PopHorror Let's Get Scared
An exciting new suspense thriller called Escape Room is now available. Directed by Will Wernick (Alone 2010, The Breaks 2014), the film stars Evan Williams (Degrassi: The Next Generation TV series, Awkward TV series), Pray for Rain’s (2017) Annabelle Stephenson and John Ierardi, Elisabeth Hower (Louie TV series, Suits TV series), Dan J. Johnson (Switched At Birth TV series, Factory of Lies 2012), Kelly Delson (The Adventures of Superseven TV series, Superseven Is Still My Name 2015). The script was co-written by Wernick and Noah Dorsey (Merchants of Venice 2016, When the Men Go Off to War 2014).
The plot seems deceptively simple: An ordinary, almost boring couple, Christen (Hower) and Tyler (Williams), are at the stage of their relationship where they are beginning to get serious. It’s his birthday, and the couple is eating out with a group of four friends who are comfortable enough with each other that they each know what the others are going to order, and it plays off as a joke.
For Tyler’s gift, Christen gets them all tickets to a swanky escape room, although she tells them at the last minute that she has other plans and can’t join them. At first, the escape room seems like a ton of fun. They laugh when they see Christen trapped in a cage and find out that they have 40 minutes to get her out. Eventually, they realize that their friend might really be in trouble.
So, let’s go over the good parts first. The scares are good, and for a film shot in one or two rooms, Escape Room ratchets up the tension and keeps it there. Also, the gore, when it is there, is pretty terrific. This is not a movie that is special effects heavy, but the few times it’s used, the filmmakers make the most with what they have.
Now, the not so good. While the acting was decent, Escape Room suffers from the lack of a decent character. None of the personalities in this film were very likeable, and that made rooting for any one of them difficult. The music is hit or miss. There is one particular scene where the score is used to spectacular effect, and others where it feels like it is beamed in from another movie.
Despite a few faults, Escape Room is a solid first feature directing effort from Wernick, who certainly has a feel for the thriller genre. I look forward to seeing what he has coming up in the future!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI2MbS-e_us
