Escape Room (2019) Dir: Adam Robitel
- Ridley Coote
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
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The idea of a horror film set within an escape room actually sounded quite compelling, to my mind, so when I came across this Adam Robitel directed film from 2019, I thought I'd give it a go. The reviews were pretty mediocre, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee a bad viewing experience. I was hoping for a film that didn't take itself too seriously, and honed in on the fun aspect of its, let's face it, absurd premise.
Unfortunately, that didn't really happen. I thought some of the rooms had interesting concepts, but none of them really felt as exciting as I had hoped for. If anything, I think the way the rooms were executed made the film feel like a very watered down version of one of the 'Saw' films. They weren't terrible, nor were they wholly uncreative, but it really felt like a concept that could be taken that step further.
It didn't help matters that the story was extremely weak, particularly once the characters made their way into the first escape room. It was very much an 'and then' kinr of film - just going from room to room, screaming, arguing, or dying, along the way. There were also some noticeable pacing issues, which slowed the film down and killed most of its momentum. This in turn wasn't helped by the uninspired dialogue, which left me bored and un-invested in the characters.
Taylor Russell's quiet and nerdy protagonist did not particularly introgue me, even though the actor was clearly trying. The same complaint could be levied at each of the other actors in the film, though, if anything, to a worse extent. I had hope for Logan Miller and Deborah Ann Woll but was ultimately left rather underwhelmed by both of them. Tyler Labine and Nik Dodani had some decent moments, but were underutilised, but, by far, my least favourite performer was Jay Ellis, who felt so forced and forgettable in his role.
Overall, I thought this was a pretty bang-average horror film, which only partially capitalised on its fairly interesting, if not entirely unique, premise. If you sort of liked 'Saw', but the explicit violence was a bit much for you, then this might be the film for you. It also serves as adequate movie night viewing for casual film and horror fans, though don't expect anything too impressive.
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