Considering how much they spent on this, I guess you would have to give the crew and cast some credence to their work. Its not overally terrible , not the worst of the low budgets you might see, but not really as good as many others. It was probably minimal takes as well, shot in a short duration. Overall, the people posting more then 5 stars on this is just ridiculous, its really poor production by today standards (not even TV quality) it has some poor acting in places. Its plodding, conceptually slow with minimal payoffs. If reduced down to a hour, it wouldn't be a half bad episode of something akin to Twilight Zone etc. There isn't much reason to watch this, if you have others on your list, just skip it.

'The Collapsed' is movie where nothing of very interesting substance occurs for the first seventy or so minutes out of an eighty-two minute run time. That is truly a shame because I enjoyed John Fantasia's performance as a father and husband who seemed to be more than he appeared. I also (mistakenly) thought that the slow burn - indeed never ending burn - was some kind of intelligent setup design for a powerful payoff at the end. Essentially, a family of four must survive the collapse of society - that is the gist of the plot. In order to do that, Fantasia's character leads his wife, daughter and son out of their native city on a journey to reach his second son's home in a place the movie makes you suspect is a remote rural location. The four main actors get somewhere, experience hardships, there are deaths and tragedies, but the plot/director treats each loss or speed bump as such a minor affair that the viewer can only nod at a character's demise and assume something more interesting is waiting to be seen in a later act. For a relatively short film, 'The Collapsed' is very slow paced making it seem like a two hour time investment. Again, very little happens and as a consequence, very little tension is built and what suspense does arise is quickly expended by highly annoying music and scenes that end in nonsensical dead ends. The viewer of this film must be patient - willing to watch an actor run around with a bolt action rifle, pointing it at nothing, cleaning it and charging it again and again - for over an hour. Simply nothing happens that hints or eludes to what the film is really about until the last few minutes. By that point I was both bored, mentally numb, and my leg had fallen asleep. Truly I did want to positively review this one, I was rooting for it to become something interesting throughout my viewing of the film. If nothing else, perhaps John Fantasia's performance will catch the eye of someone at a large studio and he'll get a shot in front of a wider audience. I cannot recommend 'The Collapsed' to anyone really - unless you're a fan of Mr. Fantasia - and even then it'd be a hard sell. The plot ends up being a common enough one and in an attempt to make it work, the film lies to you with scenes that did not really happen. I've never liked nor approved of such devices in books and movies, they feel too much like a sucker punch in the reader or viewer's gut. Steer clear of this one, unless you're incredibly bored or patient or you're scouting for undiscovered talent.

It had a few decent ideas and might have been better with a budget. The acting was pretty ordinary and considering that the two guys had just come across the rest of their family wiped out they did not seem THAT upset. They must have missed the emotion class. Basically something happens and a family are trying to escape the city before it collapses into chaos. They find a car and set off for the country. They make a big mistake and stop at a petrol station for fuel and supplies. Some scary dudes pull up armed to the teeth and they head for the woods to escape.Then things get a bit weird as we move into The Happening territory. We finally discover what is going on from some other characters who have fortified some farm buildings and the revelation that all is not as it seems.Not a bad ending really and some smart ideas it has to be said. But the direction is lacklustre and the script a bit plodding as we have endless shots of trees and our heroes walking. The usual fake reviews bull it up into something it isn't and overall it is poor but has it's moments and thankfully it contains no zombies which is a nice change. It probably could be made into something interesting with a bit of money behind it. Certainly not good but then not the usual rubbish either

A family of four led by the rugged and resourceful Scott (a stand-out performance by John Fantasia) struggle to survive after civilization collapses and degenerates into total savagery. As the family venture deep into the forest, they discover that fending off threats from fellow survivors might just be the least of their problems. Writer/director Justin McConnell relates the gripping story at a brisk pace, creates and sustains a substantial amount of tension, puts a welcome and refreshing emphasis on the characters over cheap gore and stock scares, and delivers one startling doozy of a devastating surprise twist at the shocking conclusion. Moreover, McConnell earns extra kudos for not only maintaining a strong mood of dread, despair, and hopelessness throughout, but also for giving the picture a hard'n'gritty no-nonsense tone that doesn't pull any punches and becomes progressively more dark and bleak as the narrative unfolds towards a powerfully downbeat conclusion. The excellent acting from the capable non-star cast keeps the movie humming: While Fantasia dominates the proceedings with his bravura portrayal of a two-fisted patriarch, he nonetheless receives sound support from Steve Vieira as Scott's laid-back son Aaron, Anna Ross as brash daughter Rebecca, and Lise Moule as worried mother Emily. The outbursts of raw violence pack a ferocious punch. Pasha Patriki's accomplished cinematography provides an additional jolt of energy and urgency, with especially dynamic and exciting use of a prowling Steadicam. Rob Kleiner's nerve-ratting score further amps up the heart-pounding suspense. A real sleeper.