escape room movie review 2019

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“Escape Room,” a new PG-13-rated horror film, is a sometimes diverting, but overly familiar series of set pieces in search of a good melodrama. There’s not much of a plot: six disposable protagonists try to solve a series of inter-connected puzzles, and death is the penalty for failure.

There’s also not much reason to care if these protagonists live or die, a demerit that slightly (but notably) distinguishes “Escape Room” from what appears to be its creators’ biggest influence: the go-for-broke “ Saw ” movie franchise, a series of “torture porn” flicks that weirdly improved as its creators grew more desperate to keep diehard fans (and only diehard fans) interested. The “Saw” movies are probably best remembered for their instantly dated gore. But, speaking for myself: I love their over-the-top soap opera plotting, especially in later sequels like “Saw VI” and “Saw: The Final Chapter” (the latter of which is not, as horror fans know, the last “Saw” sequel).

“Escape Room” has a handful of enjoyably bonkers moments, most of which involve nonsensical death traps. But “Escape Room” is also anemic compared to the “Saw” movies, as you might imagine based on the film’s comparatively weak PG-13 rating. That wouldn’t be a problem if there were other major differences between “Escape Room” and the “Saw” sequels. Sadly, “Escape Room” is only longer and more impersonal than what came before it.

“Escape Room” also feels pretty schematic since very few plots twists serve to develop the film’s cipher-like characters. Six thrill-seekers pile into the waiting room of a non-descript Chicago office building. A woman’s voice tells them to wait to be seen. They follow her instructions and exchange introductory pleasantries. But then the suite’s door handle breaks, their disembodied host’s voice disappears (surprise: she was a recording!), and a powerful convection oven-style heater turns on. The film’s deadly games begin.

If you’re like me, you probably don’t watch movies like “Escape Room” and “Saw” for their characters or performances. Still, that might be something you do while watching “Escape Room” given how threadbare the rest of the film is. Unfortunately, Nik Dodani and Jason Ellis—who respectively play clueless puzzle nerd Danny and hothead know-it-all Jason—are often loud and annoying. And Tyler Labine , in the role of the likeably clueless trucker Mike, barely does anything. Heck, even the characteristically charming Deborah Ann Woll —as the tough, capable war vet Amanda—is barely able to steal a single scene (you’ll know it when you see it).

None of this would be so bad if the two least interesting performers and characters didn’t overshadow everyone else. Logan Miller —as the twitchy (but young!) alcoholic Ben—is maybe one of the least convincing Byronic teenage protagonists in a recent horror film. And Taylor Russell ’s withdrawn college student Zoey is exclusively defined by her exasperating savant-like behavior. You probably already know what’s going to happen to Ben and Zoey, but that also wouldn’t be a problem if the rest of “Escape Room” wasn’t so uninspired.

To be fair: the death trap set pieces are united by dumb-fun themes, like Tim Burton Room or Dirty Hospital Ward. But that’s about it. The oven-heated waiting room features dull clues, like an (apparently) unread copy of Ray Bradbury ’s Fahrenheit 451  and a barely full water-cooler, too. And an upside-down billiards room is only noteworthy because of its annoyingly malfunctioning jukebox (it plays only one song, loudly and frequently!) and rapidly collapsing ceiling, I mean floor.

Sure, it's less fun than the "Saw" movies, but why doesn’t “Escape Room” work on its own terms? The characters all have dark secrets that ostensibly give meaning to their Sisyphean struggles. But their secrets aren’t dark enough, nor are their Rube-Goldbergian trials wild enough to be memorable. (The second-to-last puzzle room, which looks like a condemned hospital ward, is especially tedious). “Escape Room” may be a welcome oasis at the start of January’s seemingly vast pre-Oscars wasteland. But if you miss “Escape Room” while it’s in theatres, you can probably miss it altogether.

Simon Abrams

Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in  The New York Times ,  Vanity Fair ,  The Village Voice,  and elsewhere.

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Film credits.

Escape Room (2019)

Rated PG-13 for terror/perilous action, violence, some suggestive material and language.

100 minutes

Taylor Russell as Zoey

Deborah Ann Woll as Amanda

Tyler Labine as Mike

Logan Miller as Ben

Jay Ellis as Jason

Adam Robitel as Gabe

Nik Dodani as Danny

Jessica Sutton as Allison

• Adam Robitel

Writer (story by)

• Bragi Schut
• Maria Melnik

Cinematographer

• Marc Spicer
• Steve Mirkovich
• Brian Tyler

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Escape Room review – grisly and surreal high-concept horror

Game’s contenders face traumas from their past as they deal with bizarrely different escape rooms

A dam Robitel is an emerging player in the world of scary movies, having had a success with his found-footage chiller for Netflix entitled The Taking of Deborah Logan, as well as a film in the Insidious franchise . Here he turns in a nifty, nasty high-concept horror, with dabs of Saw and Final Destination .

A handful of people, with no knowledge of or connection with each other, receive a strange box and a note inviting them to participate in an escape room challenge in a bland, featureless office building in downtown Chicago. The winner gets $10,000. The players are shy student Zoey (Taylor Russell), convenience-store worker Ben (Logan Miller), army vet Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll), overweight schlub Mike (Tyler Labine), nerdy gamer Danny (Nik Dodani), and arrogant financial trader Jason (Jay Ellis).

