As soon as Escape Rooms became all the rage, one knew that a creative screenwriter somewhere would put pen to paper and craft a horror flick that centered around that highly tense landscape. That is exactly what happened in 2019 with Escape Room when writers Bragi F. Schut and Maria Melnik crafted a world where the key to the entire film was surviving a series of escape rooms.
Director Adam Robitel (Insidious: The Last Key) was tapped to bring the screenplay to life and to the surprise of dozens of talking heads and audiences alike, the film was a solid thriller that concluded in a manner that practically demanded a sequel.
Robitel has returned to the director’s chair, as did Daniel Touch and Maria Melnik to their roles as screenwriters—this time they are joined by Will Honley (Bloodline)—in a wickedly intelligently conceived tale that imagines a world where the “thing” the competitors share (something learned from the first film) is that each has survived their own versions of Escape Room. The sextet found themselves in New York City, seeking out the Minos corporation and answers to questions that each participant brings to the battle.
The thing is, each ventured to Manhattan not to participate in another series of Escape Rooms where failure at the endeavor is a date with a coffin. The first to be “rolled out” is somewhere that should be familiar to anyone whose shown any kind of interest in The City, the jewel of big-city mass transit, aka the subway. They’re trapped in a subway car and although the purpose of this go-around is not revealed, nor will it be for a long time… or ever, we were immediately hooked.
One of the great joys of the first film was the creative genius that went into each and every single Escape Room and how it obliged these previously known as strangers’ souls to cooperate with each other in order to survive. When it is revealed that the common thread that these competitors share is surviving the first series of Escape Rooms, it is like a jolt of electricity is collectively felt throughout the group. They’ve triumphed at this before, and they will again!
Taylor Russell returns as Zoey Davis, while her partner in survival Ben Miller (Logan Miller) from the first film also is back. In many ways, this is a sequel that doesn’t share that much with the previous installment from two years prior—so it’s nice that Zoey and Ben are here from the get-go, serving as “familiar” faces. They are joined in the ensemble by Amanda Harper (Deborah Ann Woll), Nathan (Thomas Cocquerel), Rachel Ellis (Holland Roden), and Brianna Colliel (Indya Moore).
After sharing the terror of the first film and the comradery that arises from such an effort, filmmakers had their work cut out for them not only replicating that but improving on the electric ensemble that was one of the benchmarks of the first film. Fans of that first film can relax almost immediately as the six of them work together to get out of that subway station alive, even with a few clues that will aid them in their efforts to not only “beat” the game, but to get really close and personal with those who created it and put them literally through hell.
The fear (once again) is palpable and is shared brilliantly by all who enter into this nightmare. Director Robitel has deviously dangled hope throughout. After what we experienced and learned from the last go-around, one would think that knowledge would help in some capacity. But as anyone who goes to escape rooms can tell you, more often than not, knowledge culled with each room doesn’t help you all that much in subsequent rooms. It would also be easy to let your mind go somewhere it should not—especially when it comes to Escape Room and more importantly, the twisted folks who crafted this “game.”
After a handful of Escape Rooms that were downright envelope-pushing in the first film, the writer’s room must have collectively worked overtime to create a landscape that one, ups the ante from the first film and most importantly two, will innately craft a tension that you could cut with a knife. Honley, Melnik, and Tuch have successfully managed that minefield that is sequel writing. The body count in a horror sequel must increase. The terror factor of each Escape Room needs to be off the charts and have the viewer “forgetting” about anything that came before, i.e., the first film. To say that is achieved is a gross understatement.
Seriously, if you are a fan of the first film—on any level, prepare to be impressed on a multitude of layers by Escape Room: Tournament of Champions. It does its job by delivering Rooms that are unlike anything you could imagine in your worst nightmares! Tournament of Champions also does something fascinating. Its world-building magnifies (as one would hope from a sequel in any genre, but especially in the horror/thriller milieu).
As our players navigate these exponentially more insane and hairy situations, where survival seems less and less in the realm of possibility, the viewer becomes even more attached to our “players” than was ever achieved with the last go-around. It also feels as if there is more of a story this time out versus in 2019. Again, no easy feat.
In an utterly intriguing move, the Escape Room: Tournament of Champions Blu-ray and digital release comes with a previously unreleased Extended Cut which achieves the impossible. If the film itself raised the temperature and pulse of everyone witnessing it, compared to the original, the fact that there are 25-minutes of all-new footage available and it wasn’t deemed necessary for its theatrical release, but would make a solid extra for the home video release says so much. Not only do viewers get to experience even deadlier escape rooms, but it is revealed who exactly we are dealing with here—the masterminds behind Minos.
If you’ve seen the first film, this should surprise no one. Escape Room 2 doesn’t necessarily have an ending. As was the case with the 2019 Escape Room, the concluding scene works more as a “first” scene for the sequel. If the close of Escape Room left jaws adrift, then Escape Room: Tournament of Champions will find those jaws on the floor.
After experiencing those 25 minutes of fresh footage, dive into the bonus featurette, Director Adam Robitel on Raising the Stakes. As has been said repeatedly throughout this review, upping the ante or whatever you want to call it is integral to sequels, particularly horror and thrillers. This featurette finds the director himself taking us through exactly how they did that, and most importantly—why? It’s easy to make things more dramatic, but to hear from Robitel exactly how each stake raising played into the grander scheme of things. Nothing in an Escape Room movie happens in a vacuum. There is a reason behind all the madness.
One of the more enjoyable featurettes has to be Go Inside the Minos Escape Rooms. It is the ultimate behind-the-scenes POV that the sequel begs to be included in the extras. The same can be said with Meet the Players. It is a brilliant way of delivering some BTS moments while introducing the cast, especially considering that a vast majority of them are new.
Film Grade: A-
Bonus Features: B+