The brutal, ultra-hard horror film The Collector, which was formerly known as The Midnight Man, is going to be one of the key horror titles of 2009. The film tells the story of an ex-con who plans to steal a rare jewel from a house while the family is away. The only problem is that a masked marauder entered the house earlier in the night and turned it into a gigantic man-trap. Director Marcus Dunstan,who also produced Feast and wrote Saw IV-VI, made the The Collector with hardcore horror fans in mind. The film is set-up like a thriller, but it slyly switches gears after the first act, and turns into an amped-up, non-stop bloodbath.

The Collector is set for U.S. theatrical release on July 31, 2009. The MPAA's "R" rating should be prefaced by the word "hard." For those who cannot wait, Fantastic Fest has teamed up with Scott Weinberg's new Horror Squad site for a special screening at the Alamo Drafthouse on July 22nd, 2009. Information about the screening as well as some still images can be pursued at the links below.