Although I’m a horror film enthusiast who tries to catch as many of the latest releases I can, I’m not enthusiastic about the school of pessimistic, sadistic horror, a sub-genre dubbed “torture porn”--  or as another reviewer described it, “gorno.” I don’t get a perverse thrill out of witnessing the myriad ways one can butcher and carve up human beings like so many slabs of beef. However, while embarrassed to admit it, I still watch the occasional one because my motto is to give credit where credit is due. So if such a film achieves a pervasive atmosphere of dread as well as induces terror and suspense of unbearable intensity, then it deserves a shout out. The Collector scared me rigid, and that’s the highest compliment I can pay a horror film director. As the creative talent behind the last two installments in the successful Saw franchise, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton continue their morbid fascination with medieval bloodlust in their new film.

But I should clarify three things.  First, if you are expecting logic and common sense, or even a back story, you won’t find it here. Second, if you think the Collector is as intelligent and clever as Jigsaw, you’ll be disappointed. He’s simply a silent, hulking maniac of the Jason and Michael Myers variety. And third, there is no real plot, just a simple setup. Ex-convict turned repairman Arkin (Josh Stewart) is the unfortunate victim of irony. To repay his ex-wife’s debt to a loan shark, he breaks into his employer’s home to steal a valuable jewel. What he doesn’t realize is that there’s another stranger in the house also intent on taking something, a serial killer with a penchant for collecting animate objects -- namely people. Arkin discovers the family is still alive. Should he escape or rescue them? As it turns out, the guy doesn’t really have a choice. He finds out the hard way that he too is trapped like a rat in a cage decked out with elaborately rigged booby traps. He has to tread carefully to avoid triggering the trip wires or risk getting perforated or worse.

The energetic camera work and editing is especially effective as it follows the two men engaging in an adroit cat and mouse game as they maneuver their way through the shadowy rooms, hallways, and recesses of the house -- one the predator, the other the prey. I found myself holding my breath and gripping the armrests as I watched them nimbly dodge one another.

On the downside, the story sparked a lot of questions for me. What is the killer’s motive? If he already captured most of the family, why does he need the traps? And when did he have time to rig these contraptions? These are just a few of the things I wanted answers to.

Furthermore, the action in the The Collector comes across as needlessly drawn out, especially since there’s no real story, just a series of grisly acts of cruelty strung together.

The overall atmosphere of torture porn seems one of sadistic cruelty, pessimism and despair. Nothing uplifting or life affirming can be found in movies like this. If anything, an attitude of disregard for the value of human life appears to drive these films. That’s why I question the need to make them in the first place. Still, they do exist as a sub-genre, so I must ask myself -- as I do of all horror films -- did it succeed in scaring me as a horror film should? The Collector delivers on that score.

It’s impossible to hope for a happy ending in a movie where the bad guy is impervious to injury and immune from capture. Do I smell a sequel here? Only the box office receipts will determine if the Collector makes another appearance in a home near you.

(Released by Freestyle Releasing and rated "R" for pervasive sadistic bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity.)

Revieww also posted at www.moviebuffs.com.