A group of strangers navigate a series of deadly tricks and traps in a movie that, if nothing else, does what it says on the box
“Escape Room” filmmaker Adam Robitel has carved out a funny little niche for himself as the director of the first wide-release movie of the new year, two years running. Robitel rang in 2018 with “Insidious: The Last Key,” a functional but forgettable shocker in the “Insidious” franchise. Which was, in retrospect, perfectly fitting for a disturbing year, one that we somehow managed to collectively get through but which many of us would prefer never to talk about again. Maybe he was onto something.
Here’s the good news: “Escape Room,” Robitel’s latest New Year’s gift to the world, is a definite improvement. This gimmicky William Castle-inspired thriller is 10 pounds of silly in a five-pound bag, but you know that going in. It’s a movie about escape rooms that literally kill you, and if you’re willing to buy into that premise, it’s about as good as a movie with that premise could probably be. So, hey, 2019 is looking up.
“Escape Room” stars an eclectic cast of characters, each of whom receives a mysterious invitation to try out a brand-new, “escape room” experience. For those who don’t know, the movie will explain it to you (probably more than necessary), but suffice it to say “escape rooms” are a group activity where you and a group of other people are locked in a room, and you can’t get out unless you solve a puzzle by searching your surroundings for clues, which range from simple to clever to frustratingly esoteric.
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The contestants, who are promised $10,000 if they win the game, include a shy math wizard (Taylor Russell, “Lost in Space”), a frustrated burnout (Logan Miller, “Love, Simon”), a cheerful trucker (Tyler Labine, “New Amsterdam”), an alpha-male businessman (Jay Ellis, “Insecure”), a scarred war veteran (Deborah Ann Woll, “Daredevil”) and an escape-room expert (Nik Dodani, “Murphy Brown”) who’s mostly just here for exposition.
