Escape Room: Tournament of Champions(2021)(Review)[Weirdo Wednesday]

A few years ago, director Adam Robitel found a way to bring the fun of an escape room into the cinematic format. Playing out like a more gleeful and less grisly ‘Saw’, the film was a rather big success which naturally called for a sequel.

Set a few years after the original, this incantation brings us to the 2 survivors of the previous film who now have aggressive PTSD. We watch as simple things like a hotel room trigger them into frantic states of terror. They decide they have to turn the tables on the mysterious creator named Minos, and so they travel to find him. Little do they know, he is anticipating their return with open arms, as well with a few unsuspecting other survivors from other tournaments. The rest of the film plays out as they go from room to room with the risk of death and the smallest amounts of optimism.

What I really enjoyed was the idea of bringing returning players into this mix. What it does is allow the audience a chance to escape over explanations of how the universe functions, and instead focus on more challenging rooms. Since the people know what to look for, the rooms fly through at a neck breaking pace. The ingenuity behind the set designs is put front and center.

It’s a fun movie with some rather clever sets and payoffs. I enjoyed the first one and really liked the extended cut of this film which helped add a new ending and better explain the universe.

3.5/5
“Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” is currently available on VOD.

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra