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<< Fred Claus | Main | HorrorFest 2007 >>
park your terror
P2
by rick grant
rickgrant01@comcast.net
B Rated R 98 min

      Just when I think that there can’t be another original spin on the cliche horror/suspense genre, writer director Franck Khalfoun shot this clever flick with two actors who play characters facing-off in a duel of life and death. An empty, locked-down parking garage is the scene of this cat-and-mouse game between an innocent young woman, Angela Bridges (Rachel Nichols), and a psychotic security guard, Bob Harper (Simon Reynolds), who is holding her hostage.
      To add more tension to the scenario, it’s Christmas Eve and Angela had been working late. When her car won’t start, Bob offers to help her and invites her into his office so she can call a cab. He exhibits no signs of being a psychopath. In fact, he’s cordial and even handsome. Everything seems normal. She calls the cab but the parking garage gate is locked, so she can’t get to the cab. Her cell phone can’t get a signal, then she loses it outside the gate. Now she’s frustrated and mad.
      Suddenly, Angela goes unconscious and wakes up wearing only her slip, handcuffed, and chained to Bob’s office table (think urban Black Snake Moan). He treats her like she is there willingly. Judging by his conversation, it’s obvious to Angela that Bob has been stalking her and watching her on his bank of security cameras. Bob’s intentions seem related to his twisted obsession with Angela, about whom he has fantasized for many months. Now he is reveling in a position of power.
      Ah yes, but what Bob doesn’t realize is that Angela is smart and thinking of ways to defeat him. When Angela woke up as a hostage, she made the decision to not be a victim, and to fight him at every turn. Her actions exacerbate Bob’s adrenaline rush. Let the games begin.
      Director Khalfoun masterfully creates the suspense in this large eerie setting. Note that the entire parking garage has wet pavement to add to the reflections and ominous look of this dungeon-like fortress. Angela runs through the parking garage trying to find a way out, but Bob has made sure all exits are locked. He watches her every move through his security cameras, so her actions are only playing into Bob’s warped game of saving his catch until after he has worn her down.
      As the story unfolds, Khalfoun cranks up the tension as Angela is now a physical and mental wreck. Only her will to survive keeps her moving and avoiding Bob’s relentless onslaught of terror. The two actors each perform with method acting verve, and play off each other with convincing intensity in this fight to the death. The action and suspense are riveting, as viewers are swept up into the horror of Angela’s situation. The fact that there are creeps like Bob floating around our society gives the story credibility. Indeed, this film was a pleasant surprise in a genre overcrowded with cheap horror schlock.

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