The setup may seem recyclable, but really it’s disposable.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The best thing you can say about Escape Room is that for most of it, you’re not desperately searching for the exit sign.
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Emily Yoshida
Tight, fun little thriller.
Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein
It’s a mostly fun, logic-be-damned ride if you just stay in the moment and don’t think too deeply as the going gets tough — which is soon enough.
The New York Times by Glenn Kenny
There are intimations of “Tales From the Crypt,” “Final Destination,” “The Game,” and other older, better films here; this movie never catches a fire like any of those did, and even its twist coda feels dreary and pro forma.
For all its of-the-moment charms, Escape Room can’t shake its more basic genre trappings, eventually giving itself over to tired and predictable revelations and flimsy twists.
San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle
Escape Room is an amusement park ride. It has no reason for being beyond that base-level kick, and it doesn’t, as they say, transcend the genre. But there’s something to be said for amusement park rides. People like them for good reason.
The first part of the film gets some airy momentum going. Then, however, we learn the secret of what the characters have in common, and it gives you that slightly sinking feeling of one contrivance too many.
If you've ever watched a Saw movie and wished there was no gore and a few more puzzles to solve then you'll likely enjoy this tropey but fun flick.
It’s a movie about escape rooms that literally kill you, and if you’re willing to buy into that premise, it’s about as good as a movie with that premise could probably be. So, hey, 2019 is looking up.