Once the proceedings start, the stunned contenders realise that it is lethally dangerous, impossible to quit mid-game, and each room has details and clues tailored to traumas in everyone’s past. And so the games-master’s creepy sadistic personality emerges in this ordeal, enigmatically and indirectly.

As they stagger from one room to the next, there is grisly Alice in Wonderland surrealism in the bizarre differentness of each: a dull reception area, a log cabin, a bar and even a vast wintry outdoor scene. (How is this last one even possible?)

A very cinematic spatial impossibility is conjured up by Robitel as he allows the audience to ponder how exactly these rooms are supposed to fit together. The film has a vicious streak of throwaway black comedy.

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Escape Room Reviews

Escape Room is a fun ride, even with inadequate dialogue. Quite a bit of it consists of characters simply pointing out items as they enter the various rooms. It’s very possible, though, to overlook this because of the rollicking journey that follows.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 25, 2023

Escape Room holds frightening puzzles and balanced tension, even in its weaker moments.

Full Review | May 13, 2023

The overall plot wasn’t quite clear at times and within the first 20 minutes of the film, the characters were already in the first escape room

Full Review | Jan 22, 2023

You learn early on to switch your brain off, but even that can’t cover the ludicrous finale.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 20, 2022

Escape Room is better than most that come out of the January film scrap heap, as long as you give yourself over to a contrived plot that is only worth the price of admission if you are fine with whodunit clichés.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 19, 2022

The movie never involves the viewer in the puzzle or riddle-solving process. The characters rush from clue to clue, and we just watch as they figure it out. It's a passive experience.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 4, 2022

A solid premise and some legitimately thrilling set pieces help to counteract a mixed bag of characters, several of whom are actively deplorable. The film needed more Deborah Ann Woll

Full Review | Jul 17, 2021

It's a shocking thing to witness a movie like this do just fine for so long, only to completely collapse right at the finish line.

Full Review | Original Score: 2. 5 / 5 | Jun 25, 2021

Escape Room largely makes the most of this concept with a fun if not overly bloody effort.

Full Review | Original Score: 8.5/10 | Aug 30, 2020

Manages to make the most of its killer concept and benefits from set pieces that have clearly been thought out in the best possible way.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 16, 2020

[W]hile the overall pastiche has a certain charm for a while, it only lasts so long.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 26, 2020

There's so much quality content out there and so little spare time to enjoy it. Escape Room made me wish I had stayed home and taken a nap instead.

Full Review | Jul 24, 2020

Escape Room is in no way a great movie, but it does certainly qualify as a solid effort, and I say that as someone who is rarely forgiving of lazy or idiotic horror efforts.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 14, 2020

It doesn't go far enough with the ludicrous nature of the story.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jul 8, 2020

Escape Room is exactly the movie I expected, as it ticks all the requisite boxes for a January horror film. Its biggest sin is that it really could have been so much more.

Full Review | Mar 18, 2020

The cast projects a generic, 50s B-movie vibe, but in a good way; no one character is especially likable or unlikable, and this keeps you guessing as to whom the filmmakers will kill off.

Full Review | Feb 19, 2020

It's little more than a less dreary reincarnation of the Saw formula, but Escape Room does it with enough skill and production value that it makes for a fun, quick-paced diversion...

Full Review | Original Score: 3.2/5 | Jan 31, 2020

...It had enough interesting ideas and an underlying commentary on classism to help it stay afloat, but it was ultimately too forgettable to leave an impact.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Jan 17, 2020

[F]or a movie set entirely in, er, rooms Escape Room never feels confined.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 26, 2019

The production design on this film is fantastic... I was dazzled from scene to scene.

Full Review | Sep 13, 2019

Screen Rant

Escape room review: get a clue, set up the next movie, escape room is an entertainingly cheesy and surprisingly innovative b-movie, but suffers when it turns its attention to setting up future sequels..

Escape Room is the latest horror-thriller from director Adam Robitel and the first since his prequel, Insidious: The Last Key , hit theaters almost exactly a year ago. Robitel started out directing shorts in the 2000s and make the jump to feature filmmaking in 2014 with the faux-documentary supernatural horror movie The Taking of Deborah Logan . He thereafter moved on to franchise fare with Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (which he wrote, but didn't direct) and The Last Key (which he directed, but didn't write), before returning to original material with Escape Room . Clearly, however, the intention is for Robitel's latest film to launch a franchise of his own, should it prove successful enough. Escape Room is an entertainingly cheesy and surprisingly innovative B-movie, but suffers when it turns its attention to setting up future sequels.

The movie follows a group of six strangers - college student Zoey (Taylor Russell), grocery store employee Ben (Logan Miller), military veteran Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll), market trader Jason (Jay Ellis), blue collar worker Mike (Tyler Labine), and escape room aficionado Danny (Nik Dodani) - as they all gather in Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend to compete in an escape room challenge with a $10,000 prize for the winner(s). The contest is conducted by MINOS, a mysterious organization that sends each of the players a puzzle box containing a personalized invitation to come and find out if they can beat their "most immersive room" yet and take home the cash reward.

