When I first saw the trailer for Escape Room, I didn't even think to compare it to Saw. I more or so likened it to my favorite visual novel series Zero Escape. You know, the trilogy of games started with 999, ending with Zero Time Dilemma? OK, it's a niche series but the premise of strangers coming together and exit various puzzle filled rooms with death consequences screams Zero Escape. Upon watching it, I see the similarities I originally thought were right but it does have more in common with Saw than anything else.
The film is centered around six people; Zoey, Ben, Amanda, Mike, Jason and Danny as they travel to the mystery Minos Escape Room Facility at a chance to win $10,000 for doing an escape room simulation. Upon arriving, security takes their phones as to not give away answers to the puzzles to potential clients. Resident escape room master Danny sneaks in a 2nd phone anyway. While in the waiting room together, Ben gets antsy and goes to take a smoke break. When he reaches for the handle, it breaks off and they realize they're trapped in, with Danny guessing this is apart of the simulation. As they keep finding more and more clues, the room starts to heat up. They eventually get out of the room, just as the room erupts into flames. I'll keep this part spoiler free, but it continues to ramp up from there.
It's hard to talk further about the film without spoiling it, so I'm going to cover the spoiler text so those who do want to see the film can do so and try to guess what's going on for themselves. If you want to read for yourself, please highlight the text below.
We find out that all six of them weren't voluntarily chosen at random; they were all the sole survivors of some tragic incident. Zoey survived a plane crash that took her mother's life, Ben was the drunk driver in a car that killed his friends, Amanda survived an IED blast in Iraq, Mike survived a cave in and heard his brother's final breath, Jason was stranded in the middle of the ocean with his friend on a boat and killed him to survive and Danny survived carbon monoxide poisoning while his family didn't. All the rooms have something designed from their individuals traumas as well.
The film actually opens with Ben trying to escape from what is the final room (as all 5 others died trying to escape) and while the opening depicts him dying, he actually survives and meets The Gamemaster. He reveals that this isn't the first game they've done and that they usually do connecting themes, such as lone survivors of traumas like they experienced. Ben asks if he can leave but the Gamemaster tries to kill him to keep the secret of the games. Zoey ends up surviving in a previous room and returns to help Ben kill the Gamemaster. As they go to the police and bring them to the building, they realize it was too late and the evidence has already been wiped clean. Six months past and Zoey learns the location of the Minos HQ and invites Ben to go and take them down once and for all. The film cuts to the facility and shows them preparing for a new simulation with a new Gamemaster, who says a familiar 'let the games begin' line.
They desperately want to make this film into a franchise. The final moments basically setting up a sequel was pretty ballsy. The Gamemaster basically saying Jigsaw's line about games and not revealing the identity of the new Gamemaster leads me to believe this; Tobin Bell will be cast in the sequel. I will accept nothing less. Then the twist in the sequel will be that it's all a prequel to the Saw series and this is how Jigsaw got his start. Calling it now.
All jokes aside, I enjoyed the movie. The characters are all obvious tropes though. Zoey's the leader, Jason the jock/jerk, Mike is the comic relief, Danny is the nerd, Ben is the burnout and Amanda is tough female. They played their tropes perfectly. Jason never becomes a redeemable character and I hated him as soon as his pompous self came on screen. Mike was one of my favorites, mainly because he's played by Tyler Labine, who I've loved since Reaper on CW. Even when situations seemed dark, he was always there to say some type of one liner. When the movie revealed all of the tragic pasts of the characters, I felt for everyone, except Jason. Mainly because I hate him and he sucks but everyone else had a reason for being the way that they are and it shined through. This was my first time seeing Taylor Russell is an acting role as I still haven't watched Lost in Space on Netflix but I couldn't help but to fall in love with her portrayal of Zoey. Smart, shy and ambitious, she was a bright light in the movie. I'd love to see more of her so I think Lost in Space just shot up my list.
I don't have too many negative things to say about the film other than that it's a bit familiar. Again, I've already compared it to Saw and while these people weren't kidnapped like in that movie, they still have to solve puzzles to avoid death. I'm also not a big fan of PG-13 horror/thriller movies. Lights Out and Happy Death Day were fantastic movies that didn't suffer from the rating but as you can see, it's once in a blue moon where it's a successful PG-13 horror movie. I think the movie could have used a little more blood to drive the intense scenes up a bit more. Also, the ending, while ballsy as I said, will be stupid down the line if they don't do a sequel.
Escape Room is a fun film. It has its jokes, it's dark points and it's thrilling moments. The film has performed higher than expected and I think it's because of its premise. Escape rooms are a thrilling adventure and the thought of getting trapped in one is a frightening thought, especially if you don't know the puzzles to get out. It's my first film of 2019 and while it's not perfect or even better than Saw, it's still a good time spent in theaters. If you're looking for a suspense filled trip to start off your new year, I highly recommend Escape Room.
7.5/10
The first movie of the year was pretty good. It got the job done effectively and was thrilling from start to finish. Next up, Happy Death Day 2U! I'm so excited after the surprisingly good original. See you again with another movie review come Valentine's weekend!
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