Review of Panic Room (2002) by Will H — 07 Aug 2010

Judging from the pedigree of David Fincher (Se7en), Panic Room really deserves to be better than it is. But compared to Fincher's previous efforts, Panic Room is a formulaic and average thriller that fails to bring anything new to the table.

Although the premise is promising enough- a woman and her daughter escaping to their new houses' eponymous room when intruders break in- it follows a path that you can see from a mile away. Compared to the stunning climax of Se7en, this film's final scene is strictly mediocre.

Jodie Foster delivers a satisfactory performance as single mother Meg Altman, but most of the other acting is iffy. Forest Whitaker's character, Burnham, is never fully believable and his motives remain shrouded in mystery for no reason.

Jared Leto constantly appears to be overacting, and Dwight Yoakam is just crappy as Raoul. Why anyone would cast a singer as a sociopathic killer is beyond me. The film is also riddled with numerous plot holes, such as not being able to use cell phones in the panic room (which makes no sense).

Also, at the beginning of the film, the burglars cannot speak to people inside the panic room, but later, Foster's character speaks to the burglars when they are inside the room. The film provides some satisfactory thrills, and the plot is interesting enough, but if you're torn between this a film like Se7en, choose the latter, as this film has a distinct B-movie vibe.