200 Degrees (2017) User Reviews

Not Hot Enough

[dariuslanghoff · 3/10 · 19 August 2017]

I like minimalist motion pictures. This appears to be one of such a kind: one man, one room, a few other voices. A man, a broker, is locked up in an oven for a reason unknown, but a menacing voice demands from him one million dollars unless he becomes an overcooked tart. He does not have such the sum but is given time to find and transfer it.

The man is not incommunicado - he has a phone and can call whoever he wants which includes his brother a cop, his mother, his business partners. What strikes the viewer during his phone talks is the tone of the voice of his interlocutors: strangely detached and disinterested, although help is offered.

All hinged on what and how would be constructed on the basis of a not-too-original premise. Devilish disembodied voice taxing the trapped anti-hero, foreboding music created some tension and mysterious atmosphere. Unluckily, about 45 minutes into the movie the script runs out of ideas and sees no direction where it should go. The phone exchanges become sillier and sillier and even the "voice" veers from one unsubstantial comment to another.

I guessed the ending half way through the film - the hero's family has arranged that whole ordeal for him - and I was wishing I would be proved wrong because then this might be something not quite worthless. But I was right and there the laughable closing coda disintegrates whatever of value was presented earlier.

However, there is a little twist at the end: don't swindle a swindler.

Too distracted by sexist hypocrisy to really watch

[welchykaty · 3/10 · 11 October 2017]

All I can say is that if the protagonist had been female, she would have almost immediately been stripped down to her underwear. This guy removes his jacket at the start and then remains fully clothed (socks and shoes included) all the way through. I can't get over the blatant double standards here - and before anyone thinks I'm being overly sensitive, we actually (completely unnecessarily) see tits! Incredible. The guy is in insane heat, gets soaked so is not only absolutely boiling but humid, and keeps all his clothes on. Then we see boobs because...? The woman could have had a bra on and we still would have known she was a prostitute.

I'm so incensed by this aspect of the film alone that I was too distracted by my ire to concentrate properly. Relatively interesting concept ruined by unabashed hypocrisy. Points for the setting as I really hate the heat so it did make me go "oooooooo" quite a few times (of course followed by "what kind of absolute cretin wouldn't take some of those clothes off? Oh yes, one who's not being objectified").

Perfect phone advertisement

[pelin-syilmaz · 4/10 · 13 June 2017]

This movie is not a waste of time but can't win bronze medal either. Starts like it might be a new taste in "kidnepped and will be tortured till we finally learn why" movie, then it ends like a really bad theatre scene played by their family members.

The end is way beyond bad. And the end throws the rest of the movie in to a trash bin. But! But it would make a great phone and phone network advertisement. I would definitely buy that phone. Damn.

Derivative unimaginative rubbish

[henferdeline · 1/10 · 11 June 2017]

Read above: S P O I L E R S

This is the whole story: guy (Ryan Hinds) wakes up shackled to a chair in an iron room that turns out to be an oven. His distraught, grief- stricken policeman brother (John) locked him there to milk him out of his money. After all, John's boy died of cancer because he was unable to tell Ryan that's why he needed money. So, it is Ryan's fault, of course.

The room is metal. It has a very large electrical heating set hanging from the ceiling, a submarine-like door, a reinforced glass spy window and ventilation that can be turned open or shut.

Ryan is something of a stock broker. The type Hollywood loves to demonize. He was at a party with his partner and 2 prostitutes (obviously...) at which both were severally abducted and taken to the oven rooms (one for each of them).

The partner calls Ryan to ask for help as the heat in his oven gets turned on. We listen as he crisply dies. Then John, voice disguised by a modulator, demands one million dollars.

The oven is made of iron. There's no way one could get a good signal in there - and Ryan should know it. However, there's a strong signal available, so Ryan calls his brother John on his iPhone7. Ryan doesn't know his whereabouts and, it seems, he also doesn't know how to find it through any maps app..... Oh....wait....John is in the precinct? Then how can he be talking to Ryan at the oven rooms warehouse? Simple! His good wife AND Ryan's own wife are there lending a helping hand....and killing Ryan's partner in the process.

Well, left with no alternatives, Ryan starts transferring all his money to his captor's account. Including money from his dying father's health insurance. And conning the most of it from his clients. All through the phone. All at a moment's notice. And all with instant transfers. Ryan has such nice and gullible clients!

