As cerebral as it is fast paced, Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions follows up on the 2019 original Escape Room in a fun and fresh way.
For being someone that doesn’t watch a ton of Horror films, I was optimistic this film would be more than just a standard horror sequel…
The Plot – Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions
The Recap
Escape Room 2 takes place in the aftermath of Escape Room 1. Over the opening credits, we see a quick recap of the original film; which I, Dragon Movie Guy, have not seen.
A company called ‘Minos’ runs televised escape rooms, and the world’s wealthy and elite bet on which people survive and which ones die. One by one contestants are killed while trying to escape each room.
We see scenes from the original movie, as well as the Winners; Zoey Davis, played by Taylor Russell; and Ben Miller, played by Logan Miller. Zoey vows to find out who sent all the contestants invitations, and who created all the rooms.
The Sequel
We start in 2003. A wealthy woman and her school age daughter return home to their mansion after a day out on the town. The wife, played by Tanya van Graan, sends her daughter up to bed as she goes in to see her husband.
Henry, hard at work even this late at night, is stressed out of his mind. Played well by James Frain, Henry already works for Minos and must deliver. The wife tells him she’s done with the marriage. Henry asks her to wait an hour so they can talk it out.
The Aftermath
After witnessing a primitive version of the escape room, we jump to the present and find Zoey and Ben, still on the run, and about to get on a plane. That is until Zoey has a panic attack during boarding, and she runs out, with Ben in tow.
Our couple make their way to New York, but before they can find Minos, Minos finds them. Zoey and Ben, along with four others soon find themselves sucked back into Escape Room, this time against their will. The others, also, happen to be ‘Room’ survivors/champions; thus kicking off their ‘Tournament Of Champions.’
The Good – Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions
Character Development
The temptation for many horror flicks is to just get straight to the running and screaming. The target demographic is younger, therefore the producers tend not to waste time getting to the gore.
But, Director Adam Robitel, who’s also an Executive Producer on the film, misses that trap. Robitel spends the first 20 minutes of the film getting to know the characters.
We see the effects that Zoey’s fear of flying and Ben’s panic attacks have on them. Also seen are the effects the first film had on the relationship between Ben and Zoey. And despite all they’ve been through, Ben’s inability to ask Zoey out leaves him in the Friend Zone.
I don’t generally see 20 minutes worth of character development before we get the first action scene in most horror films, and I definitely don’t generally see horror films waiting 25 minutes before the main story of the film works. But, that decision pays off.
Without that time and story commitment, we aren’t as committed to Ben and Zoey; and, you end up with just another young, good looking cast running for their lives. It could still be an entertaining film, but you wouldn’t have any emotional investment in whether the characters live or die. ‘Tournament’ accomplishes both.
The Kills
Escape Room 2’s threats and setups are well thought out, and all have an internal logical consistency. Most importantly, they’re FUN!
The closest analogy I can think of for how well the kills and scenarios are thought up would be the first couple of Final Destination films, and the first Saw movie. This isn’t just a guy with a knife and a mask chasing local teens.
These are problem solving characters that make all the ‘right’ decisions, and still have to fight for their lives. You can see yourself trying to solve the riddles on the subway car, and the ticking clock adding a sense of urgency in real time to the situation.
Claire
The Puzzlemaker’s daughter seen in the first scene is now all grown up, and a Puzzlemaker in her own right.
Claire, played by Isabelle Fuhrman, designs many of the Escape Rooms our heroes have to survive. A bit of a prisoner herself, Claire designs the rooms under duress, and one can feel a bigger world being built outside the room at the same time as inside the room.
The Bad – Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions
Very little about this film falls into the bad or even ‘ok’ category.
The first Escape Room made $150 Million off a $9 Million budget. ‘Tournament’ followed up with a reported $15 Million budget, which is almost nothing, even by horror movie standards. Despite the low budget, virtually every dollar looks like it made it onto the big screen.
The ONLY other nitpick I have with this film is that Deborah Ann Woll has third billing on IMDb, and she does not appear, other than flashbacks from the first film. I loved Woll’s work in True Blood, and she was the only other cast member (Taylor Russell) that I recognize from other works.
The Review – Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions
While building upon the first film, which I have not seen, and building toward a third film, which has yet to be made; Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions still tells a stand alone story well.
The cast is made up of mostly people I haven’t seen before, which isn’t unusual in this genre; but all fill their rolls perfectly, even the smaller roles with limited screen time.
Taylor Russell does a great job as Zoey, combining vulnerability and strength, intelligence and overwhelm equally well. Logan Miller does well as the Beta Male along for the ride, doing just enough to not get killed and displaying just enough fight and intelligence to not be annoying.
Hunger Games
One could easily draw some The Hunger Games parallels here, especially with Ben as a quasi-Peeta Mellark, but ‘Tournament’ does enough to stand on it’s own.
Director Adam Robitel does a great job balancing story and character with energy and genre. He doesn’t sacrifice storytelling and character development, even in a sequel.
The level of detail in each Escape Room is well thought out, and each room builds upon the last. And, the inclusion of the world outside the Rooms pairs well with the story going on inside the rooms. All this happens while not distracting from the main story.
Accessible
While being a sequel to an original film I did not see, Escape Room 2 is told so well, you don’t need to see the original to enjoy this film.
The characters have enough depth that you care what happens to them, but the Escape Rooms and kills are fun enough that the tone doesn’t get too dark or too deep.
Pacing, Cinematography, and Effects all jump off the screen, especially given the tiny $15 Million budget.
Well worth a watch, even it this isn’t usually the type of film you normally watch.
Additional Information
Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions IMDb page
Drago Movie Guy’s Eternals Instant Movie Review
Dragon Movie Guy’s YouTube Channel
Dragon Movie Guy’s Instagram Page
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Instant Movie Review
Dragon Movie Guy – Ghostbusters: Afterlife First Credits
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Taylor Russell and Logan Miller must once again put their wits and their luck to use in Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions.