THE COLLECTION

I was looking forward to this for a long time, as I was a big fan of "The Collector," since I saw it back in 2009. What I expected that film to be, was a cheap, loud, overbearing Saw knock-off, since it had the writers of parts IV, V & VI, as was so advertized.
 I found it to be quite a smart, muted horror film - that is until the carnage started occuring and I found myself squirming uncomfortably at certain scenes -- which is exactly what I want from this kind of film.

Four years on, I managed to get a hold of "The Collection" and I eagerly shut off the lights, switched on the DVD player, cranked the sound up and sat as close to the TV as I could, without blowing my eyeballs out. I was ready to be pumped full of adrenaline, biting my nails nervously and checking my heart rate... I got something different from what I was expecting.

And, by no means, do I mean that different is bad.

This movie, it should be noted, is somewhat of an action movie -- kind of like the way Aliens is to Alien. The set up is textbook B movie action plot, minus Chuck Norris or Michael Dudikoff: Rich guy's daughter is taken, so a team is assembled to go in and rescue her, with the help of the kidnapper's last remaining survivor. That's all the story you get here. That's all you need and it's all the better for it.

The film is quite bloody, it's first "kill" is probably the goriest of the bunch, so gore hounds may feel that this sequel is a bit lacking, or that it blew it's load too soon. Personally, I didn't feel that way, as from that moment on, the movie didn't stop for breath, like a perfect rhythm, it's beats went boom boom boom.
 That's another thing, it's short running time may leave people thinking, "Was that it?," but I think the film was as long as it needed to be. Get in, tell your story, get out. I love that. More films need to do that.

There was never a point in the movie where I felt scared, or a sense of dread, just an eagerness to see what was coming next. There were a few characters in here, that I felt didn't need to be, but nothing that was too imposing.

I'm never keen on horror movies, where the characters stand up to the antagonist and put up a good fight, I think it takes power away from the killer/monster -- whatever it may be. This is a personal thing, because when you identify with the "hero," and you see him or her kicking the bad guy's ass, you too feel that you could do the same, foregoing all that fear you built up in the previous scenes/movies.
 There a couple of those scenes here, but, as I said - This really felt like an action movie to me, more than a straight up horror, so I didn't mind too much.

There are some cool scenes that will make you wince, say "Oooh fuck!" or giggle devilishly, as I did.
 I think The Collection is going to be a film that has people divided. You're either going to go with it, or you're not. I did and had a good time.
 There are some moments you do have to call bullshit on, but they don't take away from the overall film. I give The Collection a positive

THREE FUCKS