First Appearance: The Collector (2009)
Portrayed by: Juan Fernández
Kill Count: Estimated 20+ (across films, including traps and torture)
Tier: Third Class
Who Is the Collector?
The Collector is a nameless, wordless, insect-like killer who creates elaborate torture traps, kidnaps a single victim from each crime scene, and exterminates everyone else. He’s a terrifying blend of Jigsaw’s methodical design, Michael Myers’ silence, and Leatherface’s sadism — but with a unique flair: he doesn’t just kill… he collects.
Clad in a stitched, black leather mask and dark clothing, he moves like a predator — crawling, crouching, stalking. He sees people as disposable except for the ones he keeps, storing his victims in red trunks for unknown purposes. His lairs are covered in beetles, spiders, and corpses in cages — as if he’s building a twisted museum of pain.
Unlike many horror icons, The Collector is fully human — no supernatural powers, no tragic origin (at least none revealed), just a brilliant, remorseless monster with a god complex.
The Collector (2009)
Directed by Marcus Dunstan and co-written by Patrick Melton (of Saw IV–VII), The Collector follows Arkin, a desperate handyman who plans to rob the house of a wealthy family he once worked for. He believes the house will be empty — but upon breaking in, he discovers something horrifying: the family is being held hostage by a masked madman who has turned the house into a giant death trap.
The Collector has rigged everything: windows, floors, walls — every square inch is a potential kill zone. There are razor wire traps, bear traps, nails in floorboards, acid-coated blades, and crushing mechanisms. Victims die in spectacularly brutal ways. One is chopped to pieces by ceiling blades, another impaled while trying to escape, and a child is killed off-screen — adding to the film’s disturbing tone.
Arkin must now fight to survive, avoid the traps, and save the family — all while avoiding The Collector himself, who moves like a ghost through the shadows.
What makes the film work isn’t just the gore — it’s the cat-and-mouse tension. The Collector is always one step ahead, appearing silently, vanishing into darkness, and striking with terrifying precision. There’s no explanation for his actions — which makes him even more unsettling.
In the final moments, Arkin escapes — barely. But The Collector isn’t done with him…
The Collection (2012)
The sequel expands the scope and lore. After a massacre in a nightclub where dozens are slaughtered by blades, booby traps, and collapsing walls, a single survivor — Elena — is captured and taken to The Collector’s lair. Arkin, still haunted by his encounter, is blackmailed into leading a black ops team into the killer’s hideout.
The lair is an abandoned hotel — a nightmare labyrinth filled with corpses, cages, preserved bodies, and animal carcasses. The Collector watches everything from surveillance screens, and his traps are even more intricate than before. Laser wires, crushing walls, rotted pets, and tripwire-triggered impalements keep the intruders on edge.
Here, The Collector is more of a mad scientist, dissecting his “collection,” experimenting on human bodies, and hanging failures on walls like trophies. He moves quickly, stabbing from the shadows and using scalpels with surgeon-like skill.
The film ends with Arkin capturing The Collector — flipping the dynamic. But a third film was promised… and has yet to fully arrive.
Personality & Traits
- Silent & Calculating: Never speaks, never rushes.
- Obsessive Behavior: Leaves one survivor per location to “collect.”
- Trap Expert: Turns entire buildings into kill mazes with brutal mechanical precision.
- Insect Fascination: Surrounds himself with beetles, tarantulas, and entomological imagery.
- Unknown Past: No real name, no confirmed origin, no known motive — just death.
Legacy & Trivia
- Planned Trilogy: A third film titled The Collected was shot but remains unreleased due to legal/production issues.
- Originally a Saw Prequel: The script was pitched as a Saw spinoff but was developed into its own franchise.
- Underground Icon: While not mainstream, The Collector is beloved by hardcore horror fans for his cruelty and trap design.
- Merchandise: Limited release action figures, fan posters, and cosplay masks circulate online.
Other Appearances
- Not featured in video games or comics — but frequently requested for Dead by Daylight.
- Referenced in horror trivia shows and videos for his unique trap-based kills.
League Placement
Third Class
He’s watching. Planning.
He’ll kill everyone in the house —
Except one. That one is his.