However, it quickly becomes obvious that this is no ordinary escape room experience, and that the players are in real danger of being killed if they fail to find all the clues and beat each room in the allotted amount of time. The group also comes to realize that each room employs incredibly advanced technology to truly "immerse" the players in their respective settings... and that whoever created these rooms are watching them at all times. Left with no other choice, the six strangers must band together, solve every riddle thrown their way, and make it out of however many escape rooms there are in one piece (or, failing that, alive).

The trailers for Escape Room have drawn comparisons to Saw and - to a lesser degree - The Cabin in the Woods , and both of those movies appear to have been influences on the actual film. Escape Room taps into the real-life escape room or escape game craze that's taken off over the past ten years and turns it into a lethal competition that tests players' ingenuity and sheer will to survive in ways that John Kramer himself would almost certainly approve of. The sci-fi and surveillance elements of the narrative - wherein some unknown audience is watching the players' every move - similarly begs comparison to the setup for Drew Goddard's cult classic horror-comedy. Robitel's new thriller is neither as gruesome as any of the Saw films (see also: that PG-13 rating) nor as self-reflexive as Cabin in the Woods , but what it lacks in gore and meta aspects it makes up for with genuinely suspenseful sequences and set pieces.

Escape Room clears the not-too-high bar it sets for itself thanks to the lean script by Maria Melnik ( American Gods ) and Bragi Schut ( Season of the Witch ) - which wastes little time getting to the actual escape rooms after making the necessary character introductions - and Robitel's steady direction. The rooms make for pretty inventive set pieces; each one presents a different challenge (one is upside down, others utilize extreme hot or cold temperatures) and are unique in their design, which allows them to avoid feeling repetitive of one another. Robitel and his DP Marc Spicer ( Lights Out ) do a nice job of visually establishing the environment and spatial layout of each individual room, so there's no confusion about where everyone is and/or what danger they're in at any given moment. They're aided along the way by a pulsating score (from John Carey and Brian Tyler) that has an old-school synthesized sound, giving the proceedings something of a throwback vibe.

As you might expect, the actual players in Escape Room are broadly sketched and their personal issues quickly become secondary to the question of how any/all of them are going to make it out of the individual escape rooms alive. Credit where credit's due, the film gives each of the players a distinct set of characteristics and specific backstory (each of which involves some kind of trauma), in order to distinguish them by something other than their appearance and/or what they do. The cast is composed of actors whose names may not immediately come to mind - save perhaps for Woll, thanks to her roles in True Blood and Marvel's Netflix series - but are all compelling enough in their roles to serve the film's purposes. Certain characters are clearly marked for death more than others, but it's fun to watch the best-developed protagonists come into their own and find clever ways of staving off death... for awhile, anyway.

The film eventually starts to go off the rails with its climax and epilogue. Without getting too deep into spoilers, it's fair to say that Escape Room lays the groundwork for some major reveals and developments in its third act, before ultimately dropping the payoff in favor of setting the table for a sequel or more. To be fair, the movie's premise lends itself to a franchise (where each installment features a unique set of escape rooms, like the traps in the Saw sequels) and there's a reasonable chance Escape Room will become one, thanks to its slim $9 million budget. Nevertheless, the movie fails to provide much in the way of closure for its plot and themes - and in doing so, leaves it to the sequel to fill in the blanks in its world-building.

All in all, however, Escape Room is an unexpectedly fun thrill ride, especially for a movie that's being released in the dumping ground that is the first weekend of January. It's not really a film that begs to be seen in theaters, but its set pieces do benefit from the big screen format... or a nice high-definition television setup at home down the road, depending on your fancy. Horror-thriller genre enthusiasts may want to give this a look to help them pass the time until this year's major offerings start arriving, as may those who're all caught up on their late 2018 tentpoles. Who knows: if enough people decide to play the game, this could end up being the first of many Escape Room s to come.

Escape Room is now playing in U.S. theaters nationwide. It is 95 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for terror/perilous action, violence, some suggestive material and language.

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comments section!

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Escape room.

Escape Room (I) (2019)

• User Reviews
• it's a rollercoster ride; you just buckle you seat belt and enjoy the show. What worked than any other movies with the same theme is giving background story, show empathy for the characters and making them work as a team for the most part. It's exciting, thrilling and maybe a bit predictable at parts but the movie as a whole worked.
• anti climatic; maybe the conclusion of the puzzle could have been stronger, with convincing scenes leading to the end. Also, the ending of the movie shows there is a sequel coming up but I did not get why they are filming an action sequence when the real event is meant to destroy the whole plane in real.

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Escape Room owes everything to Saw, but it’s still slick

It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does roll it well

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Share All sharing options for: Escape Room owes everything to Saw, but it’s still slick

If you think you know what Escape Room is about just based on the title, you ... are right. Directed by Adam Robitel ( Insidious: The Last Key ), the movie stars six strangers who are invited to play an elite escape room. Each has their own reason for joining — but, of course, it’s not just a game.

The concept has been thoroughly explored in movies like Cube (1997) and the Saw franchise. Escape Room doesn’t add much to the subgenre, but it is an exceptionally tense and well-crafted entry. Each room is clear in its concept and stakes, with well-conceived puzzles that leave very little room for “why don’t they just ... ?”-style complaints.

