The Collection backdrop
The Collection poster

THE COLLECTION

2012 US HMDB
November 30, 2012

Arkin escapes with his life from the vicious grips of "The Collector" during an entrapment party where he adds beautiful Elena to his "Collection." Instead of recovering from the trauma, Arkin is suddenly abducted from the hospital by mercenaries hired by Elena's wealthy father. Arkin is blackmailed to team up with the mercenaries and track down The Collector's booby trapped warehouse and save Elena.

Directors

Marcus Dunstan

Cast

Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, Christopher McDonald, Johanna Braddy, Lee Tergesen, Navi Rawat, Andre Royo, Erin Way, Tim Griffin, Eaddy Mays
Horror Thriller

REVIEWS (1)

GF

Gianluca Fedele

Adam, imprisoned by the Collector in the red box, manages to escape thanks to Elena's help who, however, is kidnapped in his place. Arrested for his past as a burglar, Adam will nevertheless be forced by the girl's father to go back on the trail of the killer accompanied by a team whose job is to cover his back. Finding the place and entering the assassin's lair, they will have to avoid an incredible series of deadly traps to reach their objective. Marcus Dunstan, screenwriter of several "Saw" films from the fifth episode onwards, has decided that writing alone was not enough for him and thus launches himself into directing his own "Enigmista-wannabe" proposing the figure of the Collector who here is in his second appearance after the first "The Collector" of 2009. Dunstan decides, however, to take only the vulgar and purely gory part of the "killer-justicier" of the known saga, thus producing a product that certainly entertains but which completely lacks the psychological, human, and critical side that the original "Saw" proposed. It is limited, in fact, to a series of traps forced into a excessively thin plot with characters who are little more than moving cardboard cutouts that wander aimlessly through an old hotel suffering, in a ridiculous and stupid way, a series of traps that not even the Pythagorean could have devised. And here you will say… "Well, at least we have fun under the gore plan and under a point of view of tension...". And yet you are wrong because there are indeed many traps but most of them fail to trigger and those that manage to hit the target are only vaguely shown with a montage so frantic and fragmented that their identity and mechanism are hardly grasped (perhaps just what was meant to be hidden since it is usually not the case). The protagonist remains the one from the first film, here freed but once again forced to re-enter the monster's lair and who, having learned the lesson and the killer's modus operandi, decides to open any door at random that he finds in front of him, walking through unknown corridors, backwards, and forcing closed locks. The stupidity does not stop there since the killer, most of the time, behaves in a completely illogical manner, making it evident the forced nature of what is wanted to be "shown", without justifying why easier and more sensible paths are not taken. We also clarify that even the basic concept of collecting bodies does not work here since not only do we not understand why he collects bodies, but we also do not understand what his purposes are since we are shown a series of things probably mainly intended to disturb and strike rather than to give a true meaning to the story. That said, we specify that "The Collection" is a film that, with a free but very free mind, can also be watched without getting bored and having some moments of tension and some successful scenes (excellent the initial one in the discotheque, if we limit ourselves to evaluating what we see). Another negative note in the ending which is very rushed and hurried; does it want to lead to another sequel? My vivid hope answers negatively to the question, "Saw" we enjoyed it but now let's move on… It deserves half a pumpkin more.