Director Adam Robitel follows up Insidious: The Last Key (2018), the best film to date in the Insidious series, with another resourceful, well-written horror movie that’s suitable for older children. Six strangers meet at one of those “escape room” experiences where they have to solve puzzles cooperatively to get out of the room, only to discover that the game has life-or-death consequences—and that the way out of one room leads to another, even deadlier one. If you have fond memories of the late-90s Canadian IMDB has it as Dutch cult favorite Cube, you’ll probably be sympathetic to this; screenwriters Bragi Schut and Maria Melnik devise interesting puzzles for the characters to solve, and Robitel maintains a consistent level of suspense without resorting to gore. The cast projects a generic, 50s B-movie vibe, but in a good way; no one character is especially likable or unlikable, and this keeps you guessing as to whom the filmmakers will kill off.
Escape Room
PG-13 • 1 hour 40 min • 2019
