By: RAMA
Let's see if RAMA thought this film held up to the first film.
I was a huge fan of the first film, The Collector, and this sequel doesn’t disappoint at all. Sure it’s a torture porn franchise, from the guys who directed many of those SAW movies, even the editor of THE COLLECTION directed SAW VI, but THE COLLECTION is just gory fun, it’s unflinchingly brutal and plain gnarly. Filmmking team Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton must really love booby traps that aim to kill because this time around, they’ve come up with a few creatively staged traps that will make you wonder what kind of demented degenerate would come up with such film..
When Elena’s (Emma Fitzpatrick) friends take her to a secret party at an undisclosed location, she never imagined she would become the latest victim of The Collector, a psychopathic killer. The Collector kidnaps and transports her to an abandoned hotel he’s transformed into his own private maze of torture and death. Upon learning of his daughter’s disappearance, Elena’s wealthy father (Christopher McDonald) hires a group of mercenaries to retrieve her from the vicious grips of The Collector. These mercenaries coerce Arkin (Josh Stewart), the only man to have escaped the wrath of this heinous monster, to lead them through the gruesome labyrinth. Now, Arkin finds himself fighting for his own life in order to save Elena.
Josh Stewart returns as the hero in this film as the character Arkin, who SPOILER ALERT in the previous film was shoved into a box. In this sequel, Arkin (Stewart) has to face the dilemma of either walking away or saving a girl who becomes the Collector’s latest box collection, Elena, played by Emma Fitzpatrick who in certain angles, looks like Anne Hathaway’s long lost distant cousin. Arkin is smart, vulnerable, and his conscience gets the better of him whereas Elena is more confident than your average horror queen that’s usually there only to scream, Elena is the kind of horror leading lady who, when cornered, would step up to the plate and do whatever it takes to survive. In the first film, Arkin sorta faced the same dilemma because he was a thief who suddenly went toe to toe against a much bigger and deathly threat, in THE COLLECTION, Arkin, after having spent time with The Collector, has the benefit of knowing how the Collector would do his things, Arkin knows which route to take.
THE COLLECTION is essentially a rescue mission that hits the fan and everything goes haywire. Dunstan and Melton set up two places rigged by death machines that would result in characters’ death or dismemberment. Some are meant solely for shock value, some do compliment the plot. It’s thrilling, scary, cruel, and filled with fantastic old school practical effects that can kick today’s CG effects. Sequels, especially horror sequels tend to stink real bad, but I’m surprised by how well-structured THE COLLECTION is, in terms of the story and how the characters would prevail, it leads to a rather satisfying ending that gives the villain what he deserves. THE COLLECTION is one helluva bloody good time at the theater.
GRADE: 4 out of 5
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