The escape rooms all have their own stylish designs, and the cinematography makes great and inventive use of the set-pieces. One room is set up like a pool hall, with a fully stocked bar and mid-game billiards table — only, it’s upside down . No opportunity is wasted in rotating the camera between upright and topsy-turvy, to confuse the eye and throw the audience off balance. The choreography adds layers of visual fascination to already interesting scenes.

The movie doesn’t rely only on the puzzles to keep things interesting. The cast is also energetic and charming, playing characters who form relationships and actually react to the situations they’re placed in. The standouts are Tyler Labine ( Deadbeat ) as good-spirited Mike and Deborah Ann Woll ( Daredevil ) as the scarred veteran Amanda. Even though the characters are broadly painted, it’s easy to root for them, which makes the puzzles — and their violent payoffs — actually matter.

The writing is not without cliches. Investment banker Jason (Jay Ellis) mocks escape room fan Danny (Nik Dodani) for being a sexless, game-loving loser, which is a weird choice for a movie about games. The transformation of Zoey (Taylor Russell) from shy brainiac to badass isn’t entirely convincing, but it is satisfying to see play out.

The only stumble in pacing is at the end: The arc of the story ends long before the movie does, with the last 15 minutes spent setting up the next entry in a likely long-running franchise. Rarely have I seen a movie take such an aggressive bite of the franchise apple, even in a genre infamous for monsters resurrecting at the last moment to stumble into a sequel.

Echoing Jigsaw’s “let’s play a game” mantra, the movie knows it’s executing a formula, but it also knows how to make that formula work. Escape Room might have a long, successful series ahead — if it can keep the characters engaging and the puzzles flawless.

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Escape room, common sense media reviewers.

Constant peril, limited bloodshed in trap scare-fest.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Amid the scare-inducing premise, calm, clear think

Main character is a smart, young, black female stu

Though setup and several story elements are simila

In the process of insulting someone, a character t

Occasional profanity includes one use of "f--k," p

Teen drinking leads to a fatal car accident. A cha

Parents need to know that Escape Room is a thriller in the vein of Saw -- i.e., strangers find themselves stuck in a locked space where they must solve puzzles to avoid deathly peril -- but with toned-down violence and language. That said, while little blood or gore is shown, there's constant peril…

Positive Messages

Amid the scare-inducing premise, calm, clear thinking is championed. And teamwork is a necessity to survive.

Positive Role Models

Main character is a smart, young, black female student who's recovering from trauma. Another main character is a young man living with guilt of a fatal drunk-driving incident, trying to put his life back together. A supporting character is a brave, selfless female veteran.

Violence & Scariness

Though setup and several story elements are similar to Saw franchise, Escape Room is significantly less graphic, with notably less blood/gore. Still, elaborate traps lead to fatalities (drowning/freezing, falling, electrocution, etc.). There's a shooting, a fight that leads to a mortal wound, other murder attempts. But despite essential cruelty of the "game," the deaths aren't drawn out as they are in the Saw movies. Main element here is peril rather than explicit violence. Teen drinking leads to fatal car accident.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

In the process of insulting someone, a character talks about having sex. A couple of innuendoes.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional profanity includes one use of "f--k," plus "a--hole," "s--t," "d--k," "son of a bitch," "ass," "hell," "goddamn," "knob."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Teen drinking leads to a fatal car accident. A character smokes (it's criticized).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Escape Room is a thriller in the vein of Saw -- i.e., strangers find themselves stuck in a locked space where they must solve puzzles to avoid deathly peril -- but with toned-down violence and language. That said, while little blood or gore is shown, there's constant peril leading to death via drowning/freezing, falling, electrocution, etc., as well as fighting, attempted murder, and a fatal shooting. You can also expect occasional swearing ("ass," "s--t," etc.) and some smoking and teen drinking (the latter leads to a fatal car accident). The cast includes Taylor Russell ( Lost in Space ), Logan Miller , and Deborah Ann Woll. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Based on 12 parent reviews

Blasphemy On High

Don’t watch at all unless you really want to., what's the story.

In ESCAPE ROOM, six strangers are summoned to solve puzzles in locked spaces. And the dangers in the elaborately constructed chambers -- including the inside of a giant oven and an upside-down pool hall -- turn out to be real. The players, including brilliant but traumatized student Zoey (Taylor Russell), guilty young Ben ( Logan Miller ) who's trying to rebuild his life, and tough Iraq vet Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll), must work together to survive.

Is It Any Good?

This horror film/thriller has its virtues, but it badly strains viewers' suspension of disbelief and can't avoid feeling like Saw with duller teeth. The most fun parts of Escape Room are the occasional solvable puzzle and the detail and imagination in the sets. Production designer Edward Thomas ( Doctor Who ) is the MVP. And some of the performances, including Russell's sympathetic lead work, are good. But the movie is inconsistent in just about every other way. Some of the characters are drawn in detail, while others are thumbnail sketches leaning toward cliché. Some traps allow viewers to think along; others require information we're not given. And some are so implausible that they're likely to shake viewers out of the film. Its 10 Little Indians structure (picking off characters one at a time) and standard moral compass prevent the story from delivering significant surprises.

