Movie: The Collector

 

Production Year: 2008

 

Tubi Provided Summary: To repay a debt, an ex-con plans to rob his boss’s home but, unbeknownst to him, someone has imprisoned the family and planted traps everywhere.

 

Film Can Be Accessed At: https://tubitv.com/movies/314320/the-collector?start=true

 

Does This Movie Pass The Bechdel Test: No

 

Character Analysis:

  • Arkin: Caring, cunning, good under pressure, supportive of his family, mix of masculine and feminine traits
  • Michael: Overprotective father, caring for his kids: very masculine
  • Victoria: Hysterical, self-absorbed, very feminine
  • The Collector: Silent but deadly, strong, masculine
  • Hannah: Daughter of Victoria and Michael, sweet, feminine
  • Lisa: “Bitchy”, caring for her daughter, maternal, a mix of masculine and feminine traits
  • Cindy: Daughter of Arkin and Lisa
  • Larry: hysterical, traumatized, a mix of masculine and feminine traits
  • Gena: No discernible personality
  • Chad: No discernible personality
  • Jill: Hysterical, driven by lust for her boyfriend, feminine

Death Analysis

  • Michael: First to die, extended death scene, tortured brutally and disemboweled off-screen, killed by the Collector. 
  • Chad: Second to die, extended death scene, pushed into a room of bear traps, killed by the Collector
  • Jill: Third to die, quick death scene, flung into a wall of nails, killed by the Collector
  • Larry: Fourth to die, moderate death scene, electrocuted, killed by the Collector
  • Victoria: Fifth to die, killed off-screen, stabbed and left to bleed out, killed by the Collector
  • Gena: Not killed during events of the film, killed off-screen, death method not shown, killed by the Collector

 

Survival Analysis

  • The Collector
  • Hannah
  • Lisa
  • Cindy

 

Final Statistics:

Character Sex Ratio: 6 Females: 4 Males

Character Survivor Ratio: 3 Females: 1 Male (not including ambiguous characters)

Character Death Ratio: 50% of Females to 50% of Males (not including ambiguous characters)

 

Final Takeaways: 

The Collector, while interesting, is not a revolutionary film in the horror genre. Much of the film is bloody for the sake of gore and shock value, many characters have little to no character development, and teenagers are depicted as being driven entirely by sex. What is interesting about this film is the depiction of a father who cares so deeply for his child and has many feminine traits. 

Unfortunately, the film falls short in other areas. The Collector fails the Bechdel Test and while deaths are 50% of both male and female characters, this does not mean they are evenly split. There are more female characters and thus, more female deaths. Aside from this, violence is evenly split based on sex and when analyzed with the Sex-Role perspective, The Collector proves to be an interesting watch as it makes little to no preference for either sex. 

Shared by: Ariana Nichols
Image Credit: IMDb