The Collection DVD Review

Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton finally unleash the slick killer sequel to their 2009 torture porn Slasher The Collector, and it’s entirely worth the wait. Picking up from where the first film left off, we find Arkin (Josh Stewart) captured by the masked madman known as The Collector, a serial killer who employs vicious traps to dispose of his many victims. This time, Arkin is dragged back into The Collector’s house of mayhem with a team of mercenaries hell-bent on saving their employer’s daughter.

Considering the fact Melton and Dunstan are responsible for the later - more schlocky - Saw sequels, it’s impossible not to draw comparisons, but that’s not exactly detrimental either because The Collection is simply a great piece of entertainment horror. Dare I, a devout Saw fan, say it’s worth your time more than Saw’s 4, 5, 6, and 7? Well...yes. The directing duo has put aside a penchant for crap scripting to construct a bombastically shameless thriller with a decent story and a terrific pace.

After a brutal nightclub set-piece, the action flips over to The Collector’s lair where he’s got enough tricks and traps to put Jigsaw to shame. Special award for fucked-up defence systems goes to the brainless junkie zombies for outright macabre, but the true prize of the whole film is the actual collection. It makes a great poster for the film, but I can’t help thinking it would have been better to keep that wee trick up the sleeve. The story sees the team split up, tortured, disposed of, and hounded through a fun house like you’ve never seen, with Arkin questioning again and again how the hell he got dragged into all this for a second time. It is gruelling and action packed, the sets are a pleasure to watch for any horror fan, and more often than not you’ll find yourself on the edge of your seat. This sort of energy is hard to find in modern horror (even Hostel has dried up) so you have to be grateful when you find it.

Keeping the fantastic Josh Stewart involved is a sure-fire way to maintain some continuity and at least attempt a bad-ass protagonist. Too often horror chucks its male heroes away in some blood-drenched sweetheart farewell that leaves the whole affair wrought with soppy after tones.  Special note goes to Lee Tergesen who lends a hand to be the other cool guy, the Cpl. Hicks to Stewart’s Ripley. The villain of the piece isn’t too shabby either, being entirely formidable, totally deranged, and genuinely mysterious. Brownie points have to be awarded for having the gall to keep the killer’s mask on, so there’s genuine potential for The Collector to get inducted into the Horror icons catalogue. With its cliff-hanger finale, Interest has been tickled.

A superior slice of fun that shamelessly flaunts a love of all things B-movie, Slasher, and gore-drenched, The Collection is a superior sequel to a dismissible first attempt. At this rate the third will be something to really look forward to.

★★★★☆

Scott Clark

Rating: 18
UK DVD/BD Release Date: 29th April 2013 (UK)
Directed By: Marcus Dunstan

Cast: Josh Stewart,Emma Fitzpatrick,Christopher McDonald

Win The Collection On DVD : Cinehouse / The Peopesmovies

Buy: The Collection On DVD

Win The Collection On DVD

From the writers of Saw IV, V, VI and 3D comes the thrilling sequel to The Collector that works just as well as a standalone film. Tense, terrifying and packed full of action The Collection will have you on the edge of your seat - or hiding behind it! It's like Aliens to The Collector's Alien with a team of badasses hunting down the mysterious serial killer and a helluva lot more nasties to be found in his lair.

It's out on DVD 29 April and to celebrate we have a copy to give away!

When Elena (Fitzpatrick) is talked into attending an underground warehouse party with her friends, she finds herself caught in a nightmarish trap where the revelers are mowed, sliced and crushed to death by a macabre series of contraptions operated by a masked psychopath. When the grisly massacre is over, Elena is the only survivor. But before she can escape, she is locked in a trunk and transported to an unknown location.

Fortunately for Elena, one man— Arkin (Stewart) —knows exactly where she’s headed, having just escaped from there with his life and sanity barely intact. Going back is the last thing on Arkin’s mind, but Elena’s wealthy father (McDonald) hires a crack team of mercenaries to force Arkin to lead them to the killer’s lair. But even these hardened warriors are not prepared for what they encounter: an abandoned hotel-turned-torture-chamber, rigged with deadly traps and filled with mangled corpses. Can Arkin and the team get to Elena before she too becomes part of his gruesome “collection”?

To be in for a chance to Win The Collection On DVD please answer the following question:

Q.The Collection star Josh Stewart Has appeared in another recent film about a masked protagonist that's just finished a trilogy name that film?

