The Collector (09/12)

I love love love The Collector series, it's one of my favorite horror series and I think it's pretty underrated. As of recently I have seen more people talk about it, but I still think it gets overshadowed by a lot of other movies similar to it. 

When I say 'movies similar to it', I'm mainly speaking of Saw. Which I think makes sense once you see what year the first collector movie came out. It came out in 2009, which is when one of the best saw movies in the entire franchise came out, Saw VI. So no wonder The Collector got overshadowed. It's a movie that is literally written and directed by two of the writers for a few of the Saw movies, has basically the same exact color grading, similar sound track, and has the same trap idea. The traps are different in both franchises, but it's still a similar idea. But once you watch some of the Saw movies and then watch The Collector, you really really realize just how similar the two are production wise. 

The fact they're so similar actually was originally on purpose. The writers of The Collector, during early early production and writing, wanted the movie to be a sort of origin story for John Kramer, or Jigsaw. The idea was eventually scrapped, which I am so glad they did that, and it became its own thing. The series had two installments, The Collector and The Collection. There was going to be a third, The Collected, but production was shut down in like 2020, I think they like lost interest with the movie and didn't really see it going anywhere past two :p

I looovvvveee Asa Emory, the collector, as a character. He is so fucking cool, so sick. I love his entire thing dealing with entomology. Bugs themselves are extremely common in horror, but entomology isn't really and I find that super cool and interesting about him. I love love love his character design. It's so simple, yet so insanely effective. He is just a creepy guy, and his mask makes his eyes so round and buggy which is so intentional BUT I LOVE IT SO MUCH RAAAAGHHHH guys I'm so normal about him. I love the entire girl character in the second movie who basically develops stockholm syndrome towards him, that is such a cool thing to add to him as a character and in my opinion makes him creepier without relying on the gore factor. I really haven't seen a slasher type character hold someone captive long enough to develop stockholm syndrome, and I just thought it was a really cool detail to add, in a sad, creepy way. 

I just love this series so much, one of the more underrated 'slasher' type movies, and I love it so so so much. I think of you every day Collected, I mourn what you could have been </////3