- Review by Leo Mayr - March 6, 2019
Escape Room tries to turn the popular concept of solving puzzles to escape a room into a feature length horror film. While the film is competently made and boasts some striking visuals and clever puzzles, it’s hard not to feel like you’ve seen this concept done before. That’s not to say the movie isn’t entertaining though.
Horror movie veteran Brian Tyler is joined by one of his frequent collaborators, John Carey. Together, the two deliver an exciting horror thriller that does a great job in establishing the movie’s tense mysteries. The mostly electronic soundscape finds a nice balance between "Blade Runner-y" synths and more modern textures to create a stunning sound that really ties the film together.
The movie really doesn’t offer much in between the puzzle sections, but the duo do their best at making you relate to the main characters. There’s a handful of nice emotional moments scattered throughout the film. At the end of the day though, the puzzles themselves are the main course, and you’re in for a treat.
There’s more than a handful of spectacular cues that masterfully build up tension through subtle rhythms and textures, before bursting into intense, pulsating action sequences. A prime example is “Testing Your Limits”, a stunning 7-minute track that, for its entire runtime, never lets you off the hook. The haunting main theme is used wonderfully throughout the entire score, adding a nice feeling of continuity to the score, if you know where to listen.
Escape Room is a simple and fun experience. While the movie boasts little innovation, Brian Tyler and John Carey have gone out of their way to create a tense and memorable score, Madsonik and Kill The Noise Remix included. The score adds a stunning layer of tension to the film and does a fantastic job at getting you invested in the action scenes. While the film doesn’t boast a whole lot of originality, Tyler and Carey managed to, at least musically, create a unique and memorable experience well worth experiencing.
- 3.5/5