The rush of holiday films are basically over, therefore the big titles now that will grab most film fanatics’ attention are films that has Oscar buzz, films worthy of a second viewing, or independent films that only play at limited locations. “Escape Room” was definitely not a movie that I enjoyed very much. I saw a variety of decent films over the holiday season ranging from “Vox Lux,” “Aquaman,” “Mary Queen Of Scots,” “Ben is Back,” and those grabbed my attention, but not “Escape Room.” Escape Room was a very predictable movie that was very overrated. Yes, these games may seem fun to do in real-life, but why make a silly movie out of it?

The plot focuses on six strangers who fall into one escape room. They all must fight to survive the games or scenarios they are placed in. They have limited resources, limited time, and their lives are on the line. However, it is a very easy plot to solve on who survives as the film gets further. I will not explain what I mean by the film being easy to understand, that is something viewers will have to see for themselves.

The film opens up with a game and someone who is on the line with his life and about to die. Then the movie jumps forward to everyone coming together to be part of a game. In that scenario, there is not much background story to the characters or why they are in the game. Therefore, we do not know much of their purposes for taking part in a game requiring to escape. We notice some of their emotions and drama but the background lacks entirely. I think the director was gearing more on the scare factors or jumping moments over emphasizing the importance of character development.

I know I am basically bashing this movie. However, it is always in January where mostly crappy movies come into play. “Escape Room” is crappy. I came to realize the director, Adam Robitel also directed “Insidious: the Last Key.” He is still fairly new to directing, so I will not be that negative with his directing, because when I think of it, he is still new in the game with directing, but he has a fair amount of writing, editing and producing credits.

I remember looking at the ratings before watching the film, and they would vary from the six zone to the seven zone, however, I would drop it more down to the five zone. That is because this movie is poorly written, poorly directed, has some good jumping moments, but of course they are predictable. Here is some movie math on it, think of the “Saw” series, however drop the level of violence down a multiple amount of levels. With that, “Escape Room” is basically a PG-13 version of “Saw.”

Overall, I do not have much positivity for “Escape Room.” All I can say is hello January and hello to average to poorly done film month. I am only going to give this movie one star.