Collectors (2000) User Reviews

Interesting documentary on a novel and disturbing subject

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 19 March 2009]

A morbidly fascinating documentary on hardcore serial killer aficionados who avidly collect artwork done by these notoriously alluring demimonde pop culture figures. This doc focuses on Rick Staton and Tobias Allen, who are two key admittedly ghoulish and obsessive collectors. Staton and Allen befriended serial killer Elmer Wayne Henley and persuaded him to give them enough of his work to display at an art gallery with the expected angry responses from friends and family of Henley's victims. Director Julian P. Hobbs commendably avoids trashy sensationalism and maintains a quietly observant and nonjudgmental stance while primarily centering on the odd subculture of serial killer art collecting. The collectors give provocative reasons for their interest in serial killer art: Said art allows them to confront their fears and manage their anxieties as well as safely let them go insane and provide revealing insights into the killers' warped minds. On the other hands, the victims' loved ones consider the selling and collecting of serial killer art "an abortion of justice." The artwork of serial killer both infamous (Ed Gein, Henry Lee Lucas, Charles Manson, Otis Toole, Richard Speck) and obscure (French grave robber Nicolas Claux) are featured throughout. Allen talks about his much-derided serial killer board game, which he intended as a black joke. Moreover, Allen and Staton visit crime scenes and deceased serial killers' graves. The undeniably macabre and unnerving subject matter to the contrary, Hobbs' evenly balanced and thoughtful documentary on a morally dubious acquired taste hobby offers an utterly engrossing glimpse at a truly bizarre underground culture phenomenon.