Jeri Jacquin
This week on DVD, Digital HD and On Demand from director
Will Wernick and Lionsgate is a thrill in tight spaces and what it takes to
survive from the ESCAPE ROOM.
Christen (Elisabeth Hower) wants to do something unique for
her boyfriend Tyler’s (Evan Williams) big thirtieth birthday. Boarding a
chauffer bus, they all turn over their cell phones and purses being told they
are participating in mysterious escape room game.
Toasting with champagne, they drive around the city with
blacked out windows waiting to arrive at their destination. Walking in the
building it is dark and has an eerie look about it but that doesn’t stop their
excitement of the game. Along with Natasha (Annabelle Stephenson), Anderson
(Dan J. Johnson), Conrad (John Ierardi) and Tabby (Kelly Delson), they begin to
explore their surroundings.
Coupled in separate room, they each are set a task of
getting out of what ever restraints they have been put in. The only one alone
is Tyler who isn’t sure what his task is going to be and Christen isn’t with
him. Discovering Anderson and Natasha in the next room, now the three of them
work on the next clues to get out of their rooms.
That leads them to lovebirds Tabby and Conrad who make quick
work of their puzzle. In each room they also find a mysterious card. Still
looking for Christen they are weirded out when they see her in a cage and
realize they have 45 minutes to get her out.
Room by room they look for clues but things begin to go
horribly wrong and panic sets in. Tyler, Natasha and Anderson are now fighting
for the life of Christen as the clock shows them no mercy and escape seems
hopeless.
It’s not a game any longer.
Williams as Tyler
is sharp and leads the group in solving the puzzles. With the exception of a
momentary breakdown, he knows it’s time to focus and get them all out alive. To
be honest I think I’d follow him before the others who seem to be losing it.
Stephenson as Natasha begins with other things on her mind, or perhaps I should
say some other person. She doesn’t let go of it and it becomes her crazy
trigger.
Johnson as Anderson
seems to get plenty of grief from girlfriend Natasha and I’m fairly sure I’d be
setting her up if I were him. Ierardi as Conrad is just a guy that is pretty
crazy about girlfriend Tabby (they are cute if not a little saccharin laden)
who happens to be celebrating a friends’ birthday. I might rethink ever going
to a friend’s birthday ever again.
Hower as Christen has the crazy role of sitting in a cage
and watching everything that happens to her friends. The good news is that at
least her friends thought enough of her to try and figure out how to rescue
her.
I have to give a serious shout out to the blue eyed sexy
Billy Flynn who opens the film. Yes, I knew right away that Chad from the
soap Days of Our Lives was going to
be cool to watch. My only downside is the big question – why couldn’t he have
been in it more?
Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production
and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre
franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK. Now,
adding this film to it’s 16,000 motion picture and television titles you can
see everything coming soon as well as available now at http://www.lionsgate.com.
ESCAPE ROOM has the Special Features of a Director’s Commentary, Deleted Scenes,
Bloopers and a Trailer Gallery. I
had to watch the bloopers and they totally cracked me up which is a little
twisted for a thriller/horror film right?
ESCAPE ROOM is a thriller that has some real cool bite to
it. The clues are crafty and clever and if I was ever in that situation you
might as well take me out early. I never would have thought of (without giving
anything away) the intricacies of the clues – well played!
This is also the perfect film if, like me, you happen to
love spending the entire month of October watching one thriller-horror a night!
I mean isn’t that what everyone does? It’s a way to bring together the love of
being scared out of our wits and ESCAPE ROOM certainly qualified!
In the end – will you survive?
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