The Collector (1965)

5 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: A man kidnaps a woman and holds her hostage just for the pleasure of having her there.
Directed by: William Wyler
Written by: John Fowles, Stanley Mann
Actors include: Terence Stamp, Samantha Eggar, Mona Washbourne
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Length: 119 minutes
Banned: Finland

Review:
One heck of a thriller really, you won't find many like this and it was so influential with films that followed like 盲獣 [Blind Beast] and The Silence of the Lambs. The story is about a man called Freddie (Terence Stamp) who is obsessive about collecting butterflies, only as it turns out he's had a more sinister plan. He spies on and follows the beautiful and vivacious Miranda (Samantha Eggar) who is a free spirited artist. Eventually Freddie decides to chloroform her and drag her back to the gigantic house he's bought (with a separate hidden chamber for Miranda). I think the big shock is the amount of detail and planning this would have taken, and the fact that Freddie doesn't believe he's really done anything wrong. He only wants Miranda to love him and he figures this is the way...by holding her captive. It's demented, brilliantly acted, both Eggar & Stamp deserve Oscars for this...it's so engaging and so well written, this is an absolute must!

Availability:  On DVD

The Exterminator (1980)

4 / 5 Sept '09
Tagline: A one man army. A new kind of soldier in a new kind of war.
Directed by: James Glickenhaus
Written by: James Glickenhaus
Actors include: Samantha Eggar, Christopher George, Robert Ginty
Genre: Action, Horror
Length: 101 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This really does start out in an exciting and bloody manner and it manages to keep that pace throughout. The story is about a man who ends up going by the name of "The Exterminator" who was in a torture war situation before escaping. Then in the real world life is pretty ordinary until thugs at his workplace kill his best friend and he vows a violent revenge. From that point on we get some amusing deaths, strange situations and so forth, it's pretty decently paced. The biggest complaint is that the story is strung together inexplicably...I mean one minute we are talking to some fella, next he's hung on a pole or something, it just wasn't well assembled. Still he does use a flame thrower, many guns and this is a violent bloody treat in many ways. It's sort of like an ultraviolent superhero movie made with a lowish budget, some will love others will cringe.

Availability:  on DVD