The Collection

I don't quite understand why it was still in the red numbers just a few weeks ago. It's hard to consider whether the first one was better or the second one. The traps in the second part, however, were more absurd than ever before. In one scene, I really chuckled because it was almost bordering on pure fantasizing. Both parts had pros and cons, I see both parts on the same line, so also for 3*. (05/02/2013)

If it was funny, it would be a fine absurdist comedy. If it wasn’t so stupid and overacted, it would be fine horror, but in this form it’s just cheap, gratuitous torture porn (where “cheap” doesn’t refer to the budget) that in the absurdity of its “traps” beats even the most stupid parts of the Saw series. If in the end the roof of the abandoned hotel opened to reveal that the genius Collector had built an improvised space launch centre so he could escape to Mars on a rocket, I wouldn’t have been very surprised. The first part wasn’t precisely a showcase of screenwriting art, but at least it had a good atmosphere and an evil feeling. This one is a bad joke that serves only to satisfy the lowest instincts of the genre. For me, no doubt. (26/01/2013)

In the case of The Collector, I liked the idea that it's a film where it's all about the blood and the effects. With The Collection, I was expecting a bit more, perhaps a story that would develop. The ending once again leaves the door open, and I'm curious to see if the creators will venture through it again. I suppose not, but anything is possible. (31/01/2014)

Though I was downright horrified at the opening disco carnage, what I ended up with was a pretty solid B-movie parade of flying limbs and squashed bodies so bizarre and nonsensical that it fulfils my idea of relaxing brutal entertainment to the tee. Such a sloppy and in many ways unfinished script may be extremely inappropriate to serve to a mass audience, but the basic scheme remains interesting, the villain remains scary, and the new setting, though incredibly profane and much less atmospheric to the detriment of the effect, is a safe bet in the hands of the right executioner. There is no limit to the exaggeration this time (the first one was quite realistic in comparison) and it’s a shame that the script circles around all the disgusting and noble motivations of the rescue mission instead of focusing more on the meaning of "The Collection" and all its aspects. If they had stuck to the more intimate concept of the first episode and worked more on the psychology and criminal motives, I would have liked to watch some more. As it is, it's just a grey B-movie with a final scene I'd rather not understand. 60% (18/03/2014)