Send Your Name, Address, Postcode and answer to winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com (label your email 'the collection')You must 18 or older to enter. Deadline for competition is Sunday 19th May 2013 (11.59pm)

Double your chances follow us at Facebook! (you will get double entry every counts, if your already following us please share the post on facebook)

Terms &Conditions: 1.This prize is non transferable.No cash alternatives apply.UK &Irish entries only.2.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and eOne  have the right to alter, delay or cancel this competition without any notice 3.The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse, eOne employees 4.This competition is promoted on behalf of eOne 5. If this prize becomes unavailable we have the right to offer an alternative prize instead 6.To enter this competition you must send in your answer, name, address only, Deadline 19th May 2013 (2359hrs)7.Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com), any other entry via any other email will be void.8.If the above form fails please send the information required from the form email it to winatcinehouseuk@gmail.com  (label the collection) If any info required from the form is not sent in the email your entry will be void, 9.automated entries are not allowed and will be disqualified, which could result you been banned.10.Failure to complete the above form (i.e full name or address) will result your entry been void 11.If you are friend or like us at facebook for every competition you enter you get double entry, but you must stay stay friend/like us all the time,or future entries maybe considered one entry if you are liking us share the post on facebook and re-tweet the post.12.The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes 13.Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery which is out of our control14.The competition is opened to Aged 18 and over.15. Majority of the prizes on offer will come from representatives of the distributor, no The People’s Movies &Cinehouse, when we do have the prizes we will inform you.16. Unless Stated Please Do Not Include Telephone Numbers, we don’t need them and if you include your telephone number Cinehouse and The People’s Movies are not responsible for the security of the number 17.The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email or announced via facebook, sometimes we are unable to confirm winners.18.This competition i bound by the rules of Scotland,England & Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland.19.By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.

UK Competitions and Prize Draws at UKwins
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Become A 'Collector' Add The Collection To Yours This April

From the writers of Saw IV, V, VI and 3D comes the thrilling sequel to The Collector that works just as well as a standalone film.  is a  Tense, terrifying and packed full of action The Collection will have you on the edge of your seat - or hiding behind it, it's yours to own when it arrives in UK on DVD This April.

When Elena (Fitzpatrick) is talked into attending an underground warehouse party with her friends, she finds herself caught in a nightmarish trap where the revelers are mowed, sliced and crushed to death by a macabre series of contraptions operated by a masked psychopath. When the grisly massacre is over, Elena is the only survivor. But before she can escape, she is locked in a trunk and transported to an unknown location.

Fortunately for Elena, one man— Arkin (Stewart) —knows exactly where she’s headed, having just escaped from there with his life and sanity barely intact. Going back is the last thing on Arkin’s mind, but Elena’s wealthy father (McDonald) hires a crack team of mercenaries to force Arkin to lead them to the killer’s lair. But even these hardened warriors are not prepared for what they encounter: an abandoned hotel-turned-torture-chamber, rigged with deadly traps and filled with mangled corpses. Can Arkin and the team get to Elena before she too becomes part of his gruesome “collection”?

It's like Aliens to The Collector's Alien with a team of badasses hunting down the mysterious serial killer and a helluva lot more nasties to be found in his lair. Full of action and gore this is a thrill-ride of a horror film that kicks into gear quickly and stays at full throttle right until the end!

Special Features:

Audio Commentary with Director/Co-Writer Marcus Dunstan and Co-Writer Patrick Melton
A Director’s Vision
Make Up and Effects of The Collection
Production Design
Special Effects of The Collection
Stunts of The Collection

Pre-Order/Buy:The Collection On DVD 

The Collection arrives in UK&Ireland on 29th April, courtesy of eOne on DVD and stars stars Josh Stewart (The Collector), Emma Fitzpatrick (The Social Network) and Christopher McDonald.

Cinehouse of Horrors #3

News

For those of our community who enjoy biopics and have an undying love for all things Hitchcock, you’ve probably heard all about the upcoming film centred on the infamous suspense director’s life at the time of filming Psycho. Directed by Sacha Gervasi and starring the fantastic Anthony Hopkins as the man himself, Hitchcock is going to be a must for anyone interested in one of the greatest directors of all time. At last, we have a poster for the film and know it will have limited release November 23rd and fully released early 2013.

