The Collector

Arkin is an ex-con working as a handyman who needs cash to settle obligations to his estranged ex-wife. He scopes out his employer's remote country house and plans a quick burglary to steal a valuable item. Once inside he discovers another criminal has already broken in and that the property has been rigged with elaborate, lethal traps meant to maim or kill intruders. As night progresses Arkin becomes entangled with the homeowners, whose safety is jeopardized by both the traps and the unseen assailant. With time running out he has to move quietly, avoid the booby traps, and ultimately figure out how to escape a terrifying situation without revealing his own crime or paying for his mistakes.

Released in 2009, The Collector was directed by Marcus Dunstan, with creator Patrick Melton attached. Notably, the cast features Josh Stewart, Juan Fernández, Madeline Zima and Andrea Roth, presenting an intensely staged home invasion built around lethal trap set pieces.

The movie opened on a limited theatrical run and earned modest box office returns, but it reached wider audiences through home video and streaming. Its financial performance wasn't headline-making, yet it recovered a steady level of interest by appealing directly to horror fans.

Within genre circles The Collector is often mentioned for its inventive, gruesome trap designs and tight, claustrophobic tension. It helped cement a niche for trap-centric horror and maintains a cult following online, where clips and discussions about its set pieces keep the film alive among fans at screenings and on genre forums.

Critical response was mixed to moderately positive, with reviewers praising the relentless pacing and creative mechanics while noting thin character development and graphic violence. The film focuses on desperation, the consequences of risky choices, and predation, delivering an unforgiving mood that tends to divide viewers between admiration for its craft and discomfort with its brutality.