Run for cover. Escape Room is a terrible movie\, says Rashid Irani

Run for cover. Escape Room is a terrible movie, says Rashid Irani

Six strangers think they’ve signed up for a mystery game, only to find that their lives are in danger. It’s an interesting premise, destroyed by poor writing and execution.

movie reviews Updated: Feb 01, 2019 17:06 IST
Disaster chases the players as they make their way from one room to another in a deserted Chicago building. Believe me when I say, it sounds a lot more exciting than it is.
ESCAPE ROOM
  • Direction: Adam Robitel
  • Actors: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller
  • Rating: 0.5 / 5

Escape Room has a potentially interesting premise. Unfortunately, the film is so dull, derivative and incompetent, it gives the horror genre a bad name.

It’s directed by Adam Robitel — who also made the overlooked The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) and the fright-free Insidious: The Last Key (2018). Why they call him a horror aficionado is not clear. Here we have yet another survival-themed adventure, with a ragtag group of six strangers placed in a deserted Chicago building.

Each fresh ‘horror’ is as predictable as it is tacky. The only really scary part is the hint of a sequel at the end.

They think they’ve signed up for a mystery game that requires them to break out of a maze of booby-trapped rooms in order to collect a prize of $10,000. As it turns out, this is not a game (gasp!). They now risk losing their lives as they fight to escape. Believe me when I say, it sounds more exciting than it is.

Each fresh ‘horror’ is as predictable as it is tacky. Replete with artsy flourishes, the film wears out its welcome long before the climax that sets up the (truly frightening) possibility of a sequel.

Don’t even attempt to solve the puzzle; just stay away from the Escape Room.

First Published: Feb 01, 2019 17:06 IST