escape room movie review 2019

Cast & crew
User reviews

Escape Room

Six strangers find themselves in a maze of deadly mystery rooms and must use their wits to survive. Six strangers find themselves in a maze of deadly mystery rooms and must use their wits to survive. Six strangers find themselves in a maze of deadly mystery rooms and must use their wits to survive.

Adam Robitel
Bragi F. Schut
Maria Melnik
Taylor Russell
Logan Miller
873 User reviews
247 Critic reviews
48 Metascore
2 wins & 7 nominations

Top cast 30

Jason Walker

Amanda Harper

Games Master WooTan Yu

College Professor
Charlie - Jason's Assistant

Gary - Ben's Boss

Allison - Zoey's Roommate

Minos Security Guard …
Detective Li

(as Caely Jo Levy)

Business Passenger
(as Jeremy Jess Boado)
2nd Flight Attendant
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

Trivia After the death of five Polish teenagers, killed by fire in a real-life tragedy which occurred within an escape room in Poland, the release date of the film was pushed back a few months in a number of countries out of respect for the girls who died.
Goofs The watchers have no control over who dies. It is a survival of the fittest test. However, the 4th room can only be solved by Ben as it relies on his knowledge of American Sign Language. Had he died earlier, the game would be unwinnable, rather than survival of the fittest.

Jason Walker : None of us died, right?

Zoey Davis : We're sole survivors.

Jason Walker : So what.

Zoey Davis : We're a statistical improbability. And now they want to see who will be the luckiest among the lucky.

Crazy credits The first parts of the credits are paired with a ball going through a maze while passing important objects in the film.
Connections Featured in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: Escape Room (2019)
Soundtracks Hate Written by 21 and Bishop Lamont Performed by 21 (Ft. Bishop Lamont ) Courtesy of Extreme Music

User reviews 873

Solid watch .. until the ending.

deniz_yazici
Apr 8, 2019
How long is Escape Room? Powered by Alexa
January 4, 2019 (United States)
United States
South Africa
Official Site
Escape room: sin salida
Springfontein Film Location, Cape Town, South Africa (Background for process shots)
Columbia Pictures
Original Film
Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$9,000,000 (estimated)
$57,005,601
$18,238,172
Jan 6, 2019
$155,712,077
Runtime 1 hour 39 minutes
Dolby Digital
Dolby Atmos

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Escape Room Reviews

... A film whose only idea to convey is the need to escape from the movie theater. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Aug 19, 2024

If cool concepts alone made for good films then I’d be writing a very different review for Escape Room.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 14, 2024

Escape Room is a fun ride, even with inadequate dialogue. Quite a bit of it consists of characters simply pointing out items as they enter the various rooms. It’s very possible, though, to overlook this because of the rollicking journey that follows.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 25, 2023

Escape Room holds frightening puzzles and balanced tension, even in its weaker moments.

Full Review | May 13, 2023

The overall plot wasn’t quite clear at times and within the first 20 minutes of the film, the characters were already in the first escape room

Full Review | Jan 22, 2023

You learn early on to switch your brain off, but even that can’t cover the ludicrous finale.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 20, 2022

Escape Room is better than most that come out of the January film scrap heap, as long as you give yourself over to a contrived plot that is only worth the price of admission if you are fine with whodunit clichés.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 19, 2022

The movie never involves the viewer in the puzzle or riddle-solving process. The characters rush from clue to clue, and we just watch as they figure it out. It's a passive experience.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 4, 2022

A solid premise and some legitimately thrilling set pieces help to counteract a mixed bag of characters, several of whom are actively deplorable. The film needed more Deborah Ann Woll

Full Review | Jul 17, 2021

It's a shocking thing to witness a movie like this do just fine for so long, only to completely collapse right at the finish line.

Full Review | Original Score: 2. 5 / 5 | Jun 25, 2021

Escape Room largely makes the most of this concept with a fun if not overly bloody effort.

Full Review | Original Score: 8.5/10 | Aug 30, 2020

Manages to make the most of its killer concept and benefits from set pieces that have clearly been thought out in the best possible way.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 16, 2020

[W]hile the overall pastiche has a certain charm for a while, it only lasts so long.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 26, 2020

There's so much quality content out there and so little spare time to enjoy it. Escape Room made me wish I had stayed home and taken a nap instead.

Full Review | Jul 24, 2020

Escape Room is in no way a great movie, but it does certainly qualify as a solid effort, and I say that as someone who is rarely forgiving of lazy or idiotic horror efforts.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 14, 2020

It doesn't go far enough with the ludicrous nature of the story.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jul 8, 2020

Escape Room is exactly the movie I expected, as it ticks all the requisite boxes for a January horror film. Its biggest sin is that it really could have been so much more.

Full Review | Mar 18, 2020

The cast projects a generic, 50s B-movie vibe, but in a good way; no one character is especially likable or unlikable, and this keeps you guessing as to whom the filmmakers will kill off.

Full Review | Feb 19, 2020

It's little more than a less dreary reincarnation of the Saw formula, but Escape Room does it with enough skill and production value that it makes for a fun, quick-paced diversion...

