Escape Room (2019)
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A group of people must navigate a series of deadly escape rooms where the stakes are life and death.
The story
When several individuals are invited to participate in a high-stakes escape room competition by a mysterious company called Minos, they are rewarded with a $10,000 prize. However, the participants soon discover that the rooms are not just puzzles, but lethal traps. As they navigate through various environments—including a giant oven, a winter cabin, and a crumbling billiards hall—the group realizes that the challenges are designed to mirror their past personal traumas. They must solve increasingly dangerous puzzles to survive, while realizing that they have been specifically targeted by the organization for a deadly game.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film begins with Ben falling into a room where walls move inward, followed by a flashback to three days prior. Zoey, Jason, and Ben are invited by the company Minos to participate in an escape room challenge for a $10,000 prize. They join other contestants: Mike, Amanda, and Danny. The first room is a giant oven; the second is a winter cabin where Danny drowns in a frozen lake. The third is a billiards hall where Amanda falls to her death. In a hospital-themed room, the characters realize the rooms are based on their past traumas. Zoey realizes they are being targeted and tries to escape as the room fills with gas. During a struggle to reach a certain heart rate, Jason kills Mike. Ben and Jason move to a new room where a drug disorients them; Ben kills Jason in a struggle. Ben meets the Gamemaster, who explains the game is watched by wealthy viewers. Zoey eventually joins Ben after escaping the gas. Six months later, they discover the other players' deaths were staged as accidents and find a lead to a building in Manhattan. They board a plane to confront Minos, only to discover the plane is a mock vehicle for a new escape room.
- First release year
- 2019
- Runtime (minutes)
- 100
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Adam Robitel
- Writers
- Bragi F. Schut · screenplay; Maria Melnik · screenplay; Bragi F. Schut · story
- Cast and characters
- Taylor Russell · Zoey Davis; Logan Miller · Ben Miller; Deborah Ann Woll · Amanda Harper; Tyler Labine · Mike Nolan; Nik Dodani · Danny Khan; Jay Ellis · Jason Walker; Yorick van Wageningen · the Gamemaster
- Genres
- psychological horror; survival; science fiction horror; science fiction thriller
- Themes
- survival; trauma; conspiracy
- Tone and mood
- tense; thrilling
- Premise and plot tags
- death games; survival
- Source material / true-story basis
- original story
- Franchise connections
- Escape Room
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its atmosphere and production design but criticized the familiar plot.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 48 · scale: 100 · review count: 26; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The production was filmed in South Africa.; The director changed the ending to make the antagonists appear more menacing for the sequel.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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