ESCAPE ROOM tells the story of a half-dozen strangers trapped in a series of rooms who need to figure out why they’re there and/or discover a way out. Also, the rooms are trying to kill them. We’ve seen this before (CUBE and MAZE RUNNER come to mind) and while ESCAPE ROOM sometimes plays like a bloodless, young-adult version of the SAW films, it’s an interesting PG-13 attempt at something a little different. Despite the generic promises of its title, ESCAPE ROOM is not as stale a take on the convention as you might expect. It begins with a nice Twilight Zone-style vibe to it, but the story tips its hand too soon, runs out of ideas, and fails to sustain suspense.
ESCAPE ROOM is a cash-in in on those interactive adventure games that have popped up in strip malls. Places where folks pay to solve a series of puzzles and riddles using clues, hints, and strategy to complete objectives and get out “alive” within a set time limit. That’s basically this film’s plot and it’s what Jason (Jay Ellis), Zoey (Taylor Russell), Danny (Nik Dodani), Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll), Mike (Tyler Labine), and Ben (Logan Miller) think they’re getting into as the story begins, but they soon learn that it’s no game and that the rooms have murderous intentions.
ESCAPE ROOM is a decent thriller, its plot structured to keep the audience guessing, and it does take these six strangers and the story to imaginative places. It’s ambitious enough and it held my attention with its pretzel-logic plot, at least for the first half. A big problem with the script is that these rooms become less and less interesting as the story progresses. The sequence in the first room, a seemingly normal den that begins turning into an oven, is clever and exciting. Room 2 isn’t a room at all, but an exterior near a frozen pond, a scene that seems to go on forever. Room 3 is an inverted pool hall, which makes for some eye-popping visuals but the sequence also seems to run on. At about the one hour mark, ESCAPE ROOM runs out of steam and starts revealing secrets about these characters and why they’re there. It turns out they all share a certain trait, but it’s not a particularly compelling twist. The story eventually enters CABIN IN THE WOODS territory, with a showdown with the game-masters behind the curtain, which spells out too much and seems anti-climactic. Though never for a moment original, ESCAPE ROOM forges ahead with the kind of conviction and energy that may keep horror junkies entertained, at least for a while. While the strength of ESCAPE ROOM is some early tension, the weakness in is the dialogue, which sometimes turns remarkably trite. The cast is comprised of attractive actors that young viewers may recognize from TV shows, but nobody stands out. Keep your expectations low and you may find ESCAPE ROOM just crafty enough to warrant your time.
3 of 5 Stars
