Six strangers are thrown together in the titular Escape Room…

After having had to prop my eyes open with matchsticks to endure the worthy earnest pomposity of George Clooney’s Midnight Sky, I could feel myself going the full Una Thurman. I was in need of an adrenaline shot straight to the heart if I was to make it into 2021. Luckily Escape Room, currently streaming on Netflix, was there to do the trick.

Escape Room is the B-moviest of B-Movies. I tried slicing it open and it had B-Movie written through it like a stick of Blackpool B-Movie rock. Six strangers are thrown together as they enter a mysterious sequence of deadly escape rooms which they soon realise are tailored to their own deepest and most personal fears. Who will survive and why? Who is behind their dastardly entrapment? This is all you need to know. This is Ronseal film making that does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s gloriously predictable puzzle horror where the fun is in trying to stay one step ahead of the characters as each room unfolds its terrors with the precision of a Swiss watch. Think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory crossed with Final Destination with the tiniest soupçon of Saw thrown in for good measure.

So when I say it’s a B-Movie I am not using the term as a pejorative in any way. I would rather watch Escape Room a million times than A Midnight Sky with its aspirations for Oscar greatness. Why? Because Escape Room knows what it is, and director Adam Robitel loves and understands the genre and wants to share his joy with anyone who drops in for the ride. For sure, he plays a straight bat. There is no hint of self parody and everyone is acting it like their lives depend on it (which in this story they definitely do) and it’s pitch perfect in terms of stretching the bungee of disbelief just far enough but never letting it snap.

The other star of this movie is the design and art direction, each of the ‘rooms’ meticulously imagined for our watching pleasure. I guarantee that anyone coming fresh to this film will squeal with joy at the twist on a sleazy poolroom bar.

But if there is a twinkle in Escape Room’s eye it’s because Robitel just can’t wait to tell us his story and he knows how to play off the predictable against the surprise to perfection. It’s all hugely satisfying.

Verdict: It may be little more than a fun 90 minute rollercoaster ride, with nothing particularly profound to say, but after the year we’ve had there is nothing wrong with that, and for the craftsmanship and care this film takes to get it right I give it an unreserved… 9/10

Martin Jameson