Plus, with its ultra-elaborate traps and unlikely amount of insider knowledge about the players, the movie can't "escape" comparisons to the much more violent, much crueler torture-porn franchise Saw . Escape Room is tailored for a younger audience, and it's certainly not as ugly as the gorier franchise -- and, thankfully, it has less of that series' bitter, faux moralistic overtones. There's some fun to be had, a few laughs, and a reasonable amount of tension throughout, with only a few jumping-out-of-the-cupboard startle scares. But predictable story beats and the movie's extreme reliance on suspension of disbelief keep Escape Room from rising too high above the genre.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence and peril in Escape Room. If you've seen horror movies like Saw , does the level of violence here feel similar to you? Why or why not? How does the impact compare?

Did the traps seem realistic/possible? Did the trapmakers' knowledge of the players seem believable? Do you require some baseline level of realism for a movie like this, or are you able to suspend your disbelief enough to go with it?

How are the women in the film portrayed? Are they weak or strong, stupid or smart, empathetic or unfeeling? Is that typical for this genre?

Movie Details

• In theaters : January 4, 2019
• On DVD or streaming : April 23, 2019
• Cast : Deborah Ann Woll , Taylor Russell , Logan Miller
• Director : Adam Robitel
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Columbia Pictures
• Genre : Horror
• Run time : 100 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : terror/perilous action, violence, some suggestive material and language
• Last updated : June 1, 2023

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Film Review – Escape Room (2019)

I think every critic shutters a bit as the calendar turns to January. Just after seeing some of the best or interesting movies of the year in December as the awards push reaches its height, we move to January, or what many call the “ dumping ground ” for movies, a time when all the slop is tossed out into theaters in quick succession. It’s another example of the universe balancing itself out, I suppose. However, though it has many major problems, Escape Room isn’t a typically awful January film, and for that, I rejoice!

The following review will be spoiler free.

Directed By:  Adam Robitel

Written By:  Bragi F. Schut and Maria Melnik

Starring:  Taylor Russell, Logan Miller , Jay Ellis, Deborah Ann Woll, Tyler Labine, and Nik Dodani

Six strangers are given the opportunity to win a large sum of money to take part in an immersive escape room. However, the group quickly learns that this “immersive” room isn’t just that. It’s deadly.

The strangers must solve each puzzle in each room…or die. But as their situation becomes more dire with every new room, the group is left to wonder: why were they chosen for this escape room in the first place?

Another January Horror Movie!

Escape Room  continues the trend of a high-concept or franchise-driven horror movies coming out on the first weekend of the new year. As studios have come to learn in the last few years, horror is arguably the most bankable genre; there’s always an audience for it and you can always produced them on the cheap. Even The Possession of Hannah Grace   more than tripled its production budget late last year.

Not only is there a horror movie trend, but there’s even more to it. Take a look at the statistics below:

Movie:  Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)

Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score:  39%

Budget:  $5 million

Worldwide Box Office Gross:  $91 million

Movie:  The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2015)

Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score:  23%

Budget:  $15 million

Worldwide Box Office Gross:  $49 million

Movie:  The Forest (2016)

Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score:  10%

Budget:  $10 million

Worldwide Box Office Gross:  $38 million

Movie:  Underworld: Blood Wars (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score:  20%

Budget:  $35 million

Worldwide Box Office Gross:  $81 million

Movie:  Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score:  32%

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $1 68 million

As you can see, there isn’t much to offer in terms of quality for these films, but they’re always profitable in some sense. This bodes well for  Escape Room  which has a mere $9 million budget and performed well in Thursday night previews. I imagine with this continued success that this trend will only continue, and I’ll be back in 2020 to alert you of the same trend.

image via IMDb

Escape Room Has an Endearingly Fun Setup

For anyone that has actually completed an escape room, I think you’ll find that the initial interplay between the group members in Escape Room plays out like a heightened version of the real thing. In each group, there’s always the person that has done WAY too many escape rooms; the person that gets far too scared with each sudden occurrence; someone who solves most of the clues; the person who thinks he or she is way too cool for escape rooms and doesn’t want to exert all of his or her energy; and the overly excited dad-type that tries to build team morale with a cheesy but kind disposition. It’s quite charming to see theses dynamics play out in these effectively elaborate puzzle rooms. It borders on farce at times as the characters becomes defined by their singular quirks, but I appreciate the thought.

Taylor Russell is simply delightful in the lead role as a nerdy college student that slowly becomes more extroverted. Her characterization of a bookworm — when given the space to act rather than simply react to the puzzle-infused chaos — is surprisingly nuanced, avoiding the pitfalls of the Hollywood version of an introvert when possible. She struggles with eye contact and speaking volume in a way that is instantly endearing and cute. You want her to survive — unlike the feeling you normally have for characters in  lackluster horror films .

Great Bits of Tension

If Escape Room succeeds at anything, it’s that it makes you incredibly antsy and nervous. I think there’s enough effort put into these characters to make it so that you have some care if they die or not — the movie is clear about which characters are sympathetic and which are complete assholes. For a movie that’s all about crafty death machines and puzzles, characters acting as conduits for those stresses are enough. (Would you ever walk into a movie entitled Escape Room and expect Oscar-level character work ?)

