P2

Today's feature film is the 2007 horror pic P2. I remember hearing that this movie was a slasher pic that takes place in a parking garage with a demented security guard played by Wes Bentley from American Beauty. It sounded like a bad idea from the get go and I probably would have never paid it any more attention except for the fact that Roger Ebert gave the movie 3 stars and that the heroine in danger was Rachel Nichols from Alias. By the time she joined Alias: The Complete Fifth Season, I think there was about 7 viewers watching the show but the few of us that watched that season were impressed. While she was still a step down from Jennifer Garner on the show, she held her own pretty well. Since it was on Instant Streaming and I had nothing better to do, I decided to take this movie for a spin.

The movie takes place on Christmas Eve in a high rise and yes, the hero is trapped, but that is where the similarities with Die Hard end. Angela (Rachel Nichols) is working late but it trying to rush out to get to her family's Christmas festivities. She is the last person out of the building so when her car won't start, she finds her self locked in the parking garage. Thankfully, the parking garage security guard is there to help, at least this would have been good if the man wasn't an insane stalker. Thomas (Wes Bentley) seems to be a lonely man and is having Christmas Eve dinner alone with only the security dog to keep him company. Thomas, who doesn't seem to have the best social skills in the world, invites Angela to share in his dinner, but she declines. Thomas does not like the idea that someone would rather spend their holidays with loved ones then total strangers, does what any person would do in this situation, he knocks Angela out, puts lipstick on her and chains her to a chair for dinner.

Angela wakes up and is not to excited about this plan (we start to see why Thomas seems to be lacking friends) and tries to escape. In the beginning, Angela is just merely freaked the hell out but after Thomas "helps" her by killing a handsy guy in her office with his car, she finally decides to make a run for it, no matter what. The movie then becomes a game of cat and mouse between the two of them, turning bloodier and more demented as the night goes on.

I will start by saying that this movie isn't really all that bad. It is directed and edited by someone that knows what they are doing, Wes Bentley plays an unhinged guy pretty well and Angela is not a dumb blond who does everything the exact opposite of what any sane person would do. The problem is that it is not memorable at all. I watched the movie about 8 hours ago and when I was typing up the recap, I really could not remember much about the movie at all. I remember that Angela looked cold throughout the movie, I remember there was a scene with an elevator and water hose that was clever and that is pretty much it. This is a movie that you watch when you are really bored but definitely not something a person should be anticipating with bated breath. Although talented people were involved, I doubt that this movie will end up on anyone's highlight reel.