Escape Room (2019)

[steve jaros]

Title: Escape Room (2019)

Tagline: Find The Clues Or Die

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Action

Director: Adam Robitel

Cast: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, Deborah Ann Woll, Nik Dodani, Yorick van Wageningen, Kenneth Fok, Cornelius Geaney Jr., Russell Crous, Bart Fouche, Jessica Sutton, Paul Hampshire, Vere Tindale, Jamie-Lee Money, Jeremy Jess Boado, Inge Beckmann, Raven Swart, Adam Robitel, Dan Gruenberg, Rebecca Riedy, Pete Sepenuk

Release: 2019-01-03

Runtime: 100

Plot: Six strangers find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, and must use their wits to survive.

Saw Escape Room today. Don't let the meh Tomatometer rating fool you - this is a suspenseful film, it captured my attention immediately with charismatic characters and the drama and intensity of the escape room adventure never let up.



Entertaining film ... B+ .... 768/1000

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yeah, I'm growing less interested in these type of films.

 

[Sam Posten]

I might see this tomorrow, will see.

 

[benbess]

B-

 

[Jason_V]

Saw it last night and I seriously vacillated on not going all day. I'm glad I did. This isn't an Oscar winner or anything like that, but I was engrossed the entire time.

Well, almost the entire time. The story lost me in the last fifteen minutes or so (everything post-surgery room). I'm still happy I saw it: each Escape Room is well put together and the cast works well, all things considered. I kept trying to piece the endgame together using in-universe logic and I was wrong at each step of the way. Oh well...that kept things interesting.

I was not a fan of the initial story structure, but that issue worked itself out by the time the film ended. Do I need to see Escape Room again? Nope. But I don't feel like I was insulted or wasted those 99 minutes of my life.

 

[Dave B Ferris]

There was an event in Poland over the weekend, that - had it happened in the U.S. instead, would have probably caused the studio to either place a moratorium on showings or pull the film altogether: five teenage girls died in a fire in an escape room.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

I was not a fan of the initial story structure, but that issue worked itself out by the time the film ended. Do I need to see Escape Room again? Nope. But I don't feel like I was insulted or wasted those 99 minutes of my life.

That's pretty much how I felt as well. There were a couple of weak characters, phoned-in performances and some really cheesy dialogue. Even with all that, it held my interest enough that it wasn't a waste of time.

I probably wouldn't have paid to see it, but it was fine for an A-List watch.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

That's pretty much how I felt as well. There were a couple of weak characters, phoned-in performances and some really cheesy dialogue. Even with all that, it held my interest enough that it wasn't a waste of time.

I probably wouldn't have paid to see it, but it was fine for an A-List watch.

Yup - I used one of my A-List slots to see "Escape Room" today and don't regret it.

Movies like this require a massive suspension of disbelief, as they force the viewer to accept that some unknown off-screen entity boasts virtually god-like abilities.

In the real world, there's no way some group could pull off all the machinations this one provides, and the film barely even attempts an explanation. We just need to swallow the premise without questioning if we want to enjoy the story.

For the most part, I did that and thought "Room" offered a reasonably good thrill ride. Not one second of it holds up to any form of scrutiny, but it provides a pretty taut, tense experience nonetheless, and that makes it worth a watch,

God knows I've seen enough bad horror films to realize how far into the crapper this one could've gone. It's a minor miracle that it works as well as it does given all the aforementioned suspension of disbelief it requires.

I could live without the groan-worthy sequel-bait ending, though. Granted, virtually ever film of this genre moves toward another chapter if the box office warrants - and sometimes when it doesn't, as low-budget fare like this can prompt sequels even if audiences don't flock to the original films. "Room" didn't break attendance records but it turned a tidy profit and clearly will push toward a second film.

I just wish the filmmakers allowed that to happen without such an obvious nod in that direction. The basic premise doesn't need the sequel-bait finale - we could get a second film without such cheesy techniques.

Iffy ending aside, "Room" offers decent horror fare. It never re-invents any wheels but it delivers enough thrills to satisfy...