Review of 247°F (2011) by Carl M — 31 Jan 2013

Can three friends take the heat when they become trapped in a steaming sauna? Find out in 247°F, a suspense thriller that spills from the same vein of survival Horror films as OPEN WATER, FROZEN, and THIRST.

247°F is about as interesting as you can possibly make a film about three people being trapped in a sauna, which still isn't saying much. The characters make all of the expected attempts to free themselves from the rising heat, and are at least backed by serviceable performances from Scout Taylor-Compton and her surrounding cast.

One major contrivance is the convenient inclusion of college student Ian, who happens to know the exact temperatures at which he and his friends will begin to experience the negative effects of the heat before giving in to delusion, madness, and then death.

This is a minor complaint compared to the disinterest in the plot, itself, which carries on endlessly with very little tension or suspense. Similar films will make up for the general inaction with a heightened sense of melodrama between the characters, but even this is found lacking.