Sony Pictures
Escape rooms are a lot of fun. They are meant to be imaginative, challenging, and entertaining. The popularity of escape rooms has increased over the last few years, so it was only a matter of time that Hollywood tried to capitalize on it. I have only been to one escape room, in which I did not solve the mystery, but I had a blast doing it. The first movie to hit theaters in 2019 is yet again a horror film. Escape Room happens to be directed from the same guy who brought us Insidious: The Last Key, which was the first film of 2018.
Six strangers participate in an escape room in hopes to win $10,000 for finding their way out of the rooms. They end up finding themselves in a circumstance beyond their control and must use their wits to survive. The cast inside the escape rooms include Deborah Ann Woll from Netflix’s Daredevil, Tyler Labine, who made up Dale in Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil, and Logan Miller, who I enjoyed in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.
For the most part, Escape Room was an entertaining film. The best parts of the movie were a few of the early escape rooms. Director Adam Robitel managed to create nerve-wracking scenes that reminded me of my own experiences inside escape rooms. As the six strangers were trying to put the clues together to advance to the next room, I had fun trying to solve the mystery with them. My favorite room the movie was the third room where everything was upside down inside of a bar. Robitel created some nice shots during this scene and messed with the viewers depth perception. The rooms had a wide variety of tasks and elements that kept the movie fresh. Such rooms involving fire, ice, and hospitals always kept the strangers engaged and fighting for their lives. The set up for each room was well detailed and challenged each participant.
The young woman on all the posters is Zoey played by Taylor Russell. She is written as a book smart but often shy girl who has experienced trauma in her past. She never has an opportunity to shine as a main character, which left me not connecting with any of the characters. Other characters involved in the rooms felt like they didn’t want to be there. Tyler Labine’s character didn’t seem to be too excited about trying to win $10,000. It was hard to root for characters like that when they didn’t want to be as involved as other characters. I enjoyed Danny, who has participated in almost 100 escape rooms in all different formats. He wanted to be there and even was having fun when he was about to be set on fire.
The film opened in the middle of Logan Miller’s character trying to escape one of the rooms. By having this structure, it doesn’t make the later parts of the film suspenseful since we already know the fate of the character. I didn’t understand what the purpose of the opening sequence was since it ruined a few escape rooms later down the road.
Towards the end with only a few remaining participants left, the film takes a nose dive and ends on a very confusing note. The film wanted to focus on setting up a sequel rather than giving the viewers answers they deserved. After the hospital room, it almost felt like a different director took over. The tone of the last 20 minutes didn’t match the previous tone that was set up and it felt off.
For a film that was released in January, some parts were entertaining, despite many glaring flaws. The film fell apart at the end and focused too hard on setting up a sequel. I never got answers I wanted, but if the movie makes a decent amount of money, I may get my answers in a couple of years.
Escape Room has a run time of 1 hour 40 minutes and is rated PG-13 for terror/perilous action, violence, some suggestive material and language.
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