P2 (2007)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

PROS: P2 is a film like no other. If you take all the basic problems with slashers these days, you wouldn't find them in this film at all. You often see a poorly thought out plot line, a terrible setting, or basic outcomes, but this movie brakes through these stereotypes. Something that P2 did very well was create a setting that was simple but well used throughout the duration of the film. There was enough happening to keep you engaged, even through there was slow moments. Another thing that was well done was the intricacy of the plot. There was enough time given to let the viewers know that the "killer" had an intention, and wasn't just crazy. To add on, the craziness was acted immaculately. There was a good balance to let you know that he was a person, not just a character for the sake of being a character. To add on, something a slasher needs to have is a great amount of tension. Without this the movie will lack in almost every other category. And lucky for us P2 was filled with enough action, and tension, and suspense, and terror, and horror to make for a very fun watch.  CONS: The smallest thing in this movie that was irksome, was the last 5 minutes. The ending kind of lost me. I have no idea why they thought it was good, but it felt detached from the film as a whole. The ending was good, but it just didn't fit for this movie.www.chorror.com

It seems to be a rule of many thrillers, that if a vicious dog makes an appearance you can be sure it shall be put to use against a protagonist. Another rule stipulates that if there are cellphones they shall, for whatever reason, not work.Unfortunately for the movie, not only does the female lead's phone abandon her, so does her brain. The synopsis of this film suggested a character that had to use her wits to overcome her captor, and her own inner-problems or limitations or something to that effect. And of course, being stuck in an abandoned parking garage it had me intrigued. But the character (Angela, played by Rachel Nichols)) was so poorly developed it was hard to empathise or sympathise with her; we never knew where she came from or what was going on with her life or how she was feeling. And when a film has only two main characters this is of itself a major problem.As for the other half, the antagonist Thomas played here by Wes Bentley, screaming, and crazy angry stares don't account for character development. We understand that he is alone, possibly lonely, coz he sorta kinda says as much (towards the end of the film, mind). But that's as far as we go into his fractured psyche which again leaves us with another character we cannot on any level relate to. Though I will say his evil deeds are annoying and grotesque, and I'm referring here to the lone, obligatory blood'n'guts scene which I found to be highly distasteful. So you do sorta end up hating him and praying for his demise but for the wrong reasons.And then there were flaws with logic (as another reviewer pointed out), in dealing with her seeming inability to find a fire alarm and set it off, or phoning 911 when she had the time to. Of course, if she had done so it would've ended the whole film a lot sooner, although I'm not sure if that would've been an altogether bad thing.If you're looking for good thriller that knows how to create suspense, I'd go either for Red Eye with the wonderful Rachel McAdams and Cillian Muprhy; or the tense, fast-paced A Lonely Place to Die with Melissa George - not only does this movie have a better story, it has some lovely cinematography to boot.I give it a 3 outta 10 coz I didn't find the acting all too bad; it wasn't too bad to look at, either; and it certainly wasn't the worst I've seen.

A businesswoman (Rachel Nichols) is pursued by a psychopath (Wes Bentley) after being locked in a parking garage on Christmas Eve.The film was directed by Franck Khalfoun, written and produced by Khalfoun, Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur. The trio previously worked on "The Hills Have Eyes" (2006). Aja has said, "With a strong plot in the vein of High Tension, P2 gives us a chance to further explore the survival aspect of the terror movie." This really is a tense, suspenseful film.The film is almost disgustingly gory, especially with the office chair death. Horror fans will eat it up, even if it makes them squirm in their seats.Although reviews were mixed or negative, one man surprisingly came to its defense. Roger Ebert liked the film, giving it 3 out of 4 stars, and stated in his review that "although the plot may seem like a formulaic slasher film, P2 is in fact a very well made, atmospheric thriller with gritty yet realistic characters." Ebert is spot on, and coming from someone who is not generally kind to horror films, this praise is well-received.

I am nutsy-cuckoo for coco puffs for this film. I own a copy and watch every couple of months. This is the story of...pfft, who wants to read a plot synopsis? Neither you or me. The premise is utterly absurd, I'll admit that however, the more you watch it, the more plausible it could be. Roger Ebert, the late, great one, reviewed and applauded it for its' realism, reminding him of the time he got locked inside Hyde Park in London, England. That's sounds like a joke, too but it happened. What makes this story work so well is how real everything is. It's not too extreme in any direction and Rachel Nichols' Angela is equal parts scared, smart and assertive. Bentleys' Thomas doesn't seem scary but that's what make him more so; that ability to seem sane and rational while all the while being a raving lunatic. You know, this movie is mostly in the dark parking garage but you can see everything! There is actual lighting so it isn't a struggle to tell what's going on. Round of applause to Franck Khalfoun, the director, and Maxime Alexandre, cinematographer for that. And Ruth Secord, costumes, she deserved an award for that dress (14 used) Rachel Nichols wore. Sorry, gents, it stayed in place for the whole picture. I guess that's a spoiler. Karl certainly didn't ruin my Christmas.