6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
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.
Starring: Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, Christopher McDonald, Lee Tergesen, Tim GriffinHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 45% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
In 1965 a rather unlikely director attempted his only foray into the horror genre. The legendary William Wyler, the man behind fare as disparate as Ben-Hur, The Best Years of Our Lives and Roman Holiday, took on the filmic adaptation of a John Fowles bestseller called The Collector. This disturbing story of a lonely young man who kidnaps a young girl and keeps her captive in a fortress like building on the grounds of his abandoned estate was basically a “two hander” for stars Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar, both of whom won best acting awards at Cannes that year (Eggar and Wyler went on to Oscar nominations, though neither of them won in a year dominated by The Sound of Music, a film that had ironically evidently been offered to Wyler at one point, but which he declined to direct). One of the most interesting things about The Collector is how, aside from one or two overtly violent moments, the film crafts its absolute terror from its situation and from intimations rather than outright depictions of nasty goings on. It was a different time, obviously, but the lesson that less is often more seems to have fallen by the wayside more and more to younger filmmakers, who seemingly feel almost compelled to put every outrageously hideous image they can think of up there on the screen for audiences to “revel” in. As I discussed in my The Collector Blu-ray review (vis a vis the 2009 film bearing the same name as the Wyler opus), one fervently wishes for a little minimalism now and again, or at least a dash of subtlety. A lot of horror fans have taken me to task for what they perceive as a genetic dislike for films like The Collector (2009 version) or Saw: The Final Chapter, but my beef isn’t with the horror genre per se (I absolutely love a good scare), but with the often ham-handed way current genre “specialists” go about crafting their films. There’s little doubt that writer-director Marcus Dunstan, who has had a hand (severed or otherwise) in several Saw films and who is the guiding force behind both 2009’s The Collector and this follow-up, loves this genre and knows how to suck every available ounce of blood and guts out of what some have termed “torture porn”. But there’s a difference between shock for shock’s sake and something that penetrates into deeper layers of the consciousness, let alone emotions.
The Collection is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.34:1. This is a pretty spectacular looking high definition presentation, for better or worse, by which I mean for those with squeamish stomachs, the graphic violence, blood and gore which is so well defined in this presentation may be (not to pun horribly) overkill for some. Colors are very well saturated, and fine detail is exceptional in close-ups. Best of all, solid contrast gives this release a pop in its many dark and shadowy sequences which actually ups the anxiety level, since you can make out what's going on in the less than well lit environments. The image is very sharp and precise, and other than some very slight stability issues on some close cropped patterns, no artifacts of any kind were noticed.
The Collection features an often quite boisterous lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that offers consistent immersion and surround activity and some nicely fulsome low end. The film has a nice variety of ambient effects, varying from the crowded dance hall in the opening sequence to some of the more isolated expanses of the abandoned hotel where The Collector does his dirty work. Dialogue is presented very cleanly and clearly, and a number of the gruesome death sequences come replete with very realistic sound effects, often presented with excellent discrete channelization. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is very wide.
- Getting to Know Dre (1080p; 3:18)
- Picking His Disguise (1080p; 00:19)
- 8 MM (1080p; 2:32)
- A Director's Vision (1080p; 5:04)
- Makeup and Effects of 'The Collection' (1080p; 4:45)
- Production Design (1080p; 4:25)
- Special Effects of 'The Collection' (1080p; 5:46)
- Stunts of 'The Collection' (1080p; 4:08)
As stated above, genre fans are probably going to love this release, though my hunch is some of the more forthcoming fans might be willing to admit that this film is a pretty rote rehash of at least some elements in the Saw franchise. There are undeniable scares to be found in The Collection, and this Blu-ray looks and sounds spectacular. But I for one wish someone could reinvent the horror genre without revisiting so many tired ideas, and so much gratuitous violence and mayhem. To younger filmmakers who insist on throwing everything imaginable at the screen to see how much gore sticks, I would simply offer the age old mantra: less is more.
2009
Uncut
2013
2018
2009
2013
2012
2017
2012
Unrated
2005
Unrated
2010
Unrated Collector's Edition
2007
Collector's Edition
1978
2009
2017
Director's Cut
2007
2013
Director's Cut
2005
Unrated Edition
2006
2014
Unrated Edition
2006