The Horror Show
Escape Room
by Peter Dukes
Escape Room is a unique take on a single room type horror movie. It's eighty-six minutes long and you feel every minute, but that's not really a bad thing.
The movie starts off with eight minutes of a foreign language and a very beige setting. There are no subtitles at all, but it conveys everything you need to know about this ominous box being buried in the desert. After a crazy opening we get the credits and meet Brice, played by Skeet Ulrich. Brice is the owner of a horror-themed escape room called Deranged. Once a hot attraction, Deranged is starting to fail. While out one day, Brice stumbles into a curiosity shop and finds the box, aptly named The Skull Box. Eleanor, played by Sean Young, tells him it's not for sale and says it's one of the world's most cursed objects. He, of course, steals it and places it in his escape room.
Enter our protagonists, four friends who are interested in the escape room. Jeff and Ben are horror fanatics and I identified with them instantly. Their girlfriends, Jess and Angie, aren't fans at all. We get a little character building between the couples which was nice. They all meet up at Deranged, they're introduced to Brice, and then the fun begins!
It starts out like any escape room. Look for clues. Look for puzzles. Unlock the door. The four scramble around the room when Jeff realizes they're not alone. Chained to the wall is a menacing figure of a man with a sack over his head. They continue to try and work out their escape when they hear a strange sound. The four sleuths figure out that every hour a little more of the maniac's chains are let loose, and he's getting closer. This would all be well and good, except right before they found Stitchface, Jeff found the skull box and opened it. The actor that was playing the killer is now possessed by the demon within the box. This is no longer just a game.
This movie was alright with okay characters. The killer was neat. The premise on the whole was good, it was just kind of boring. Not so boring that you don't enjoy it, but boring enough that I got up and made a sandwich while watching it.
It was nice to see Skeet Ulrich back in a horror movie and even though he will always be the poor man's Johnny Depp to me, he did a great job. He was one of the highlights of the movie.
Escape Room wasn't the worst movie I've seen, but it's not going to win any awards. It's fun enough to give it a watch and at eighty-six minutes you get your money's worth.
Robin Thompson, HMS
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