Escape Room

“Solve the Puzzle. Escape the Room. Find the clues or die.”

Filmology Rating: 2.25 out of 4

Guess what folks Sony is back once again to ruin their reputation. Here's a horror film in January, so it must be good. Six strangers are trapped in a room which they think is a game and they have to escape yada yada yada... Personally, this film looked like a flammable train about to tumble off the tracks down a mountaintop into an oil truck when I saw the trailer. However, my expectations were so low, that the film easily hopped over my low bar and went into the "watchable without torture" category.

The writing of this film is what was most irritating. The screenwriter tries to write something smarter but falls flat on his face and goes into pretentious territory. None of the characters in this film are likeable at all, so it feels exactly like Saw 5. It is very similar to that film, but it doesn't have the R rating. This is also the same director who did the recent Insidious film exactly a year ago which wasn't the worst thing ever. He does have some sparks of creativity throughout. The film does have some clever set pieces and it was interesting to try and figure out the puzzles in each room as the characters moved forward.

The middle was mildly enjoyable enough to hold my attention until the third act starts. The film took a huge nose-dive and became really dumb, funny, and just cringe worthy. Near the end, the film asks some very good questions about morality and all these mysterious people behind the escape room game, then doesn't give you the answers. Instead, does sequel bait and says, "You'll have to watch the next one to find what happens next!" It was like a dumb TV show. Except I'll never see the next one.

I'm sure the studio wanted to turn this into a series (the chief of Sony Pictures has said he made a goal of establishing cinematic universes). So I got a movie that barely makes it onto the green. Sony kicks the ball into the pond. Thanks Sony.

Rating: Skip It

-Nolan