The Collector

  • Review Date: July 30, 2009
  • R
  • Genre: Horror
  • 2009
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Grisly horror film is smothered in blood and gore.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this exceptionally grisly "torture porn" movie is steeped in gore and full of grotesque cruelty perpetrated against both adults and children. While the movie does depict a character making a positive choice (he tries to save some of the killer's victims), any potential positive take-away is shrouded in so much blood and gore that it's next to impossible to make out. There's also lots of strong language (including "f--k" and "s--t"), a few topless scenes (as well as some passionate making out), and some smoking.

  • Nihilistic and bleak, the movie's cental mesage seems to be that killing is wrong ... but looks super cool if you film it right.
  • Although the movie centers on a serial killer's brutal dispatchment of his victims, the movie's lead character does act in a heroic fashion by trying to save a family that's been targeted by the killer (of course, that's after he goes to their house intending to rob them to raise money so his lover can avoid loan sharks, but...).
  • Constant, extreme, bloody violence as a serial killer dispatches his victims. People are forcibly abducted; a man is hauled off his feet by a winch, then let go to fall three stories; a bound woman has her mouth sewn shut; an acidic glue entraps a cat; a cat is sliced in half by a guillotine. A young man is killed by falling into a vast sum of bear traps. Another is eviscerated, and the camera lingers on his body. A young woman is hurled onto a wall covered with spikes. A chandelier festooned with knives falls onto a man. A man is struck in the eye by a hurled knife. A violent car crash. A dead man's body is used as a battering ram. A dog tears out a man's throat (the dog is later killed, set aflame, and used as a weapon). And much, much more.
  • Naked breasts are shown (both during a make-out scene and in strip-club scenes). Some kissing and discussion of "doing it" between a teen couple. A couple that's passionately kissing and touching (with her topless) is interrupted by a creepy killer watching them ... and then a series of deathtraps. Some frisky talk between a married couple before they're interrupted by a killer.
  • Some strong language, including several uses of "f--k," "motherf---er," "s--t," "bitch," "hell," "faggot," "damn," "oh my God," "goddamn," and more.
  • A car is identified as a Mustang.
  • A character smokes; a teen pesters him for "a drag," and he complies.

What's the story?

Desperate to bail his lover out of dire financial straits, a "contractor" -- really a thief who's been casing the home of a jewel broker -- enters the home he's been working on to rob the safe. But after gaining entrance, he discovers that the home -- and its occupants -- are under the control of a masked killer who has a flair for low-tech but ingenious deathtraps. Can our "hero" save himself and the family he was going to rob from the terrifying, grim evil of ... THE COLLECTOR?


Is it any good?

 

Written by the scribes behind Saw IV, V, and VI -- a fairly grisly resume no matter how you look at it -- The Collector has much in common with that series. There's a killer with a diabolical capacity for traps and tricks, a focus on gore, and even a quiet stress on morality, since the hero has to decide whether making the score and surviving are more important than saving the family he was going to rob.

But The Collector's grim, greasy sadism will make it hard for anyone who isn't a fan of extreme horror to enjoy ... and anyone who is a fan of extreme horror has seen many of The Collector's moments played out before in better films with better actors. While The Collector is certainly inventive enough in how it presents grisly murder, it's not interesting enough in its characters or scripting to make the moments between those bloody triumphs of effects and make-up matter


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about how the film mixes sex and violence. Why does that happen so frequently in horror movies? Is it just part of the "fun" of the genre, or does it objectify women?

  • Why do you think the character of the serial killer
    with elaborate plans has become popular in recent years? Is it the cultural influence of
    movies like Saw, The Silence of the Lambs, and Seven? Or does it go deeper than that?


This review was written by James Rocchi
Adult
July 12, 2010
 
This movie was grose. Too much blood. And violence. I did not even like it.

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Teen, 15 years old
August 14, 2010
 
TWO WORDS.
BAD!!! GOREY!!! DO NOT SEE!!!

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Teen, 17 years old
April 9, 2010
 
The Collector review
There really isn't much to say about this movie adult content wise. Sure it was gory, sure it has a couple of "bad" words, sure there's ONE scene with naked breasts (Your kids have seen it trust me). Do those things necessarily make it inappropriate? No, not really. If you can take very graphic and realistic gore (you can if you watched Saw or Hostel), and are old enough to understand the rest of it it should be fine. Teens + I'd say. On the other hand the movie was GREAT! It was a true horror masterpiece. This review is correct when it says it doesn't really contain matter but that's what a good gorefest is about. Plus it has plenty of exciting scenes. Recommended for sure.

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Kid, 11 years old
April 3, 2010
 
The Collector
Rated R For Pervasive Sadistic Bloody Violence,Language And Some Sexuality/Nudity

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Parent of 8, 12, and 16 year old
August 7, 2009
 
Must be 18 or older for this one
the movie is similar to the Saw movies. A lot of blood, even a scene with guts exposed, graphics murders and visual pain inducing violence. If you live gore go see if, if blood, guts and killing is a turn off then hold off on this movie.

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Teen, 17 years old
February 3, 2011
 
For very mature teens!
I saw this movie it looked pretty normal but then like everyother movie it had sex/nudity and was completely out of line for 15 and under to see!

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Teen, 18 years old
January 1, 2011
 
Loved it!!! It's totally for older kids like 17 and older. The plot was very good. And the little touches that the Dricetor put in made a big difference in the movie.

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Teen, 15 years old
December 23, 2010
 
Stupidity at its best... Since when is "Oh My God" a swear?

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Teen, 16 years old
September 5, 2010
 
extreme violent.very sexual content and some nudity.strong language.drug

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Teen, 13 years old
December 19, 2011
 
Tweens may be able to handle it,but WATCH OUT for a few bad scenes.
Not that bloody,a lot of the violence seems to be implied but when the violence starts especially 1 hour or so into the film,the film starts to get really intense.One man is gutted(OMG) and another is tortured close to the ends( hung on meat hooks,cut here and there,having bugs put into his wounds,nothing you would want your child to see) I watched this with my little brother and dad at the mvoies when I was 11 since I was bored and thought this would be another mini saw.nothing Dissapointing though.

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This review was written by James Rocchi
Studio:Freestyle Releasing
Director:Marcus Dunstan
Cast:Andrea Roth, Josh Stewart, Madeline Zima
Genre:Horror
Run time:88 minutes
Theatrical release date:July 31, 2009
DVD release date:April 6, 2010
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:pervasive sadistic bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity

This review was written by James Rocchi
 

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
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