GUEST EDITORIAL: The Twists and Turns of "Escape Room"

Image: pexels.com

The Twists and Turns of Escape Room

by Kevin Gardner

If you've ever tried out an escape room with friends, you know how much fun they can be. Have you ever thought about what would happen if the escape room experience went wrong, however? If you love escape rooms and enjoy horror movies, you may want to check out the movie Escape Room on Netflix. This psychological horror film will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you view escape rooms in a whole new way

The Premise

Escape rooms are a group activity wherein players are locked in a room together. They solve puzzles, look for clues and accomplish tasks to be released from the room within a certain amount of time. The clues can range from simple to complex, and some escape room experiences consist of more than one room. Many online escape rooms have themes, such as history, comedy, films, the jungle or horror. 

The Characters

There are six main characters in the film. Taylor Russell plays Zoey Davis, a college student who is studying for her physics degree. Logan Miller is Ben Miller, a stock boy at a grocery store. Deborah Ann Woll portrays Amanda Harper, an Iraq War veteran suffering from PTSD. Jay Eillis plays Jason Walker, a rich stock broker. Tyler Labine is Mike Nolan, a middle-aged man who drives a truck for a living. Nik Dodani is Danny Kahn, an experienced escape room fan. The antagonists of the film are the Game Master and the Puzzle Maker, who designed and controlled the deadly escape room.

The Plot

Zoey, Ben, Amanda, Jason, Mike and Danny all receive puzzle boxes, which lead them to the Minos Escape Room in an office building. They are told that the first person to escape the room will receive $10,000. When they attempt to leave the room, the door handle falls off to signal that the game has begun. The group manages to escape the first two rooms, which are themed as an oven and a winter cabin. As the challenge progresses, however, various members of the group begin to die. Amanda falls to her death down a deep shaft in the floor, while Danny falls through ice and drowns. Mike is shocked to death in the course of solving one of the puzzles and Jason is killed by Ben as they try to obtain an antidote.

During the course of the film, the characters find out that they are the only survivors of disasters, such as plane crashes, car accidents, mine cave-ins and IED explosions. Zoey has the realization that the object of the game is to see who can be luckiest. Ben is finally confronted by the Game Master, who reveals that they are being watched by wealthy viewers who gamble on the outcome of the game. Together, Zoey and Ben kill the Game Master.

After Ben and Zoey escape, they attempt to inform the police about the escape room. When the police accompany Zoey back to the office building, all traces of the game have been removed. They are also suspicious of Ben, who is found to have drugs in his system. On her way out of the building, Zoey sees a clue that leads her to believe the game is not over yet.

Six months later, Zoey shows Ben a series of clues that lead to an unlisted office building in New York City. Ben agrees to accompany her there. The ending of the movie is open-ended, with the Puzzle Maker preparing to design a deadly new game for them.

The Sequel

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions is scheduled for release in July of 2021. In the sequel, Ben and Zoey team up with other survivors of Minos' deadly escape rooms to unmask the antagonists once and for all. The new film will star Isabelle Fuhrman, Thomas Cocquerel, Holland Roden, Carlito Olivero and Indya Moore, along with Taylor Russell and Logan Miller, who will reprise their roles from the original film.