Post by professorbleak on Jul 31, 2009 16:23:24 GMT -5
Just came from an early showing of the “Collector”. I'll start by saying that I will not be adding a copy of the movie to my DVD collection when it comes out. Basically the plot is about a man who, needing some quick cash, breaks into the house he has been remodeling in order to steal a gem stone. When he gets there he finds he is not alone in the house and the whole place has been booby-trapped and the family that lives there taken hostage.
The first thing that I didn't like about the film was the opening credits. I am so tired of the Se7en style quick cut credits with industrial music thrown over for shock value. Can't anyone come up with their own style anymore? It worked great in Se7en when we hadn't seen it three dozen times already, but here it feels completely played out.
Then there is the graininess of the whole movie. I know it was shot on HDVideo but this is some of the worst grain I have seen in a major release.
O.K. so this is a horror movie and you have to suspend your beliefs when you walk into the theater but why are horror movies populated by complete morons? Don't get me wrong, they gave the hero some brains and he makes some great choices----except one. The whole movie he is playing cat and mouse with this Dr. Deckard from Nightbreed look alike. He listens while several of the family members are being tortured and killed, but waits until the end of the film to finally go fist-to-cuffs with this guy that is armed only with knives. ***EDIT***
I'm sorry, I forgot, he waited to fight the guy after the guy got a shotgun. Much safer to try punching a fella with a shotgun.
The killer, this Collector, is not a horrible invention. The idea of someone who collects people is not a horrible idea. In fact, in a good novel or movie with a bit of a larger scope this could work well. In this film it falls a little flat.
There are a couple of scenes that I enjoyed, one for its use of Bauhaus's “Bela Lugosi's Dead” and another that shows that our hero has a heart and would rather be tortured than give up the location of a little girl.
Like the last few SAW films, well I never bothered with V, the whole thing seems to be nothing but a set-up for a sequel. If there is one, I will go see it at matinee prices but I doubt I will ever watch this film again.
I give it **1/2 stars. Wasn't a complete waste of time but far from the 'new classic' that the trailers proclaim it to be.
One more thing, this guy is able to booby trap this huge house in only a few hours. Sure, they are low end traps and wouldn't take too much time to set up (in fact he hasn't even finished all of them) but having spent my college years remodeling houses for money, and knowing how long the smallest projects can take, this guy works insanely FAST.
The first thing that I didn't like about the film was the opening credits. I am so tired of the Se7en style quick cut credits with industrial music thrown over for shock value. Can't anyone come up with their own style anymore? It worked great in Se7en when we hadn't seen it three dozen times already, but here it feels completely played out.
Then there is the graininess of the whole movie. I know it was shot on HDVideo but this is some of the worst grain I have seen in a major release.
O.K. so this is a horror movie and you have to suspend your beliefs when you walk into the theater but why are horror movies populated by complete morons? Don't get me wrong, they gave the hero some brains and he makes some great choices----except one. The whole movie he is playing cat and mouse with this Dr. Deckard from Nightbreed look alike. He listens while several of the family members are being tortured and killed, but waits until the end of the film to finally go fist-to-cuffs with this guy that is armed only with knives. ***EDIT***
I'm sorry, I forgot, he waited to fight the guy after the guy got a shotgun. Much safer to try punching a fella with a shotgun.
The killer, this Collector, is not a horrible invention. The idea of someone who collects people is not a horrible idea. In fact, in a good novel or movie with a bit of a larger scope this could work well. In this film it falls a little flat.
There are a couple of scenes that I enjoyed, one for its use of Bauhaus's “Bela Lugosi's Dead” and another that shows that our hero has a heart and would rather be tortured than give up the location of a little girl.
Like the last few SAW films, well I never bothered with V, the whole thing seems to be nothing but a set-up for a sequel. If there is one, I will go see it at matinee prices but I doubt I will ever watch this film again.
I give it **1/2 stars. Wasn't a complete waste of time but far from the 'new classic' that the trailers proclaim it to be.
One more thing, this guy is able to booby trap this huge house in only a few hours. Sure, they are low end traps and wouldn't take too much time to set up (in fact he hasn't even finished all of them) but having spent my college years remodeling houses for money, and knowing how long the smallest projects can take, this guy works insanely FAST.