Escape Room reaches the minimum required level of investment, making these puzzle rooms totally engrossing. Each one of them is completely different, and each have different mechanisms for torturing and testing these characters.  Escape Room  operates with breakneck speed, moving from one set piece to another in a flash. Once the mayhem begins, there’s no letting up. I suspect that many will have a blast with this movie for that reason. If it manages to suck you in, you are 100% in for the entire time. With such a strong combination of nonstop tension and intricate room designs,  Escape Room  works  really  well as a suspense exercise.

Escape Room is Incredibly Preposterous

Still, I find myself endlessly frustrated with  Escape Room . When it works, it  really  works. But when the sheen of terror wears away and you start to dissect the logical leaps made, you realize that the foundation of  Escape Room  makes little to no sense. As with any of these high-concept terror films that trap strangers in a cruel game of life or death , there’s always some sort of greater meaning for why it’s taking place. Most of the time, these explanations are horribly lame and illogical — Escape Room ‘s reasoning falls into that camp. The actual logistics of it all are essentially impossible and incoherent. Honestly, the logically leaps are baffling at times.

The most egregious offender is the third act which peters out to one of the lamest endings of 2019. (I’ve seen into the future, and I already know that it’ll be among the most unsatisfying endings in film this entire year.) It almost ruins all of the goodwill built up to that point.

I’m not asking for much when it comes to a movie like Escape Room . But when the internal logic of the film is thinner than wet tissue paper, we have serious problems.

image via iHeartRadio

Final Thoughts

I’m so torn on  Escape Room . It’s a thrill-a-minute experience that has so many neat and intricate details that are both fun and tension-filled. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t feel perpetually uneasy by its sequences — I think that many people who focus on these pieces of  Escape Room  will leave the theater happy. Still, I couldn’t help but be frustrated by this movie’s annoying and illogical choices .

One of my favorite fellow critics is William Bibbiani — you should seek out his writings and podcasts if you don’t already do so. He likes to use the term “four-star, three-star movie” when a movie doesn’t have high aspirations but does what it set out to do exceedingly well. In the case of  Escape Room , I think this is a four-star, two-star movie. It’s probably not a good movie, but man is it watchable!

image via Variety

Thank you for reading! What are you thoughts on Escape Room? Comment down below!

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A current young professional in the Richmond, Virginia area, Nick founded MovieBabble in October of 2016 when he was a bored college student with nothing else to do. (And he kicks himself every day that his story isn't better.) Nick is also a member of the Online Film Critics Society, the Internet Film Critics Society and the Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association. You can follow him on Twitter @nkush42

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Does the production budget include everything? I thought just the marketing of a movie alone costs millions. This movie is extremely profitable. It’s going to clear more than $100 million. It is unbelievable how profitable these tiny budget pictures are. It’s a wonder the studios will shell out for big budget films. If 10 of these little films could rake in $1 billion, what incentive do I have to risk $200 million to make Black Panther? I think Panther is at $1.3 billion now, but what if it had been a flop? Low budget horror is where it’s at. Low risk, high return.

The production budget doesn’t include everything! There’s always the extra costs of marketing, points given to people who worked on the project, and other various costs, but that’s why there’s a 2-2.5 multiplier rule when it comes to judging whether or not a movie is financially successful. It’s a standard that a movie has to earn 2-2.5 times its production budget to earn a profit, although that measure does skew at times as you might imagine with other factors involved. But that’s one of the reasons that the production budget is always reported — it’s the easiest and most readily available metric to offer! Hope that helps! :)

And yes, you’re certainly right about low-budget horror! But also, if a massive tentpole project hits, it can fund dozens of smaller movies that can in turn break out and earn the studio lots of money. It’s all about assessing risk.

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Escape Room Review

01 Feb 2019

Escape Room

One of a long list of films based on pop-culture fads — hello, Lambada — Escape Room is a film about the recent ‘experiential’ trend in which the players — often office workers on ‘team building’ events — have to solve a series of clues and puzzles to get out of a locked space in a set time. It’s a handy crutch on which to support a scary, suspenseful flick in the vein of The Game , Cube or Saw , but unfortunately, playing for thrills rather than torture porn, Adam Robitel’s film gets about halfway in terms of delivering on the promise.

After a flash-forward to a character in deep doo-doo, the set-up is a little mechanical, introducing us one by one to the (thinly drawn) key players as they are invited to the game via a little black box bearing the old Cannon films logo. So we meet shy but genius maths student Zoey (Taylor Russell), cynical millennial Ben (Logan Miller), dedicated escape roomer Danny (Nik Dodani), scarred Iraq War vet Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll), blue-collar trucker Mike (Tyler Labine) and smarmy financial whizz Jason (Jay Ellis).

The characters lack dimensions.

Alighting in a huge deserted building, things pick up when the games begin: firstly, when the plush waiting room actually morphs into the first challenge, threatening to burn the players alive; the next throws them into a picturesque winter wonderland where — wouldn’t you know — the ice starts to melt and crack. And the third space is the best of all: a huge bar with a pool table and gigantic juke box (playing a slowed-down version of Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’ on loop) that is revealed to be upside down, the floor/ceiling falling away to reveal a deadly drop.