On the subject of Hitchcock, the new A&E prequel TV series to Psycho; Bates Motel, is pulling together quickly with the announcement that Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) will be starring as Norman Bates. Highmore definitely has the element of surprise over an audience used to his less erratic portrayals and playing everyone’s favourite mummy’s boy could be an incredible turning point in his career. No matter what, this is something to keep an eye out for.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Mama now flaunts a full trailer and we’re pretty excited about that. Directed by Andres Muschietti, and based on one of his short films of the same name, it is the story of two children under the care of their aunt and uncle after living in the forest alone for five years, only how alone they really were comes into question. The maestro of haunting and beautiful tales is in the executive producer’s chair helping give the film a budge in the right direction with his seal of approval so we can only imagine that it’s going to be something special.

A couple of weeks ago we showed you the gruesome poster for Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton’s The Collection, the sequel to their 2009 trap horror The Collector. Well, now there’s a trailer and the film looks awesome. As long as it keeps a distance from the Saw franchise, The Collection could very well be a terrific and inventive piece of horror. See the trailer here.

It’s a pleasure to announce that Rob Zombie’s latest cinematic effort The Lords of Salem has been picked up by Anchor Bay amidst some wonderful early reviews. Word that this is the rocker’s most inventive and stylish flick yet have got us pretty excited considering the original and riveting style he has crafted through his Halloween Re-imagining, and the subsequent sequel, along with his serial killer epic The Devil’s Rejects.

The immensely successful zombie epic The Walking Dead has had a busy couple of weeks, with numerous stills, a new poster, and trailer for the third season appearing online. Also this week AMC has announced that a fourth season is green lit so there’s plenty more of the show to keep ravenous fans content. Adapted from the graphic novels of the same name and instigated by Frank Darabont, the show has run since 2010 and changed the way most consider horror serials. The show primarily follows police officer Rick Grimes as he ventures across a decimated country to reunite with his family and then how his small band of survivors continues to exist in a dangerous new world. Think Neighbours against a backdrop of zombie apocalypse, but better. See the trailer below.





 Special Announcement
Fans of the Granddaddy of zombie films, George A. Romero, may be interested to hear about the re-release of Document of the Dead; Roy Frumkes’ intimate documentary on Romero’s creative process and the filming of Dawn of the Dead, now almost unarguably the greatest dead-epic ever filmed. Romero’s very particular brand of politically charged cynicism has helped cement his original trilogy (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead) in the horror canon and Frumkes’ award-winning peek at the legend behind those films is no doubt going to be even better in its reissued DVD/Blu-Ray format. The Definitive Document of the Dead is limited and available only through the Synapse website from November 13.


Trailers

Mama

Directed by: Andres Muschietti.
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier
Synopsis: Annabel and Lucas are faced with the challenge of raising his young nieces that were left alone in the forest for 5 years.... but how alone were they?


The Walking Dead Series 3

Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne, Laurie Holden, Norman Reedus
Synopsis: With the world growing increasingly more dangerous and Lori's pregnancy advancing, Rick discovers a potentially safe haven. But first he must secure the premises, pushing his group to its limit.







Upcoming Releases

The Victim - 24th of September
Genre veteran and cult favourite, Michael Biehn makes his directorial feature debut with the grindhouse inspired, The Victim. Biehn shows a clear competence behind the camera and this is a highly watchable, gritty little debut from the Planet Terror star. It also features fanboy favourite, Danielle Harris in a smaller role.Read our review / Win film on blu-ray

The Pact - 1st of October
Based on director's Nicholas McCarthy's short film of the same name, The Pact proved successful enough to be made into a full length feature. Starring Caity Loitz and Casper van Dien, The Pact sees a grieving woman haunted by a mysterious ghostly presence. This subtle, creepy horror boasts a chilling, well-crafted atmosphere, rather than a reliance on gore filled antics.

Twixt - 1st of October
Francis Ford Coppola makes a truly welcome return to the horror genre with his upcoming feature, Twixt. Val Kilmer stars as a struggling novelist who gets caught up in the middle of a murder mystery in a small American town, whilst on a book tour. Response to Twixt may have been patchy, but surely a new Francis Ford Coppola horror film is something for genre fans to take notice of.

Faces In The Crowd - 1st of October
Everyone loves Milla Jovovich and her latest horror, Faces In The Crowd looks set to be an interesting one. Already a box office success in South Korea, the Resident Evil star's feature is coming straight to DVD in the UK. Faces In The Crowd follows a woman who develops prosopagnosia (the inability to recognise faces) after being attacked and repeatedly stalked by a twisted serial killer.

Prometheus - 8th of October
It may have split opinion amongst fans, but one cannot deny Ridley Scott's "kinda Alien prequel" was a distinct, beautifully crafted piece of science fiction horror.

