Panic Room

This movie kept me at the edge of my seat from 10 minutes inside of it and all through until its very end. A very good story highlighted by very good performances.

My hat off to Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart, they're great playing mother and daughter.

Country-singer-turned-actor Dwight Yoakam outdoes himself portraying one of the burglars.

This claustrophobic suspense thriller sets itself up well with a remarkable, if digitally enhanced, one-shot that neatly and necessarily establishes the geography of the central location, while also planting the seeds for the seedy uses of various tools laying about the house, so that the action that comes later is clean and clear without ever needing to slow down for the sake of audience reorientation. 'Panic Room (2002)' is pretty pacy and nicely gritty to boot, being unusually violent for pictures of the kind but never less tense either. It manages to make a compelling home-invasion seem suitably layered, presenting the bad guys as rounded individuals with differing yet believable motives and personalities. It still feels immediately dangerous, though, never losing sight of its protagonists and the escalating peril they're placed in, until it finally reaches its truly edge-of-your-seat and slightly unexpected finale. 7/10

This movie starts out slow, but it builds tension. This would be a very terrifying situation. I can see why Dwight Yoakam wears a stetson all the time. Is acting going to be his new career? He plays a real good creep. This movie has a sense of realism. It is worth seeing on the big screen.

Panic Room stands as a classic horror film that expertly blends elements of thrill and crime. Curiously, despite its clear horror attributes, it doesn't find its home in the horror genre on IMDb. As a fan of well-crafted horror movies that encompass compelling character arcs and character development, this film left a mark considering its impeccable writing which ticked all the boxes.

What sets Panic Room apart is its unique narrative approach. The writer's choice to conclude the movie in a similar fashion to how it commenced is a rarity within the horror genre. Both the protagonist and antagonist are intricately developed characters, brought to life with equally outstanding performances that mirror their well-structured designs and deep character arcs.

Although the trapped-in-a-house subgenre can sometimes be predictable due to its reliance on intense horror and survival, Panic Room is as an exception. The tense atmosphere adds to the film's overall impact. I was engrossed by its gripping combination of thrills, well-crafted writing, and stellar performances thanks to Jodie Foster & Forest Whitaker's stand-out performance.

I felt the iconic dialogue of the classic, Shawshank Redemption (So was Red) was recreated - You're gonna be okay.

This was a very suspenseful and exciting thriller from David Fincher who is responsible for my all time favourite film which is Seven. This new film has another very good performance by Jodie Foster but the acting standout of the film has to go to Dwight Yoakam with awesome performance as Raoul. The only problem i had with this film was its ending which was a bit of a let down but did not really spoil the film at all.

8 out of 10