Up until now, it’s been a fun game morphing into a battle of survival, with some neat licks (there’s a nifty task where characters have to keep a series of glasses full at all time) — although the puzzles never extend to allow the audience to play along. Like most films of its ilk, the effort has gone into the contraptions, meaning the characters lack dimensions. As the machinations continue and it is revealed that the game-players are all connected in some way, the already high level of contrivance is further amped up, triggering exasperation. By the time the last door is unlocked, it is hard to care.

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‘Escape Room’ (2019) is campy good fun (review)

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

Escape rooms have risen in popularity, and the aptly-named 2019 thriller “ Escape Room ” aims to capitalize on that trend. Directed by Adam Robitel , the film is ripe with gorgeous set design, awe-inspiring effects, and a solid cast of characters. The third act somewhat unravels as the narrative prematurely sets its sights on a sequel, but it’s nevertheless B-movie fun.

While gathered in the waiting area, the group anticipates the arrival of the Gamemaster. When Ben attempts to leave, the door handle pops off signaling that the challenge has already started and the waiting area is the first room. However, the initial escape room is a massive oven that, unsurprisingly, causes panic. Resident escape room enthusiast Danny reassures his fellow escape room comrades that it’s standard fare. But in the next room, a winter cabin, things take a deadly turn.

“Escape Room” remains a taut psychological thriller for its entirety. Although the audience is introduced to a few of the characters at the onset, their backstories are shrouded in an air of mystery. As such, the audience is just as much involved in the puzzle-solving as the on-screen characters. Peppered throughout the different escape rooms are clues from the players’ pasts which serve to flesh out their backgrounds. Likewise, the characters and audience jointly attempt to decipher why the players were called together for this specific escape room.

Set design is absolutely marvelous. Inventive environments glisten on-screen with colors that truly pop. As the players progress, the rooms become increasingly elaborate ranging from the waiting area oven and winter cabin to a grimy hospital ward and a hallucinatory room plucked straight out of an “Alice in Wonderland” nightmarish dreamscape. The highlight room is a billiards room with a twist/

Cinematography is gorgeous throughout. One scene finds a room where everything’s upside down. The camera begins with this particular setting as it would be expected, then pans out and rotates to show players transfixed in a disorienting escape room. It’s a masterful use of the camera.

In the third act, “Escape Room” gets away from itself a bit. After reaching a decent stopping point, the movie continues, unnecessarily setting up a sequel. That’s not to say a sequel is unwanted. On the contrary, the film establishes a fascinating shadowy company in Minos Escape Rooms. But it could have simply wrapped up its characters’ arcs, saving a sequel to pick up where the original left off. Acting performances are solid all-around. Admittedly, the characters’ various personal histories aren’t the most inventive, but they don’t need to be. Enough intrigue is fostered by the players themselves and the sinister escape room. Additionally, in killing off a character early on and unexpectedly, “Escape Room” proves that nobody is safe. Thus, the whole film features a successfully tense atmosphere.

Exciting, highly entertaining, and pleasantly original, “Escape Room” is an edge-of-your-seat romp. The detailed sets, mystifying puzzle-solving elements, and likable characters make it a juicy psychological thriller. The effects are superb, with impressive stunt work and CG that pairs well with practical effects. But the movie is at its best when confined to itself, rather than looking ahead to a sequel.

This post may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in affiliate programs such as the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. However, all products are thoroughly tested and reviews are honest and unbiased.

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Movie Review – Escape Room (2019)

February 10, 2019 by Helen Murdoch

Escape Room , 2019.

Directed by Adam Robitel Starring Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, Deborah Ann Woll, Nik Dodani and Yorick van Wageningen

Six strangers find themselves in a maze of deadly mystery rooms, and must use their wits to survive.

Escape Room takes a lot of cues from a range of high concept thrillers such as Exam (2009), Cube (1997), with homages to Saw (2004) and many more ( The Belko Experiment, Hostel ) thrown in. Capitalising on the team building exercise that every corporate seems to think is a great idea, this time around our unsuspecting targets have all been selected to take part in a high intensity escape room experience. Once they’ve entered the high stakes game they realise that the traps are deadly and the consequence for failure is death.

What it lacks in originality, Escape Room makes up for in highly entertaining, stupid fun. The escape rooms are inventive – a room that transforms into an oven, a treacherous frozen lake – and the characters are thin but likeable enough. There are loads of inventive deaths and there are some genuinely tense moments throughout where you’re not sure how the team are going to escape. The players are a smorgasbord of characters that we’ve seen before. Amanda (Harper) is the tough veteran, Mike (Labine) the trusty father figure, Zoey (Russell) the quiet teen, Ben (Miller) is the burnout, Danny (Dodani) is the ultra-geek and Jason (Jay) is the slick and arrogant one. Having said this, the concept of Escape Room doesn’t allow for much character growth and this works within the context of the film. The screenwriters aren’t trying to make a bold statement, they want to entertain the audience and kill people in inventive ways. All of the cast deliver solid performances with Logan Miller generating the most sympathy as the guilt ridden Ben. Similarly any film with Tyler Labine in it automatically becomes more interesting as he always delivers a solid performance.

