West Volusia Beacon Movie Review — The Collection

Patrick Sessoms — Born and raised in the sunshine state, Patrick grew up loving movies. He’s currently attending the University of Central Florida and is a Cinema Studies major. Along with being the president of Stars and Popcorn, he’s a player in the independent comics scene.

Rated R for strong violence, intense sequences, strong language and adult situations

By Patrick Sessoms
Beacon Columnist

posted Dec 13, 2012 - 8:26:33pm

The Collection doesn’t do much to stand out as a film, but it is bloody as hell. That’s right, gore fans: This one’s for you. Movies that find their niche with sadists aren’t usually known for their artistic merits, but surprisingly enough, The Collection isn’t completely unbearable. It’s by no means a good film, but the idea behind it is actually pretty intriguing, if a little ridiculous.

The Collection picks up after the events of its predecessor, The Collector (trust me, you won’t exactly be lost if you haven’t seen it), only this time around, it’s a lot grander. The first one featured the villainous psychopath trapping his victims in their home, including series protagonist Josh Stewart. This time around, Stewart takes the fight to the man who captured him by leading a team of mercenaries to save the madman’s newest victim (Emma Fitzpatrick). If you thought the last film’s booby-trapped house was bad, wait until you see the hotel that the Collector (Randall Archer) is holed up in this time around: It’s just filled with absurd and gratuitous traps oddly reminiscent of the second Saw film.

This makes me wonder what sort of technical school is pumping out murderous psychopaths with engineering degrees.

It’s not all just mechanical traps when it comes to this particular serial killer, though: He takes things so much farther than the notorious Jigsaw by actually experimenting on the people he captures. Of course, for the most part, he just stands menacingly and snarls, but he does have his sinister moments when he shows the audience how much of his life he’s dedicated to his sadism.

It’s better not to think too much while sitting through this movie. Questions like, “where does he get the funding for all this?” are going to go unanswered, but if you’re watching The Collection, you’re probably not interested in pointing out gaping holes in the plot (of which there are plenty).

Director Marcus Dunstan, who also co-wrote the film with Patrick Melton, does his job well enough. He knows his audience and caters to them perfectly. The Collection is a gratuitous, blood-soaked romp with an incredible body count and a sickening amount of creativity. Unfortunately, there's not much more to it than that. Sure, the idea of a mastermind serial killer going toe-to-toe with mercenaries sounds like a good Saturday night matchup, but it’s not exactly a work of art.

The Collection isn't what one might consider a true horror film. Rather, it subscribes to the trendy obsession with blood and gore, and boy does it have its gut-wrenching moments. If you have a delicate disposition, avoid this movie at all costs. In fact, it probably isn’t a great film for anyone aside from that specific group of people who love watching bear traps snap shut on people’s heads. Still, Dunstan does enough right to make it a worthwhile flick for the right audience.

Stars & Popcorn grade: 1 1/2 stars, 3 popcorn

— Born and raised in the sunshine state, Patrick grew up loving movies. He’s currently attending the University of Central Florida and is a Cinema Studies major. Along with being the president of Stars and Popcorn, he’s a player in the independent comics scene.

Sponsored by Liebe Entertainment Group, Marketplace 8. Click here to see showtimes for The Collection

Visit Stars and Popcorn at www.starsandpopcorn.com

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