It isn't hard to ascertain the obvious 'cash-in effect' on the "Saw" and "Hostel" craze with this one, but "The Collector" still managed to keep me foolishly entertained throughout... That's not to say the movie was anywhere near great or made even a whisper of sense, plot-wise, yet there are some things I'll admit it did well.
It's about a professional handyman whose balls are in a vice to pay off his wife's loan sharks. He decides to rob the house of the family who he had been working for earlier that day before they went off for vacation. While sleuthing around for valuables that night, he is alarmed to learn that he is not the only unwelcome 'guest' to find their way into that particular house... The hapless crook is forced to become the hero when he witnesses the family - still in the house - being tortured by a masked sadist who has inexplicably rigged the house with tons of deadly traps...
What else would you expect from the writer of the last three "Saw" movies upon making his directorial debut? "The Collector" is pretty much the same thing, just less clever (knives attached to a chandelier, dangling fish-hooks, etc)... Still, I must say, the flick moves along briskly, had a few good death scenes, and a pretty cool looking killer with his bug-eyed, gimp-mask ensemble. There's a few fairly creative sequences in terms of 'style' here and there. Nice lighting effects and camera-work. Little too much CGI blood, but with scenes involving a guy being tossed into a room full of bear-traps, I can look past it... Definitely the highlight moment. Other than the few moderate pros, this flick really didn't do anything new. I never understood the Collector's motive, since he really didn't "collect" anyone other than the 'bait' which wasn't really 'bait', but just a guy kept in a box. The rest were just people he tortured and killed. I guess we're not suppose to ask too many questions and just enjoy the gore. That's why those "Saw" movies make such a killing at the box-office... I couldn't help but find it eerie how this thing ended the same as the original "Saw"....
So can we expect sequels? Probably, and they'll all be straight-to-DVD, no doubt. Overall, I'd give this one a MILD recommendation since it is slightly better than some of those "Saw" sequels I have seen...