The first thing you need to know about The Collection, a pretty solid horror movie, is that’s a sequel. Now I did start writing the review for the first movie in the proposed trilogy, The Collector, but I just couldn’t do that to you. I couldn’t get past the silly story despite all the intense gore. Maybe you can, so do check it out if you’re feeling adventurous. However, you do not need to watch it in order to enjoy this one. They’re very loosely tied together. The third and final part is in the works and it remains to be seen if it’s going to be any good. So, with that out of the way, let’s move on to the actual movie.
The Collection follows a masked serial killer who likes three things. Of course, he likes killing people but he also collects their bodies and loves deadly traps. Think of it as a variation of the Saw theme. The production values are good along with cool practical effects. I mean, we’re talking about elaborate traps here so that’s a given. The first one goes off within the opening ten minutes resulting in glorious and bloody mayhem.
Elena, a daughter of a wealthy businessman, decides to go to an ultra-secret party. A party that apparently other 500 visitors knew about but that’s not important. What’s important is that The Collector is already there, waiting. He’s a vicious serial killer and he’s planning to add Elena to his collection.
The decision not to take themselves too seriously this time saved The Collection from becoming too unbelievable. It reminds me of those fun turn-of-the-century horror movies like Final Destination, Darkness Falls, or Jeepers Creepers. After all, we all know we’re here to see some carnage and a mildly entertaining story. I wish they told us more about the team that goes after the killer as they seem like an interesting bunch. For fuck’s sake, they even have Bubbles schooling those youngins in the art of hunting.
There are a couple of really nasty scenes with bodies contorted and grafted together. They reminded me of Resurrection, an obscure nineties horror starring Cristopher Lambert. And I also have to mention a real serial killer HH Holmes, who turned his home into a “murder castle”. Finally, with a runtime of just over seventy minutes, The Collection is a perfect warmup movie for your horror night.
Director: Marcus Dunstan
Writers: Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan
Cast: Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, Christopher McDonald, Lee Tergesen, Randall Archer, William Peltz
Fun Facts: The “Hotel Argento” where the Collector has his victims is most likely a nod to the cult Italian horror director Dario Argento.
Rating:
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1748227/
