Review of P2 (2007) by Brian H — 07 Feb 2010

First of all, this is definitely not a horror film. It barely qualifies as a thriller. I could tell early on that cleavage was going to be the main reason that I finished watching P2. The villain was definitely crazy, but not dangerous crazy. He gave off a "pathetic, lonely, and probably picked on a lot when he was little" vibe. His dog was much scarier than he was. I have to say that Rachel Nichols' character wasn't quite as stupid as one would expect in this kind of movie, she even actually did appear to be making an effort to save her own life on several occasions.

Of course, there are contrived situations that are there solely to provide "suspense" and allow the story to continue (the cab driver leaving; the phone not working inside the parking garage, but it works a few inches past the gate; Rachel stabbing the villain in the shoulder instead of somewhere more damaging, like maybe the NECK). I'd like to think that if I was in her situation, I would have been able to calm myself enough to figure out that simply triggering a fire alarm would probably be a good way to get some help. Rachel Nichols in that dress makes it easier to ignore the plot holes and keep watching, but I don't think anyone would want to spend more than a few dollars for it. Or watch it more than once.

As negative as this review may sound, I do think that most movie critics were too hard on P2. It's not brilliant by any measure, but it's not nearly as awful as many other recent films in the genre.