The Overlooked Serial-Killer Film That Nearly Became a Saw Origin Story
Former convict turned handyman Arkin O'Brien faces a desperate situation: Unless settle his loan to vicious lenders, his wife and daughter will be harmed. With no alternatives, Arkin heads to a wealthy family's home to steal valuables, only to find the family are already being imprisoned and abused by a masked psychopath who delights in brutal traps. Stuck inside a residence rigged with deadly traps, Arkin must struggle to stay alive.
A Connection to the Jigsaw Series
This premise could seem reminiscent of the Jigsaw movies, and with cause: The Collector, initially titled The Midnight Man, was at one point pitched as a prequel for the Saw franchise, serving as an origin story for the notorious Jigsaw. However the original creators of Saw reviewed the script and rejected the concept. Later, Jigsaw's background were explored in subsequent movies, and the script for The Midnight Man was reworked into The Collector. This wasn't a complete setback for director Marcus Dunstan, however; he and co-writer Patrick Melton later contributed to the Saw series, writing the screenplays for Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI, and Saw 3D.
Holding Alone
Releasing The Collector as a standalone film didn't push it into the spotlight as much as a Saw origin story would have, but some argue that was a blessing. The Collector stands on its own as a movie, instead of being compared to each entry in the franchise. After viewing it repeatedly, it's clear that Dunstan and Melton crafted a memorable experience. They build suspense from the start by letting us get to know the victims and their hardships before brutally tearing them away, and they continually raise the tension with each horrifying scheme that the antagonist forces Arkin and the family through, in a setting that exemplifies “death trap.”
The Killer and His Reasons
The killer in The Collector lacks Jigsaw’s supposed justification for his crimes. He doesn't torment people to teach them a lesson: After a disturbing youth event that he alone survived, he enjoys re-enacting the pain inflicted upon him by selecting households and keeping the remaining members to expand his collection. If you enjoy trippy imagery, jump scares, and enough gore to unsettle your stomach, you'll be able to overlook the arguably weak reasoning for this killer’s actions. Hey, at least he makes his kills look artsy.
