Angela is your garden variety NYC workaholic stuck late in her Park Avenue office on Christmas Eve.
When she finally leaves for the night, rushing to her sisters in Jersey – her car won’t start in the parking garage of her building. The security guard tries to help, but he can’t. She calls a cab but can’t get out of the building when it arrives because the building is locked and she can’t find the security guard to open it in time.
Oh yeah – and the security guard is obsessed with her and decides to kidnap her and try to force her to be his girlfriend.
One of the ways he attempts to do this is by brutally murdering the office manager who had the audacity to hit on her in an elevator after the office Christmas party. He does this with a car.
With her in it.
Dudes a real charmer. He is played by Wes Bentley who will now be forever in my mind as one of the creepiest people alive. So I guess he was good.
She spends the rest of the movie trying to escape the parking garage. It’s like Die Hard but not really like Die Hard. It’s sorta like one of those survival video games where you just need to stay alive but then it’s really not like that either.
She is played by Rachel Nicols (She will be Scarlett in the new GI JOE movie) so if you are familiar with the site you know I have not COMPLAINT ONE about her performance. I would watch her eat a bowl of Cheerios.
It actually felt like a late seventies – early eighties film a bit; not at all afraid to focus on the gore and unflinching. You know from the minute the badness starts what’s gonna happen and when the moment finally comes – it is very satisfying.
So is it good?
Yes and No. It moves well and has some excellent moments of tension and suspense.
Is it bad?
No and Yes. Some of the plot devices are just stupid. Lock me in a parking garage with a maniac for ten minutes – I’ll be out in 3. It’s hard to believe that someone as smart as Angela is made out to be couldn’t get out faster or more effectively. It’s a parking garage – not a bank vault.
Did I enjoy it?
Yes. Yes I did.
Wortha Blockbuster rental – though I got it in the Red box.
