The Collection (2012)

"Every great collector has a vision"

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 82 MINS
WRITERS- MARCUS DUNSTAN AND PATRICK MELTON
STARRING- JOSH STEWART, EMMA FITZPATRICK AND CHRISTOPHER McDONALD
DIRECTOR- MARCUS DUNSTAN




Synopsis taken from IMDb
A man who escapes from the vicious grips of the serial killer known as "The Collector" is blackmailed to rescue an innocent girl from the killer's booby-trapped warehouse. 

Regardless of the bad reviews I heard and read about 2009's The Collector, I really liked it. I found it fun, exciting, somewhat original and suspenseful. So yeah, I was pretty pumped for the sequel to come out. I wasn't disappointed.

The movie starts off with a television broadcasts that speak of the Collector and his recent crimes, there's a manhunt out for him. Arkin (Josh Stewart) is the Collector's most recent victim from the ending of the previous film.

Elena Peters (Emma Fitzpatrick) goes to a secluded party that her friends drag her to. The party takes place in a dingy  alley that looks suspicious. There they're greeted by a man with piercings all over his face and dreadlocks, they have to give him the password "nevermore" to enter the party. Upon entering, all of their fears and suspicions  disappear when they see the party is all they had been hoping it would be.

The fun doesn't last too long as the Collector has made this party his latest death maze, full of sick, sadistic torture and slaughtering devices that turn the entire club into a crimson mass. The traps, the deaths and the gore are really upped in this film and I was pleased, bring it on.

Arkin makes a lucky escape during the party after seeing Elena being taken by the Collector. Arkin gets treatment at a hospital. Where even there he isn't safe, he gets a card from the Collector threatening his family. Soon after, Arking is approached by Lucello and his team of hired mercenaries. Lucello is Elena's father's right hand man, and he' watched after Elena since she was a child. He's leading his team to find and kill the Collector, and find Elena.

Arkin gets strong-armed into leading Lucello and his hired team to the Collector, but he warns them of what they're getting into. Once they enter the Collector's lair, a run down hotel, it becomes a bloodbath. People being picked off one by one in pure brutality. I like how calm the Collector is, he has the odds stacked against him but he's always two steps ahead of everyone, he's meticulous.

As Arkin and Lucello dig further into the Collector's residence we see some of what makes the Collector tick, seeing how sick he is and learning what he does with his victims. I especially like this because there was no development with his character in the first film. This was definitely the right way to go for a sequel.

The film is incredibly violent, it pulls no punches. It comes packing a big punch. If you're not one for gore or torture you should probably turn this movie down, unless you want to lose your lunch. The acting wasn't anything fancy, but it worked. There's a lot of chaos going on in this film and it's a bloody good time.

I'm looking forward to where they go with the future of this series, if they're is one. I'd be interested to see where they go with a sequel, which will hopefully happen. The ending of The Collection is spot on and a good, refreshing change in cliche endings.

THIS FILM GETS 3 1/2 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5