P2 (2007) Reviews

• Intense!

  gavin69422015-03-10

  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.

• P2 effective, if unspectacular

  rparham2007-12-07

  With the resurgence of the horror/thriller genre in recent years, writers and directors have started to utilize a number of locations and situations that have proved unsettling in real life to be the center point for a film. P2 is one of those films. Who among us hasn't felt a little uncomfortable in a empty, dark parking garage, with no one in sight to call out to if there is a problem? P2 proves to be an effective, if not exactly original, thriller that does a good job of keeping the audience on the edge of its seat. Angela (Rachel Nichols) is a workaholic who is trying to get out of the office on Christmas Eve to reach her sister's home, where the family is waiting on her. After having to complete a last-minute task, she finds herself one of the last people to exit the building's parking garage. However, her car won't start, and she seeks help from the garage's nighttime security, Thomas (Wes Bently). Although he appears to initially be helpful, it is quickly obvious that he is a little off. When Angela determines that the building is locked, she returns to the parking garage for help, where Thomas subdues her and then chains her to a chair in his office, dresses her in a revealing outfit, and plans to spend a pleasant Christmas eve dinner with her. Angela quickly realizes that Thomas is determined to prove that he is the perfect man for her, but his methods are on the homicidal and creepy side: he threatens her with his dog, causes her to call her family and tell them she isn't going to make it and threatens her with physical violence. She eventually escapes his immediate grasp, and a chase through the garage ensues that takes a number of different turns. P2 isn't an ambitious film, to be sure. However, it crafts this simple premise into a generally unsettling experience. P2 is largely driven by the performance of Wes Bently in the role of Thomas. Bently is at first glance an amiable guy. He seems awkward and a bit shy, but he eventually reveals himself to be delusional and lacking much in the way of conscience. At the same time, he actually manages to make Thomas a somewhat sympathetic individual, tapping into feelings of loneliness and alienation. Thomas in the end is certainly a deranged individual, but Bently manages to make him more than just that. Rachel Nichols is competent in the role of Angela, providing us with the appropriate reaction of someone trapped in an ever evolving nightmare. Angela wavers between anger, false sympathy for Thomas and fear. It isn't a demanding role, but she delivers as necessary. P2 doesn't pull many punches in the violence department. There are several grisly scenes (including one involving a fingernail) that will put those with a weak constitution on the edge of their seat. Unlike a recent raft of PG-13 horror films, P2 doesn't pretend to not know what some percentage of its audience wants to see. If P2 falls a little bit, it is in the fact that this film is something of a variation on a theme from other recent thrillers, so once it has played most of its cards, you can find yourself generally able to determine where it seems to be heading. There is still plenty of tension, fulfilling its primary mission, but not without traveling some paths that have already been well trodden.

• A creepy, solid horror flick

  guyfromjerzee2007-11-18

  I admit, I'm usually rough on many horror movies that come out nowadays, because...well...they suck. "P2," on the other hand, has many exciting moments and I was engaged the whole way through. The acting is solid. The actress who plays the lead does a great job at conveying real terror. I also like that she wasn't the typical big-breasted female lead who seems ripped from the pages of Maxim magazine. She is attractive, yes, but not your traditional Hollywood beauty, who's cast simply so she can have a scene where she's taking a shower and has to flee from the villain naked, with her gargantuan boobs bouncing in close-up. I loved Wes Bentley in "American Beauty," and was quite disappointed to find out that he fell off the radar after delivering that great performance as Ricky Fits. He would only pop up occasionally in braindead slasher flicks like "Soul Survivors." In "P2" he was given a chance to redeem himself, and that he did. He is a perfectly creepy villain, especially with those dark, piercing eyes. The movie is not without flaws. It has some of the expected fake scare moments and, without giving anything away, let's just say that I'm SURE it would take less than 20 minutes for the cops to show up after you make a 9-1-1 call. The filmmakers do a great job at setting up a creepy tone, starting off the film by playing "Santa Baby" over the opening credit sequence. That's ten times creepier than, say, playing a standard horror movie score. If you're sick and tired of many of the braindead teen slasher flicks that have been hitting theaters lately, this should come as a refreshing surprise. I think this film is sadly underrated.

• So Surprised How good this was....

  BenjaminFoxDickerson2008-03-12

  So, P2... it looks like it would be a crap movie. But it's actually pretty good. I KNOW!!! Coming from an art background and as an avid fan of suspense and horror films I found this film was pretty smart and responsible. Rachel Nichols performance was really good, and the scenario plays out believably while avoiding a plethora of gender stereotypes, as well as confrontational stereotypes. The characters are interesting and dynamic is great. From their first interactions, and the interplay between them it's clear how involved the process was in trying to capture those moments. As far as the story goes, it's a pretty standard fair for a suspense thriller type of film. What makes this one work is the consideration given to selling the moments truthfully and keeping scenes honest. Right down to the end of the film. Wes Bently is a really gifted actor, his performance was candid, truthful and filled with a lot of well expressed anxiety and isolation. But never really expressed vocally, but it's always present in his character. Rachel Nichols is straight aces with her exploration of her characters pensive and diplomatic displacement in the situation she finds herself in. These two carry the film. The only problem I had was that one character was never really at the center, and I really wanted to know more than what I was being provided. I think some more time with either Bently's or Nichol's characters could have made a world a difference in really attaching us to them. I would say more so for Bently's security guard... he has an implied back-story, but I wanted to see more... how he functions outside of his job a little. Something that really divides Seven from all it's other rip-offs and variations is the focus on the subtle specifics of Mills and Somerset's world, how definite and impractical their ethics are in the environments they inhabit. And then, how liberal and apathetic they are when faced with John Doe's absolute nature. This dynamic is that missing ingredient from P2. You're not really given an identifiable attachment to either of the core characters. But overall, a movie I greatly under-estimated... This film does deserve a good look, but don't expect it to be something like "The Eye" or "Skeleton Key". It's a much richer and culturally considerate tapestry than films of that ilk, but isn't rich enough to be a classic like "Seven". It's a good film that I am sure didn't fully get it's dues.

• It's OK -- nothing special

  jwerwin802007-11-10

  This movie takes a long time to get going, and I frequently found myself throwing in the flag. There are a lot of events which happen that just don't make sense and don't ring true. Initially Wes Bentley irritated me, but eventually I got to like him and his character. He's pretty good at playing a dissociative psychopath. Once the story got going it was easy to forgive the obvious mistakes and just have fun with it. The setting, a parking garage, is very cold and unforgiving. It's all concrete. That aesthetic helps set a tone that Thomas is going to be unforgiving. closed, and cold with people he doesn't like. Angela (Rachel Nichols) doesn't suffer from stupid chick syndrome. She makes a few smart moves, and that makes it easy to root for her and empathize with her. You want her to kick butt, but Thomas is a pretty strong opponent.