P2

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Horrorphile - August 2008

P2

August 11th 2008 02:30

Co-produced and co-written by the French new wave duo of modern horror, Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur, the young guys responsible for Haute Tension (2003) and the remake of The Hills Have Eyes (2006), as well as the new supernatural horror Mirrors (2008) and the upcoming 3D remake of Piranha. Hollywood has seized them and P2 (2007) is yet another notch on their bloodied belts, albeit directed by colleague Franck Khalfoun.

The movie is painfully slight and sports more sillyisms than you can throw a heavy duty Maglite at. The title alone is lame. Why not call it The Parking Attendent? Or what about Bad Santa? Hmmm, that title’s already taken.

Angela (Rachel Nichols) calls for a cab, but it's NYC on Xmas Eve

It’s Christmas Eve and ambitious young businesswoman Angela (Rachel Nichols) is the last to leave the office keen to get to her sister’s festivities. Unfortunately her car won’t start, but thankfully over-night parking attendant Thomas (Wes Bentley) is there to help. Or not, as the case may be.

Wes Bentley as lonely parking attendent Thomas

Nope, it becomes very apparent not long after Angela turns down Thomas’s invitation to a small Christmas meal with him and his guard dog that Thomas is a little unhinged; a few sandwiches short of a picnic shall we say. He takes Angela’s “No” very personally, and proceeds to subdue her by force, strip her out of her corporate attire and into a revealing dress, then handcuff her in his office. All so she can join in a little Xmas cheer. Of course Angela views the whole thing a little differently.

Rachel, thinking she's alone, realises there's no mobile coverage

For the next hour and a quarter, after Angela witnesses the lengths of which Thomas’s homicidal disquiet goes to, and later manages to escape, Thomas pursues Angela around the underground parking lot. The terror that began on Parking Level 2 will end on Parking Level 2. No one’s going anywhere.

Angela's boss Mr. Harper (Simon Reynolds) in a sticky situation

P2 is one idea stretched to breaking point. It requires a lot of actor’s charisma and compelling direction to lift a two-hander such as this work memorably. For most red-blooded males the only thing they’ll remember once the movie is over is the supporting performance of Rachel Nichols’ push-up bra and tight fitting dress (numerous threads on imdb will prove this claim). Nichols and Wes Bentley are very competent actors and they definitely hold their own, Nichols is like a young Jodie Foster (with a bigger bosom), while Bentley (who was superb as the weirdo adolescent in American Beauty) delivers a methodically effective role as the parking attendant from hell.

Angela in desperate mode

There are too many moments of “Why didn’t she do that instead?!” or “As if …?!”, which will annoy a lot of viewers. But the conceit of the movie is what drives it. You have to suspend belief from the moment Thomas crosses the line. Still, the horror set-pieces are few and far between. There’s one savage offing, but the movie overall is by no means as horrific, or as scary as The Hills Have Eyes remake. Director Khalfoun is competent, but he doesn’t challenge you like a good horror director can and should.

Angela, even more desperate

Warning! Contains spoiler!

The two things that really bothered me was Angela in one car deciding to play chicken with Thomas in his car, and at movie’s end how Angela would defend her actions to police when they find Thomas’s charred body handcuffed to the car. It’s odd how screenwriters can get really pedantic about one element of characterization, and then completely disregard another. Angela walks away from a maimed Thomas who is handcuffed to the car, and he calls out to her pleading that he’s been misunderstood, that he just wants to be friends ‘cos he’s always alone (ha!), but Angela ignores him and he gets angry, blurting out that Angela is ‘a fucking cunt!”, and that’s the verbal straw that broke the camel’s back. Angela turns and lights the leaked stream of petrol with the mini-taser she took from Thomas.

Angela in self-defence mode

No doubt P2 received a theatrical season overseas, but here it’s gone straight to DVD, and will probably do good rental business based solely on the cover pic which shows Angela in revealing wet dress brandishing an emergency fireman’s axe and looking suitably tense.

DVD cover art

Here's the movie in two minutes, err, I mean here's the trailer:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

7 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Damo

August 11th 2008 02:43

What attracts me to want to see this movie?

The pushup bra for one.

Yet I feel as if I have seen this movie a dozen times before in different locations. Girl in distress strips down to her underwear so that she can become the liberated killing machine within. Did I mention that the underwear is crucial.

What puts me off wanting to see this movie:
There just does not seem to be enough victims to make it interesting.

On the balance the pushup bra would get me over the line.

Comment by Dianna G

August 11th 2008 02:46

I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds

I saw that movie.

The Psycho Security guard? Took one look at him and knew he was the Psycho.

And knew she was going to get mugged. Funny commentary there.

He looks like my ex...

~Dianna

Comment by Bryn

August 11th 2008 03:19

Horrorphile

Damo, yeah. And both counts.

Dianna, funny commentary? You mean my photo tag?? Yes, it's always unsettling when a villian resembles an ex ...

Comment by Always Eighteen

August 11th 2008 13:36

Always Eighteen

Dam... I expected more from the guys who wrote Hills Have Eyes, cos that movie messed me up.

Nonetheless... hmm.. It's cheap Tuesday tomorrow. I hope it's out....

Comment by Dianna G

August 11th 2008 20:11

I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds

I meant listening to me and my best friend talk when we watched it

I have this habit of making comments.

~Dianna

Comment by Cibbuano

August 11th 2008 23:40

Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak

ah, that looks terrible. You nailed it, Bryn, with your selection of pictures.

Girl in coat.

Girl takes off coat to show spectacular pushup bra.

Girl gets wet.

Girl wields an axe.

Done! Movie finished!

Comment by D. Armenta

August 12th 2008 00:18

The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan
L.A.M.P.

Dead on, Bryn..formulaic and predictable.

I always thought Wes Bentley would make an admirable lunatic..too bad it had to be in this ~~clone~~ film.

[ Previous - The Silence of the Lambs ]

[ Next - Palabras Encadenadas (Killing Words) ]

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