P2 (2007)

A businesswoman is pursued by a psychopath after being locked in a parking garage on Christmas Eve.

Director:

Franck Khalfoun

Writers:

Alexandre Aja (story), Grégory Levasseur (story),

Stars:

Wes Bentley, Rachel Nichols, Simon Reynolds

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Wes Bentley	...	Thomas
Rachel Nichols	...	Angela
Simon Reynolds	...	Jim Harper
Philip Akin	...	Karl
Stephanie Moore	...	Lorraine (voice)
Miranda Edwards	...	Jody
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee	...	Man in Elevator
Grace Lynn Kung	...	Woman in Elevator
Bathsheba Garnett	...	Homeless Woman
Philip Williams	...	Cop #1
Arnold Pinnock	...	Cop #2
Franck Khalfoun	...	Newsman

Storyline

The story centers on a corporate climber who gets stuck working late on Christmas Eve and finds herself the target of an unhinged security guard. With no help in sight, the woman must overcome physical and psychological challenges to survive.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | christmas eve | car | psychopath | businesswoman | 

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Taglines:

She Did What He Never Expected. She Fought Back.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence/gore, terror and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site SND [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese Spanish

Release Date:

9 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

El nivel del pánico

Filming Locations:

Cinespace Film Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,083,398 (USA) (2 November 2007)

Gross:

$3,992,339 (USA) (14 December 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

P2 Productions, Summit Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot in two months, exclusive at night, at a real working Toronto parking garage.

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Goofs

When Tom first enters the Car Rental shop looking for Angela, after a shot of his stun gun the camera goes to a shot of Tom as he walks across the lobby of the shop. You can very clearly see the shadowy reflection of a crew member in the window behind Tom moving around.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Angela Bridges: Yes, sir, I redrafted the contracts to include the new stipulations.

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Crazy Credits

Accompanying the closing credits are a few stills from the film, presented as if the movie had been a comedy.

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Connections

Referenced in Don't Scream, Just Swim: Behind-the-Scenes of 'Piranha 3D' (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Blue Christmas"
Written by Billy Hayes and Jay Johnson (as Jay W. Johnson)
Performed by Elvis Presley
Courtesy of RCA Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

So Surprised How good this was....

So, P2... it looks like it would be a crap movie. But it's actually pretty good. I KNOW!!! Coming from an art background and as an avid fan of suspense and horror films I found this film was pretty smart and responsible. Rachel Nichols performance was really good, and the scenario plays out believably while avoiding a plethora of gender stereotypes, as well as confrontational stereotypes.

The characters are interesting and dynamic is great. From their first interactions, and the interplay between them it's clear how involved the process was in trying to capture those moments.

As far as the story goes, it's a pretty standard fair for a suspense thriller type of film. What makes this one work is the consideration given to selling the moments truthfully and keeping scenes honest. Right down to the end of the film. Wes Bently is a really gifted actor, his performance was candid, truthful and filled with a lot of well expressed anxiety and isolation. But never really expressed vocally, but it's always present in his character. Rachel Nichols is straight aces with her exploration of her characters pensive and diplomatic displacement in the situation she finds herself in. These two carry the film. The only problem I had was that one character was never really at the center, and I really wanted to know more than what I was being provided. I think some more time with either Bently's or Nichol's characters could have made a world a difference in really attaching us to them. I would say more so for Bently's security guard... he has an implied back-story, but I wanted to see more... how he functions outside of his job a little.

Something that really divides Seven from all it's other rip-offs and variations is the focus on the subtle specifics of Mills and Somerset's world, how definite and impractical their ethics are in the environments they inhabit. And then, how liberal and apathetic they are when faced with John Doe's absolute nature. This dynamic is that missing ingredient from P2. You're not really given an identifiable attachment to either of the core characters.

But overall, a movie I greatly under-estimated... This film does deserve a good look, but don't expect it to be something like "The Eye" or "Skeleton Key". It's a much richer and culturally considerate tapestry than films of that ilk, but isn't rich enough to be a classic like "Seven". It's a good film that I am sure didn't fully get it's dues.