P2
Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 104 June 2008
(1 votes, average: 7 out of 10)
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We wish you a bloody Christmas!
The Lowdown: On Christmas Eve, ambitious young executive Angela Bridges finds herself working late to appease her irate boss. However, when she arrives at the parking garage she discovers that her car won’t start. Thomas, a friendly security guard comes to her aid, but his attentions soon take a sinister turn…
Review: As he proved in his career-defining American Beauty stint, no one does ‘unhinged voyeur’ quite like Wes Bentley. Any horror fan worth his or her salt will guess that this mild-mannered parking attendant will eventually show his true colours, and sure enough, ambitious career woman Angela soon finds herself stripped of her business suit, manacled to a table and fed microwaved Christmas dinner by her (Santa suit-clad) new friend! What follows is a tried and trusted two-hander that positively bubbles over with subterranean claustrophobia, but never really hits its stride.
Novice director Franck Khalfoun, working from an original idea by Switchblade Romance/The Hills Have Eyes duo Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur, handles the action with a deft touch, cranking up the tension before letting the movie spiral towards its bloody climax. Aja and Levasseur have built a fine reputation for themselves by resisting the obvious horror movie clichés, but Khalfoun can’t quite wrestle the movie away from standard slasher territory. Wilfully quirky touches like the easy listening Christmas tunes subverted in time-honoured Blue Velvet fashion feel tacked on, but the queasy brutality is generally well rendered. Neat moments like the soaking wet lift scene keep things fresh, but P2 may still seem stale to hardened horror buffs.
All in all, an above-average horror yarn that makes effective use of its unusual location. Unimaginative special features include a handful of brisk featurettes and a three-way audio commentary.
FILM: 6 EXTRAS: 5
DVD Info:
US Certificate: R
Starring: Wes Bentley, Rachel Nichols, Simon Reynolds, Grace Lynn Kung
Directed By: Franck Khalfoun, 2007
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 98mins
Price: £13.99
Special Features:
Scene Selection
Audio Commentary With Director Franck Khalfoun and Co-Writers Alexandre Aja & Gregory Levasseur
‘A New Level of Fear: The Making Of P2’ Featurette
‘Designing Terror’ Featurette
‘Tension Nouveau: Presenting Franck Khalfoun’ Featurette
