jason. I'm not related to Michael Myers, nor do I know anyone that is, therefore I'm not scared of him. Jigsaw actually has a motive which is to force those that take life for granted to reassess their priorities, and if they don't then they don't deserve life so they die. A killer in which anyone qualifies as a victim who kills for no apparent reason other than personal pleasure is one of the scariest things I think a movie can put forth. I don't think it has to say why they're killing in any capacity because I think we can infer that they're just crazy and enjoy doing it. Again, take a look at the original BLACK CHRISTMAS and see how well that does its job because the killer is vague. We know almost nothing about the killer.
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I'm with you on that. Black Christmas is a great example and I think they should do more movies involving close to real life fucked up situations. My arguement with the Saw movies (first one was actualy good) is that the suspense has been thrown out the window in favor of the fucked up death traps. Some people love the traps but to me it kind of takes away what you were talking about before with realism. Who is going to take the time to put together a full scale metal and barbwire version of Mouse Trap (TM) ? Now the idea of breaking into a house to rob someone and finding out that person is a fucking psycho serial killer.... sounds like a good movie. I get the point of the Saw movies , i'm just not a fan. To each his own I guess. And by the way, nice to go point counter point with some one in a talk back and not end up revert to calling each other cunts or some shit.
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Guess that makes me the cunt. Oh well.
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Funny you should mention the idea of breaking into a house of a serial killer sounding interesting. I've seen THE COLLECTOR (btw), and here is a comment I posted on another site regarding it:
"I think I realize now why the film didn’t impress me as much as I thought it would. It’s that the film has 2 premises, one of which I haven’t seen done and the other I have seen in different variances, and I think there’s an overexposure of the premise I HAD seen done; to some degree.
The Collector character, though not exactly identical to any other horror villain, is an amalgamation of various villains with his unique identifying feature being that he collects people, so to speak. I don’t think you can dismiss that his execution resembles Jigsaw’s, just not with any kind of moral or life reaffirming motive, and the serial killer depicted in UNBREAKABLE.
However, a thief unknowingly walking in to a house where a serial killer is doing his dirty work, and trying to go unnoticed as he finds his way out; while struggling also with his conscience to save the family he’s robbing I find extremely intriguing and something I hadn’t seen before. But, I think despite that being very prominent in the film it’s not as prominent as I would have wanted. I think they had a desire to flesh out The Collector villain even though he’s the aspect of the film that’s not the most original. Though, I recognize it’s the piece that’s most marketable.
I wouldn’t have minded if I barely saw the villain at all. I’d like to have seen everything from Arkin’s perspective instead of cutting back between what he’s doing, and what the killer is doing; even at the risk of maybe not being able to show cool death scenes." -
FAGGOT FACE!!!! Sorry, it was unkindly brought to my attention that AICN talkbacks aren't the arena for civil discussion. Sexual, racial, and gender slurs may re-commence.
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You've hit on exactly why I was unhappy with The Collector. They missed a chance to make a memorable film in order to make a marketable film series. Wouldn't it be great if a filmmaker could pull out all the stops and make the very best stand-alone film he could without worrying about keeping the villain alive for the inevitable sequel? When the only thing tying a series of films together is the bad guy, the audience DOES need some back-story, because at the end of the day, everyone else will be dead. As part of a series, The Collector would be fine without any knowledge of the killer, we could learn more later in an origin story. Instead, we have one victim in one line screaming in terror about how he collects people as if they had to find some way to justify the name of the film. By himself, he's creepy and weird, with the spider metaphors (black goggly eyes, razor wire strung up in the house like a web, traps that catch people) but then you have to find out exactly who he is and that you saw him earlier in the movie, blah. They had a GREAT idea here, and they spoiled it with two lines of dialog and a very tepid ending.
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And every time you say FAGGOT FACE I'll pop up here like a djinni. Say it 3 times, and like Beetlejuice, I'll show up at your house and beat the crap out of you. <3
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