Directed by Marcus Dunstan. Starring Josh Stewart, Michael Reilly Burke, Andrea Roth 18 cert, gen release, 90 min
THE SAWfranchise – that seemingly endless exercise in recreational disembowelment – has been conspicuous by its absence from these (and other) review pages. The torture-porn people don't normally go in for press shows. But given that they've been decent enough to show us The Collector, an unmistakable side-project by various Sawpersonnel, one thus feels compelled to make a few positive remarks.
Okay, then. Josh Stewart, playing a handyman turned burglar, exhibits a respectable amount of low-key charisma in the lead role. Honouring Aristotle’s unities of action, place and time, the film has an unpretentious neatness that speaks of the makers’ firm dedication to their horrible vocation.
Erm . . . what else? The title’s quite easy to remember. It’s not too long. That’s about it.
Marcus Dunstan's film is a murky bore that makes no sense whatsoever. When the protagonist, a handyman who's fallen foul of loan sharks, breaks into a middle- class home, he quickly realises that he's not the only intruder on the premises. A hooded psychopath has chained up the family and scattered various elaborate booby-traps (versions of the board-game Mouse Trap, but with tridents and garrottes) on staircases, doorframes and ornamental features. He's The Collectorand he's doing something or other.
The film-makers clearly believe they’ve invented a monster for the new decade. Unfortunately, the character’s motivations and objectives are so obscure that an invitation to dine with Jigsaw, Freddie and Jason seems unlikely to be forthcoming.
Who or what is he collecting? Why has he gone to such trouble with the over-elaborate people snares? The confusion results from a poorly thought-through script and, equally damagingly, a determination to shoot every scene in crepuscular gloom.
Sitting through the predictably violent film is a frustrating experience. It’s like trying to watch a cockfight through tracing paper while wearing the wrong glasses. At night. In fog. While drunk. You get the idea.
