The Collector 2009

Critics score:
30 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: One of the more doltish entries in the torture subgenre. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: The early scenes promise a potentially novel cross between heist and extreme horror, but those hopes are quickly dashed. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: One trap leaves a woman impaled on a movie screen, producing an image that succinctly if literally sums up a genre's cynicism. Read more

Michael Ordona, Los Angeles Times: Critiquing the filmic technique of this blatant horror franchise-bait is akin to quibbling with the shade of lipstick on a slaughtered pig. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: A sub-Saw knockoff that manages to be brutal yet monotonous, not to mention monstrously unpleasant. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: The editing and camera work are self-consciously stylish, as if to say "We're better than this." But the human and moral components are shortchanged. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Watching The Collector becomes an experience not so much of dread as big virtual ouches. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: If you didn't already know The Collector was written by two Saw franchise hacks, and directed by one of them, it would soon become as obvious as a fish hook to the face. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: This is the sort of cheap bilking that separates completists from masochists; the brief suffering onscreen is nothing compared with the agony scary-movie buffs will feel after being so thoroughly cheated. Read more

John Anderson, Variety: A surprisingly stylish and confident high-concept thriller. Read more