Halloween 1-5 Collection - 15th October
The first five Halloween features are being rereleased in a handy little collection just in time for the big day. Included are Carpenter's stellar original and the equally brilliant sequel which introduce the legendary Michael Myers and his long-struggling foe, Dr. Loomis. The collection is also a chance to get hold of the rare, Halloween III: Season of the Witch which takes us out of Myers territory for a refreshing and equally enjoyable horror tale. Halloween IV & V may dip in quality when compared to their predecessors but are still a cut above most horror sequels.

Andrew McArthur & Scott Clark

Twisted Trailer For The Collection

We love our Horror films at Cinehouse but unfortunately past few years it's suffered from 'seen it all before' films with too many similar films been dished out. The serial killer sub genre is probably one of those genres that suffers greatly however we do tend to come across the odd film like 2009 The Collector that even satisfies even the hardened critics and tonight the twisted trailer for the follow up film The Collection.

The film comes from the directors of the latter Saw films Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton whose experience from those films do seem to inspire the maze torture our leatherface Kendo Nagasaki wannabe killer has for his victims. The Collection follows the story of  Elena (Emma Fitzpatrick) a young woman who is abducted by a psychopathic killer taken to a Hotel come torture maze. Her wealthy father (Christopher McDonald) hires a team of mercenaries lead by the only person to escape the killer Arkin (Josh Stewart) to guide them through the maze and rescue Elena.

This looks twisted, crazy but fun in a sadistic way and has 'games' even Jigsaw would be jealous off. I've never seen The Collector but those I know who have seen it enjoyed it and has become a minor cult hit but the old cliché will The Collection suffer from the dreaded Sequel hell? No word on the UK release date however if your on the other side of the Atlantic and heading to Fantastic Fest this weekend you can catch the world premier or wait until 30th November for The U.S release.

When Elena’s (Emma Fitzpatrick) friends take her to a secret party at an undisclosed location, she never imagined she would become the latest victim of The Collector, a psychopathic killer. The Collector kidnaps and transports her to an abandoned hotel he’s transformed into his own private maze of torture and death. Upon learning of his daughter’s disappearance, Elena’s wealthy father (Christopher McDonald) hires a group of mercenaries to retrieve her from the vicious grips of The Collector. These mercenaries coerce Arkin (Josh Stewart), the only man to have escaped the wrath of this heinous monster, to lead them through the gruesome labyrinth. Now, Arkin finds himself fighting for his own life in order to save Elena. “The Collection,” directed by Marcus Dunstan and written by Dunstan and Patrick Melton, is a suspense horror film with nonstop thrills at every turn, starring Josh Stewart (The Dark Knight Rises), Emma Fitzpatrick (The Social Network), and Christopher McDonald (Requiem for a Dream).

source:  Yahoo!

Cinehouse of Horrors #2

News

First up, fans of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series will be happy to hear that a poster and image for the seventh instalment of the franchise are now circulating the web. Texas Chainsaw 3D, out January 4^th, is a direct sequel to Tobe Hooper’s classic first instalment and will star a plethora of stars, not unrelated to the series, including Tobe Hooper, Bill Moseley, and  original Leatherface Gunnar Hansen! Click here for a plot synopsis and the exclusive first photo. 
                On the subject of classic series, it is a pleasure to announce that the sixth Child's Play film has commenced principal photography. The film, Curse of Chucky, will see Brad Dourif back as the voice of the demonic doll, and Don Mancini (writer/co-writer of the series) back writing and directing.

                The film adaptation of Stephen King’s epic fantasy saga The Dark Tower has met more strife in the form of Warner Bros dropping the project.  Thankfully Media Rights Capital seem pretty serious about taking up the opportunity, with Ron Howard still attached as director. Russell Crowe has expressed interest in playing the lead character Roland, a gunslinger in an apocalyptic world trying to unearth the mystery of the dark tower.
               2009’s gory booby-trap horror The Collector has finally spawned a sequel, the gruesome poster for which can be found over at Bloody Disgusting. The Collection is due out October 30^th and is again helmed by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, the team that brought us Saw’s 4-7.

