REVIEW By Fidele Lungieki
Falling through the air vent of an old vintage room, a battered and bruised man attempts to find clues to break out of an escape room.
He clutches his ribs, limping, screaming in agony with every step. As the walls begin closing in, he gets no closer to finding the four numbers needed to stop the walls from crushing him alive.
Escape Room (2019) is a horror and sci-fi film aired on Netflix, directed by Adam Robitel. The psychological thriller, produced by Neal Morris and Ori Marmur, follows six strangers from different backgrounds taking part in an escape room to win $10,000.
However, this isn’t just an ordinary escape room, as the individuals find themselves in drastic circumstances.
Do the six manage to solve the escape rooms? Well, that’s a question in itself.
If you’re looking for a dramatically engaging action thriller with expectational cinematography to watch with friends and family, then it’s time to put Escape Room on your screens.
The first room is a lobby that slowly transforms into a giant oven. While the contestants think they are getting closer to escaping, infrared heaters activate with every incorrect answer. Repeatedly.
After perspiring profusely, the team are eventually on fire, finding the clues needed to escape. A giant gas hob descends from the ceiling and combusts the room to smithereens.
Remind me never to try out an escape room.
For someone with a short attention span, that’s one way to keep my eyes glued to the screen. The creativity was unmatched – all that was going through my head was how smart the group were, especially college student, Zoey (Taylor Russell). From a frozen lake cabin to an upside-down billiards bar, I would’ve given up just as fast as Amanda (Deborah Woll) tried to after the first escape room.
One of the main themes Escape Room captures are the different steps to navigating life; being a lonesome wolf, with the survival of the fittest mentality, and opening up to others and going through life’s hurdles in solidarity. Despite having more ups and downs and adrenaline than The Smiler, it still manages to portray significant life lessons.
After many twists and turns, you would think with 10 minutes left, there would a reasonable, happy ending, right? Wrong. My jaw was on the floor at the end of the film – talk about cliffhangers.
I’m going to have to cut this short as I’m in a hurry to watch the sequel, Escape Room: Tournament of the Champions. I’m in desperate need to know how it all plays out.
