![]() *I assume this is an allusion to "Straw Dogs," another grueling, dangerous film that held back from greatness by an unfortunate and deeply misogynistic rape scene. ![]() And for a select few, that constitutes a pretty good time. It will beat you up, tie you down, and make you beg for mercy. As with Sam Raimi's recent "Drag Me to Hell" the film is reliant upon the impact of a scene's unexpected turns, but if you get a chance, and you're up for the challenge, "The Collector" is like a rite of passage. I don't for a second doubt that this film will lose effectiveness upon repeat viewing. The DVD experience will not do justice to the soundscapes, and a TV screen simply cannot reproduce the shock effect of seeing such brutality on a 40-foot screen. If you're going to see this movie, you owe it to yourself to see it in a theater. No doubt there will be many reviews that focus on how "The Collector" represents a new low of depravity in filmmaking, but I have the feeling that only a precious few will stop to think about the fact that the film clearly places the camera as a third main character, a self-reflexive choice that implies a much more nuanced intention than the derogatory title of "torture porn" would seem to permit.Īll the same, the movie is relentlessly effective as a horror show. There is a point where cruelty of it all forces the viewer to reflect on his or her conception of entertainment and consider the peculiar circumstances that lead half the world to fight and kill for basic necessities while the other half has indulges in films like this as a pastime. Ironically enough, the ultimate effect of this sanguine covered nastiness is similar to the intended goal of Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" films. You think the camera is just about to take you away from the horror show on screen, but it doesn't. ![]() Instead it manages to ratchet up the tension by leaving the camera to sit and stew in the Giallo. What's more, the film achieves this goal without ever resorting to the cheap rape fantasies of which Rob Zombie seems to be so fond.īut the film doesn't rest upon the dumb shock of extreme gore. I don't think I have ever seen a more brutal, vile, and patently offensive movie in a theater. Marcus Duntstan and Patrick Melton's "The Collector" adds one more to that short list. In that time I can count on one hand the number of instances where I have been left speechless by a movie. I started writing film criticism for the web about five years ago. The house becomes a spider web of traps designed to kill each victim with deadly precision and maximum sadism. Unfortunately for the thief, a mysterious serial killer has already broken into the house on the night of his caper and taken his employer's entire family hostage. The film, which co-writer and director Dunstan describes as what might happen if James Caan's character from "Thief" broke into the Tooth Fairy's house from "Manhunter," tells the story of a safecracker-cum-handyman who is forced to steal a valuable gem from his employers in order to pay off his ex-wife's hefty debt.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |