Follow The Clues And See “Escape Room” Or Avoid The Game [REVIEW]

Escape rooms were once thought of as a fun way to hang out with friends, establish team building with co-workers, or even bond with strangers for an hour, but now they have turned into one of those things you add to the list of stuff that have been forever ruined. What Hitchcock did with birds and showers, “Final Destination” did with mundane things like roller coasters, tanning, and driving on the freeway, and “Child’s Play”has done with dolls; the 2019 “Escape Room” starring Deborah Ann Woll, Taylor Russell, and Jay Ellis has done just that.

I’ve done a couple of escape rooms and have always enjoyed myself whether my team and I successfully escaped or not. The counting down clock, the thrill of wanting to be deemed smart enough to figure out the clues and win the game, paired with my heighten competitive nature in that setting became amplified watching the main characters attempt the very thing I’ve experienced multiple times, but with much higher stakes. Compared to many films like the “Saw” franchise, “Cube” and basically any thriller where strangers are put together in extreme circumstances and forced to fight for their lives; “Escape Room” did have some stand alone redeeming moments that makes the film worth seeing.

Photo: Sony Pictures

The film follows Zoey (Taylor Russell), Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll), Ben (Logan Miller), Mike (Tyler Labine), Danny (Nik Dodani), and Jason (Jay Ellis), a group of people from very different backgrounds who come to find they have one major thing in common. They are invited to participate in an immersive escape room with the potential of $10K on the line for the winner. Soon into the “game” the group begins to realize how immersive the room really is and all hell sort of breaks loose from there.

One thing in particular about this film that stands out are the characters. Everyone in the group is pretty likable on the surface. You know when you watch a movie or show and there’s that one character who you’re secretly, or not so secretly, hoping gets offed first, well in “Escape Room” I didn’t feel like that. I was rooting for the entire cast; to a point. Once the story developed and the audience got to know the background of each character a bit more you wanted them to win as a team. But yet in this twisted Black Mirror esque world the happy ending didn’t exist.

Photo: Sony Pictures

Along the ride I found myself feeling as I was actually playing and was thinking about what the characters should do to find clues and even figured out where the plot was going because I was able to figure out some of the clues. With that, watching became very nerve-wracking as anxiety built with the rooms becoming more difficult and more triggering for the characters.

The ending was very open-ended so that spells nothing but a sequel and honestly this film doesn’t need it. Was I disappointed in the conclusion? Yes. It was an exciting thrill ride during the entire film with a less than satisfying end and many unanswered questions. Maybe that’s why it ended the way it did, but I don’t think a sequel would do any good answering the questions and it can just be a nice conversation for the ride home from the theater.

I give “Escape Room” three pink kisses 💋💋💋.

“Escape Room” is currently showing nationwide. Check out the trailer below. Did you check out the film? Do you plan to? Share all your thoughts in the comments.

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Photo: Sony Pictures