P2 (2007)

Overall rating from 1 to 100: 49

O Masterpiece (100)
O Excellent (75-99)
O Rental (60-74)
O OK (50-59)
X Mediocrity (30-49)
O Avoid (1-29)

Review by Jason Pyles / November 15, 2007

Presumably, people like horror movies because it’s fun to be scared, especially while they are, in actuality, safe in the theater. OK, I get that. But how can we explain (or excuse) today’s jaded spectators and filmmakers who enjoy this troubling trend of explicitly grisly and graphic movies? No, these films aren’t new, but they’re gaining momentum.

To be fair, “P2” is not so tasteless. I wouldn’t classify it by the new term, “torture porn,” which doesn’t refer to gruesome violence and sexually explicit images. This unpleasant phrase refers to grisly violence graphically depicted, just as pornography typically refers to sexually explicit depictions. At any rate, I see absolutely no merit whatsoever in dragging the dregs of these heinous images from the worst possible scenarios of society’s imagination.

It’s not that I’m claiming that raw sewage like “Hostel” (2005), “Chaos” (2005) or “Wolf Creek” (2005) should be forbidden by law, they simply should have never been made in the first place. If you make torture-porn, toxic-sludge movies like those, there’s something wrong with you.

Anyway, this tangential rant used too many words to make a simple statement: “P2” isn’t as reprehensible as a lot of the other present-day horror flicks, though it does have horrendous moments, so be warned.

It’s Christmas Eve in New York City, and Angela (Rachel Nichols) is late for a family Christmas party. She is unaware of an obsessed admirer (Wes Bentley) who has other holiday plans for her. Basically, she is trapped in an underground parking garage, and terrorized by this psychopath and his dog. That’s the plot.

Wes Bentley plays a good nutcase as Thomas; he’s even funny at times. And his dialogue is often humorously ironic. Rachel Nichols does fine with her character, but I couldn’t help but think she was trying too hard to be Jodie Foster (whose latest movie, “The Brave One,” is excellent, by the way).

“P2” has an interesting element: Since it’s Christmas Eve, there are lots of Christmas carols playing throughout the film. This has an interesting effect on us, the viewers. Christmas carols are typically associated with peace and happiness; so, to have them playing during horror-movie moments leaves us to struggle with oxymoronic emotions.

“P2” also has problems: The parking garage is unusually dim, even before the horrors begin. The screenplay requires Rachel Nichols to talk to herself quite a bit (so we’ll know what she’s thinking and feeling), but it doesn’t really work. There is an absolutely unnecessary scene involving a fingernail. The film’s elevators are water tight in the bottom but not at the top. And, of course, it uses this genre’s typical cheap-shot, “Gotcha!” scare-tactic, which is to be expected, but how many times is reasonable for a barking dog to do this?

But overall, “P2” effectively makes us wonder, “What ever would I do if I were in this situation?” The movie creates respectable suspense and empathy for its protagonist. And, of course, there are painful moments to make us wince and squirm and be thankful that we’re sitting safely in a theater.

Directed by Franck Khalfoun
Wes Bentley / Rachel Nichols / Simon Reynolds
98 min. Horror / Thriller
MPPA: R (for strong violence/gore, terror and language)

Copyright 2007. 215