                Going back to Stephen king, the upcoming remake of the classic 1976 prom-horror Carrie, which was based on King’s debut novel of the same name, has finally given us glimpses of the new vision. The film stars Chloe Grace Moretz as the abused girl with telekinetic powers and Julianne Moore as her religious zealot mother. The web is rife with debate over the validity of a remake, but hopefully the film will prove a useful and well-executed update. Due out March 15 2013. Catch the rest of the images over at BloodyDisgusting 

                For fans of Asain horror, 9-9-81 will be just the thing for you. Thai film exports tend to angle more towards art-house, but when they do horror they get it pretty spot-on.  The film is composed of nine short movies each nine minutes in length (hence the title) and as far as I can tell will revolve around a vengeful bride.  Catch the trailer bellow.

Special Announcement

For those of you familiar with Robert Rhine or Girls and Corpses, the magazine of which he is “Deaditor-in-Chief”, we have something special to announce. Rhine’s super-sized four-years-in-the-making graphic novel horror extravaganza ‘Satan’s 3-Ring Circus of Hell’ shall be re-released for Halloween. The anthology is jam-packed with gore and peppered with a gleeful black comedy that makes it a must for all hard-core horror fans, add that to the fact that it’s 43 different stories are illustrated by 43 of the top horror graphic artists and we shouldn’t have to say much else apart from… miss it at your own risk!

Weird News

And now for what will probably become my favourite part of our newsletter: Weird News! There’s been whispers on the web of an upcoming Toxic Avenger remake, something that will perhaps confuddle all you cult fans out there who have seen the original and its three sequels. Why would it need to be remade? Still, I’m interested to see how it goes. More interesting than the news of the remake is perhaps who has been linked to play the Avenger this time round, none other than John Travolta! We hope to God this thing happens.

Trailers

Sinister
Starring: Ethan Hawke and directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose).Desperately in need of a best seller to revive his struggling career, true crime writer Ellison (Ethan Hawke), moves his family to the scene of his most recent story; the unsolved, gruesome murder of a loving, happy suburban family. Shunned by the local community and strained by his obligations to his family, the discovery of a batch of home movies in the attic offers Ellison shocking proof to the crime he is investigating. Ellison notices the same unidentified figure appearing in each of the 8mm films, leaving him convinced that all the incidents are linked by a truly bizarre connection. As his investigations uncover the terrifying truth he starts to lose his grip on reality and it soon becomes clear that he is placing his own family in harm’s way.
Release Date: 5th October 2012

Silent Hill Revelation 3D 
Starring: Sean Bean, Malcolm McDowell, and Carrie-Anne Moss Directed by Michael J. Bassett. When her father disappears, Heather Mason is drawn into a strange and terrifying alternate reality that holds answers to the horrific nightmares that have plagued her since childhood. Source IMDb

Release Date: 26th October 2012

9-9-81: Not much going around for this just now, all we have is a trailer sans subtitles, but at least it looks nice.

Upcoming Releases

As we are now well into the Autumn months you can expect a slew of horror releases in the build up to Halloween. We've have handpicked some of the most exciting upcoming releases of September.

The Devil's Business -10th September
Low budget British horror, The Devil's Business, has already been compared to the works of Harold Pinter and Dennis Wheatley - high praise indeed. Part hit-man thriller, part occult horror - Sean Hogan's upcoming character driven feature sounds incredibly promising.(read our review)

The House Of The Long Shadows - 17th September
This forgotten masterpiece should be watched for four reasons: John Carradine, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price & Christopher Lee. Yes all four horror superstars teamed up for this atmospheric haunted house chiller, now being released on DVD for the first time ever.

Silent House (2011) - 17th September
This surprisingly entertaining US remake of Uruguayan production La Casa Muda, may lack the nerve shredding tension of the original but delivers on scares. It also features a stellar turn from Elizabeth Olsen.

The Cabin In The Woods - 24th September
This Joss Whedon produced gem proved a surprise highlight for many horror aficionados flipping the rules of the genre. Beginning as a tense forest set slasher, Whedon's film transforms into so much more - that for the sake of spoilers shouldn't be discussed.

Competitions

Cinehouseuk would like to invite readers to join in with the competitions we are running at the moment. First off theres an opportunity to win Truth or Dare on DVD, Deadling is 16^th of September, click here for the question and details.

Second, we have a Blu-ray copy of The Aggression Scale up for grabs, if your interested you can find the question and details here. Deadline is 23rd of September.

               

Last but not least we have DVD copies of [Rec]3: Genesis available as prizes, all you have to do is submit your answer to our question and one of them could be yours! Click here to participate in Cinehouseuk’s competition. Deadline is 23^rd of September.

Good Luck!

Scott Clark & Andrew McArthur