P2 Review
by Steve Rhodes (steve DOT rhodes AT internetreviews DOT com)November 9th, 2007
P2
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2007 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
Opening to the soothing sounds of "Santa Baby," we see a dark parking garage, specifically the P2 level, where everything appears tranquil and quiet. Of course, this peace is quickly shattered in a movie that is way too ready to trade suspense for lots of violent action.
P2 is a two-person picture starring Rachel Nichols and Wes Bentley as Angela and Thomas. Angela is a hard-working career woman who is the last person to leave her Manhattan skyscraper on Christmas Eve. On her way to her sister's house in Jersey to celebrate the joy of Christmas, Angela is unable to leave when her car mysteriously won't start even though the battery is fully charged.
No problem. An excessively friendly security guard named Thomas shows up to help Angela out. But, as you can easily guess, he has murder on his mind. In no time, she is drugged, chained to a table and has her clothes changed to a very revealing white, formal dress. Thomas ends up killing a couple of people so that their time alone isn't interrupted.
Directed without much imagination by first-time director Franck Khalfoun, P2 is gory and gruesome, yet never scary or affecting. More tedious than tense, it suffers from the two-person syndrome. On the stage, two-person productions can be quite fascinating, but, on the screen, they usually become repetitive. This structure isn't helped by the monotony of the performances and the script, which should have at least given us some humor to break up the repetitiveness of the action.
After a handcuffed Angela runs away from Thomas, most of the movie has her being chased from one shadowy area to the next. Only in an elevator incident does the movie have an original idea, as the film finally thinks of a new way to terrorize the woman.
As our watches tell us that its finally time for the film to be over, the only thing that continues to be enjoyable about it is trying to figure out exactly how Angela will end up killing Thomas and freeing herself from her imprisonment. Suffice it to say that it's not worth the wait.
Since the movie's signature song for terror is "Santa Baby," I have proof that the film isn't scary. As luck would have it, after the movie, I walked through a dark parking lot to my car. When I turned on the radio, "Santa Baby" was playing. If this film had had any effect on me whatsoever, I should have had at least a tinge of fright by the similarity of circumstances, but the song only made me happy, reminding me that my favorite season would soon be upon us. Rather than producing goose bumps, the tune put a smile on face, proving how feckless P2 is.
P2 runs 1:38. It is rated R for "strong violence/gore, terror and language" and would be acceptable for older teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, November 9, 2007. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