Full Review | Original Score: 3.2/5 | Jan 31, 2020

...It had enough interesting ideas and an underlying commentary on classism to help it stay afloat, but it was ultimately too forgettable to leave an impact.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Jan 17, 2020

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Parents' guide to, escape room.

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 14 Reviews
Kids Say 64 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Constant peril, limited bloodshed in trap scare-fest.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 14+?

Though setup and several story elements are similar to Saw franchise,

Occasional profanity includes one use of "f--k," plus "a--hole," "s--t," "d--k,"

Teen drinking leads to a fatal car accident. A character smokes (it's criticized

In the process of insulting someone, a character talks about having sex. A coupl

Any Positive Content?

Amid the scare-inducing premise, calm, clear thinking is championed. And teamwor

Main character is a smart, young, black female student who's recovering from tra

Parents need to know that Escape Room is a thriller in the vein of Saw -- i.e., strangers find themselves stuck in a locked space where they must solve puzzles to avoid deathly peril -- but with toned-down violence and language. That said, while little blood or gore is shown, there's constant peril leading to death via drowning/freezing, falling, electrocution, etc., as well as fighting, attempted murder, and a fatal shooting. You can also expect occasional swearing ("ass," "s--t," etc.) and some smoking and teen drinking (the latter leads to a fatal car accident). The cast includes Taylor Russell ( Lost in Space ), Logan Miller , and Deborah Ann Woll.

To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Violence & Scariness

Though setup and several story elements are similar to Saw franchise, Escape Room is significantly less graphic, with notably less blood/gore. Still, elaborate traps lead to fatalities (drowning/freezing, falling, electrocution, etc.). There's a shooting, a fight that leads to a mortal wound, other murder attempts. But despite essential cruelty of the "game," the deaths aren't drawn out as they are in the Saw movies. Main element here is peril rather than explicit violence. Teen drinking leads to fatal car accident.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional profanity includes one use of "f--k," plus "a--hole," "s--t," "d--k," "son of a bitch," "ass," "hell," "goddamn," "knob."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Teen drinking leads to a fatal car accident. A character smokes (it's criticized).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

In the process of insulting someone, a character talks about having sex. A couple of innuendoes.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Amid the scare-inducing premise, calm, clear thinking is championed. And teamwork is a necessity to survive.

Positive Role Models

Main character is a smart, young, black female student who's recovering from trauma. Another main character is a young man living with guilt of a fatal drunk-driving incident, trying to put his life back together. A supporting character is a brave, selfless female veteran.

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (14)
Kids say (64)

Based on 14 parent reviews

Blasphemy On High

B+ tension inducing., what's the story.

In ESCAPE ROOM, six strangers are summoned to solve puzzles in locked spaces. And the dangers in the elaborately constructed chambers -- including the inside of a giant oven and an upside-down pool hall -- turn out to be real. The players, including brilliant but traumatized student Zoey (Taylor Russell), guilty young Ben ( Logan Miller ) who's trying to rebuild his life, and tough Iraq vet Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll), must work together to survive.

Is It Any Good?

This horror film/thriller has its virtues, but it badly strains viewers' suspension of disbelief and can't avoid feeling like Saw with duller teeth. The most fun parts of Escape Room are the occasional solvable puzzle and the detail and imagination in the sets. Production designer Edward Thomas ( Doctor Who ) is the MVP. And some of the performances, including Russell's sympathetic lead work, are good. But the movie is inconsistent in just about every other way. Some of the characters are drawn in detail, while others are thumbnail sketches leaning toward cliché. Some traps allow viewers to think along; others require information we're not given. And some are so implausible that they're likely to shake viewers out of the film. Its 10 Little Indians structure (picking off characters one at a time) and standard moral compass prevent the story from delivering significant surprises.

Plus, with its ultra-elaborate traps and unlikely amount of insider knowledge about the players, the movie can't "escape" comparisons to the much more violent, much crueler torture-porn franchise Saw . Escape Room is tailored for a younger audience, and it's certainly not as ugly as the gorier franchise -- and, thankfully, it has less of that series' bitter, faux moralistic overtones. There's some fun to be had, a few laughs, and a reasonable amount of tension throughout, with only a few jumping-out-of-the-cupboard startle scares. But predictable story beats and the movie's extreme reliance on suspension of disbelief keep Escape Room from rising too high above the genre.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence and peril in Escape Room. If you've seen horror movies like Saw , does the level of violence here feel similar to you? Why or why not? How does the impact compare?

Did the traps seem realistic/possible? Did the trapmakers' knowledge of the players seem believable? Do you require some baseline level of realism for a movie like this, or are you able to suspend your disbelief enough to go with it?

How are the women in the film portrayed? Are they weak or strong, stupid or smart, empathetic or unfeeling? Is that typical for this genre?

Movie Details

In theaters : January 4, 2019
On DVD or streaming : April 23, 2019
Cast : Deborah Ann Woll , Taylor Russell , Logan Miller
Director : Adam Robitel
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
Studio : Columbia Pictures
Genre : Horror
Run time : 100 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : terror/perilous action, violence, some suggestive material and language
Last updated : October 1, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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