Juliet Tan
Despite the genre description, P2 is hardly a horror movie and not much a thriller either. Truth be told, the movie had more moments when it was amusing than those when it was horrifying or thrilling.
Angela Bridges (Rachel Nichols) is a young workaholic who seldom makes time for her family. On Christmas Eve, she’s alone in her office trying to close another deal. When she finally heads for her car in the underground carpark, she finds it unable to start and her phone has no reception. This is thus the perfect invitation for Thomson (Wes Bentley), the creepy psychopathic security guard in her building to kidnap her for company to his Christmas dinner in his office.
The captor’s enthusiasm is, however, quickly dampened by Angela’s escape into the darkness of the carpark and he starts to turn nasty on her.
From then on, we get a glimpse into how cuckoo Thomson is. And because there were no flashbacks to a traumatising childhood or a string of cheating girlfriends, that might have explained why he would do this, this left no room for redemption for Thomson.
As with most thrillers that involve a killer, Thomson has the upper hand at the start of the movie.
He tries to drown Angela in the elevator – she jams it to isolate herself from the maniac – and even lets his rabid black dog after her. But Angela’s wits and speed get her out of the sticky situations time and again.
By the end of the movie, Angela has learnt how to slaughter a dog, play dead then stab a man in his eye, and set him on fire.
Like Thomson, P2 had no redeeming qualities. Even the squeals from him when he’s cuffed to the car and barbequed alive were disappointing and short lived. There was neither satisfaction in watching him die nor pity for him that it ended so badly.
The movie also insulted the intelligence of the viewers by paying scant attention to the little details. Angela’s getting bitten by a vicious dog only meant she hobbled about but she was obviously not hurt enough to stop her from driving. She even tried for the longest time to unlock the cuffs on her wrists with some unknown object but finally actually used the keys instead.
The 96-minute flick could possibly have been more successful as a flash game where you pick up items and try to use it to break out of P2. But it would have been a boring 10 minutes anyway.
If you’re looking for even the slightest entertainment, steer clear of this one. But if you’re looking for a place to sleep, the cinema could be a comfortable place and you certainly won’t be bothered much by Angela creeping around.
Rating: 1.5 stars of 5 stars
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Language: English
Release Date: 24 Jul 2008
Main Cast: Rachel Nichols, Wes Bentley, Simon Reynolds
Director: Franck Khalfoun
Running Time: 96 minutes
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