"The only surprise is how unsurprising it is."

The Collector is billed as coming from the writers of Saw IV, Saw V, and the upcoming Saw VI -- as if that's a selling point. "Hey, you know the guys who have driven an already-dubious franchise into the ground with dull stories and increasingly desperate gimmicks? Well, they wrote this, too!"

The Saw connection is no surprise, as The Collector -- written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan and directed by Dunstan -- feels like a…