At a tight 100 minutes, there is no bloating with Escape Room . Characters are introduced quickly and before we know it they’re fighting for their lives. The puzzles are interesting and there are some fantastic visuals throughout. One room in particular stands out when the group wind up in a bar with the furniture stuck to the ceiling. As the camera spins so the furniture is facing the right way up, our characters look like they’re defying gravity and these little tricks help build the tension so that each room feels fresh and challenging.

In true Hollywood studio style there is set up for a sequel which – depending on box office numbers – seems inevitable. The set-up does work but it feels like something we’ve seen a thousand times before and done better. A second Escape Room might be entertaining but there is only so far you can go with this concept before we end up with fatigue as audiences did with Saw, Cube, Hostel and so on. Nevertheless, Escape Room is a fun and silly thriller with some good performances, great visuals and tense set pieces.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Helen Murdoch

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Porn Star Rocco Siffredi’s Netflix Bio-Series ‘Supersex’ Is More Tedious Than Sexy: TV Review

By Aramide Tinubu

Aramide Tinubu

• Tubi’s ‘Boarders’ Is a Hilarious and Moving View of Black Students Navigating White Spaces: TV Review 5 days ago
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• Porn Star Rocco Siffredi’s Netflix Bio-Series ‘Supersex’ Is More Tedious Than Sexy: TV Review 1 week ago

Loosely based on the experiences of real-life porn sensation Rocco Siffredi , known as the “Italian Stallion,” Netflix ’s “ Supersex ” isn’t actually very sexy at all. Instead, the seven-part series, created by Francesca Manieri, is a tale about family, masculinity and toxic bonds. While the show, which stars Alessandro Borghi in the lead role, has some interesting chapters, the surrealist elements — including some hallucinatory moments and the bizarre way some of the sex scenes are filmed — make it more than a biographical account. Instead, it’s an overly complex examination of relationships and the vices people indulge in to escape their emotional turmoil.

Series opener “Superpower” acts mainly as a coming-of-age story. Following Rocco’s retirement news, the show zips back to 1974. Ten-year-old Rocco Tano feels trapped in the impoverished rural town of Ortona and lost in the chaos of his family life. His mother is devoted to his mentally disabled brother Claudio, and Rocco lives in the shadow of his charismatic older half-brother, Tommaso (Adriano Giannini). Tommaso is Rocco’s North Star. He represents a type of freedom and hypermasculinity that appears out of reach for the men of Ortona. Tommaso also has the love of the town’s most stunning woman, Lucia (Jasmine Trinca), which only endears Rocco to him further.

In addition to examining Rocco’s family dynamic, “Supersex” zooms in on his fixation on sex, which begins at a very young age. The series unpacks his crush on Lucia and later his discovery of “Supersex,” a pornography magazine starring Gabriel Pontello. The euphoria from observing and later engaging in sex is a feeling Rocco chases across the next three decades. But his sex work comes at the expense of his mental health. It also destroys the romances and familial bonds he tries to form and maintain.

Despite a lifelong admiration of Tommaso’s machismo, his brother’s treatment of Lucia, who funds their lifestyle through her sex work on the streets of Paris, slowly shifts Rocco’s point of view. An invitation to a sex club awakens previously unknown desires. Becoming a porn star gives him financial security, but his inner turmoil stems from trying to live up to the expectations his family places on him.

“Supersex” dwells far too long on Rocco’s dysfunctional brotherhood with Tommaso, giving the toxic and exhausting connection unneeded exposition. Fewer episodes and less time spent on the self-destructive café manager would have kept the storyline squarely on Rocco’s psyche. Moreover, Manieri positions Lucia’s life as a counternarrative to Rocco’s. As with Rocco’s female co-stars, she isn’t allowed the same agency and status he obtains. Women are sexualized and then vilified for being sexual in the same breath. While Lucia eventually finds herself on a new path, it’s not without suffering and sacrifice, difficulties Rocco never contends with. The pair are an intriguing juxtaposition, but this mirroring gets muddled under their dark pull toward Tommaso. Similarly, Rocco’s enthusiasm for rough sex acts is never fully explored.

Still, “Supersex” makes some smart choices. Intercourse and other types of sex are showcased, of course, but these scenes aren’t gratuitous. Instead, they illustrate Rocco’s emotional state as he deals with loss and yearning or even demonstrate his self-worth.

The penultimate episode, “Resurrection of the Bodies,” is the standout and centers on Rocco’s return to Ortona amid his mother’s illness and one of the biggest highlights of his career, winning best European actor at the Hot d’Or Awards. In 53 minutes, Rocco confronts the effects of shame and how so-called family members react to him when he’s no longer playing by their rules.

Though Rocco’s story is solidly depicted, audiences hoping for a bio-series-type narrative won’t find it here. It’s also worth noting that Netflix offers a dubbed English version, but the show is best viewed in Italian with subtitles. Overall, “Supersex” isn’t just an examination of one man’s life and career but a look at the lives people create, however unconventional, when they dare to move through the world as their most authentic selves.

“Supersex” premieres March 6 on Netflix .

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