The Collector [Blu-ray]

Ok the plot for this film is a bit dumb. A handy man has been working in a family's home he plans on stealing a very precious diamond from. On the day the family leave for their vacation he returns to the house a few hours later in the evening only to find a masked maniac is torturing the family and has laced the house with traps. just one of the traps he has set would take the amount of time he has had to set up. Basically if you want realism look elsewhere. I personally don't get too hung up on realism in this kind of film so I thoroughly enjoyed it. The maniac is quite menacing and also posesses some awesome knife throwing skills. The look of the movie is very stylish and a lot of the effects are great and quite gory. They seem to use more practical FX than CGI which is refreshing to see. The film held my attention all the way through. Well worth a watch.

'The Collector' is a horror film that released theatrically in 2009 to positive reviews. The moderate box-office success of the feature has caused the makers to plan a sequel. The makers are also the writers of the films 'Saw IV', 'Saw V' & 'Saw VI'. This feature was originally titled 'The Midnight Man' and the script was originally intended to be a 'Saw' prequel but that was all scrapped.

The movie tells the story of Arkin (Josh Stewart) who breaks into his employers house to steal something to pay off a debt. On entering the house, he gets more than he bargained for in the form of an evil serial killer who is already inside tourturing the occupiers and setting up deadly booby traps.

The feature starts off a bit slow but thats the calm before the storm. It then progresses at a furious pace in an atmospheric setting. The movie finally climaxes with a twist.

The movie contains an original story, hightened tension, nail-biting suspense, an exciting cat-and-mouse game, plenty of frights and unexpected traps. Add gory violence to the equation and you've got a top-notch horror.

The flaw is that the characters are not defined well, preventing the audience from connecting with them. It's essential for the audience to connect as the fate of the characters, whatever it may be, becomes more effective.

Josh Stewart is an unlikely hero, however produces a career best performance. The show stealer is the serial killer, The Collector (Juan Fernández) who really makes the movie work. His eery presence combined with his terrifying mask and body mannerisms, was enough to give me the shivers. He is sadistic and a potential horror icon.

The direction provided by Marcus Dunstan who is also the writer of the film is inch perfect. He could've worked on character development though.

The background music score by Jerome Dillon and the sound effects gives the tension and horror a fantastic edge.

The movie is a must-watch for horror fans. It's low budget, however gives many high-budget horror films a run for their money.

The screen resolution for the Blu-ray disc is 1080p (1920 x 1080 progressive scan) & the sound format is HD MA 5.1 Dolby Digital. Both the visual and audio quality are excellent. Some of the darker scenes are at times grainy but overall it's one of the best Blu-ray's released in recent times.

'The Collector' is a claustrophobic scary shocker.

I loved this film.

It's the sort of film that always keeps you thinking and guessing.

And being a fan of horrific sick films this one ticks all the boxes.

Trust me, Watch this film!!!