When he is finished and the captor demands more, you can imagine poor Ryan's surprise....well, it turns out that the captor knows that Ryan has a 4 million stash in a different bank. They also know the account number and the password! So, Ryan goes on and obliges the captor - after all, it either that or going roast....

Then they finally let him out and expose the charade. John's wife, not contented with the money, also shoots Ryan's wife. And only then notices that the money has been taken back....

John notices things have gone south in a bad way. So, the logical decision is to shoot his own wife and try to make amends with Ryan.

Ryan then manages (we don't see how but, at this point, who cares?) to get all the bodies and his brother locked into his old oven. He turns on the medium heat and leaves everybody to slow cooking as he walks away into the credits......

Seriously, go watch anything else.....

Just Ridiculous

[lizafox-59338 · 2/10 · 13 February 2018]

The whole thing is just so very bad. The acting is bad. The script is bad. The twists are bad. The end is bad. It's completely unrealistic - how did the guy's cell phone work so well in this metal room and in the intense heat (I've left my phone in a hot car for all of 30 minutes and it shuts itself down). It's just bad.

There's really no mystery as to "why" this guy is in the situation he's in. He's clearly an enormous a-hole. So you're not kept on the edge of your seat wondering why.

There's really no mystery as to "who." I don't know if it was bad acting or an intentional attempt to give the viewer a hint, but it was painfully obvious from the very beginning. No wonder the main character was able to figure it out on his own.

Why the guy's coworker gets wrapped up in this mess is beyond me. Guilty by association, I guess? At least there was a reason for wanting to kill the main character, even if it was the dumbest of all motivations, but I can't for the life of me figure out why the antagonist decided to do away with the coworker as well.

I guess it at least held my attention for an hour and a half while I let my restless newborn sleep on my chest in the middle of the night. But that's about all this nonsense is good for.

This movie sucks

[devoogdlaurens · 1/10 · 4 May 2018]

Anyone else bothered that he didn't try to call 911 right away? it's just ridiculous that he has a phone but doesn't use it at all.

I couldn't take anymore

[Christopher370 · 2/10 · 25 August 2022]

I stuck with it for about an hour but the lead guy was so unlikable that I really didn't care anymore by that point if he roasted alive or not and shut it off. Did he live or die by the end? Who knows, who cares?

call me mr fahrenheit

[amiralikkhani · 2/10 · 12 June 2022]

I'm burnin' through the sky, yeah 200 degrees That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit I'm travelling at the speed of light I wanna make a supersonic man out of you.

Solid movie on a modest budget

[balthesaur · 7/10 · 11 December 2021]

I didn't know what to expect when I started this film. The premise of being in an 'Escape Room'-like oven and being forced to transfer money to your captors seems like a fair plot. It opens fairly simply in a large, steel room with massive heat lamps suspended above an unconscious man tied to a chair and what happens thereafter is strangely reminiscent of 'Saw', where a creepy, distorted voice is engaging in psychological torture and giving instructions.

The ending, which was a little surprising, was well executed and reached the logical conclusion. There isn't much left to interpretation.

If you have an hour and a half, I'd recommend giving this one a shot.

Only worth it if you're a fan of Eric Balfour

[dancefriend97 · 1/10 · 16 June 2019]

Everything about this movie was bad except for Eric Balfour. His acting was the only good and bearable acting. Even the voice overs were painful. I get that this was a low budget, small project but it could have been better. The premise of the story was interesting and good. This twist was nice also. Had a very "Saw" feel to it throughout the whole film.

This thriller will take you on one very twisted ride!

[lorialyse · 10/10 · 6 June 2017]

Be prepared to spend 90 minutes on the edge of your seat. With excellent production, great casting, and a clever but nerve-wrecking plot, 200 Degrees will have you biting your nails on pins and needles. This thriller is chock full of suspense with twists and turns you will NEVER see coming. Balfour and Cochell give excellent deliveries that will have you anxiously sweating bullets and really feeling the heat.

Better than expected

[dslr88 · 7/10 · 8 June 2021]

Grade A for Ahole stockebroker is held in a kiln until he can pay a million dollards to his captor.... So you sit down to watch this and the first thing you assume is that its just another saw clone. With the scary voice thats used in the movie... well it clearly is. But this primarily one man show done for the most part in one location is an effective thriller. Yeah its another Saw but it held my attention throughout. The story and set up is good and the lead actor does a great job with the role. Pleasantly surprised by this i was.

Could have been much better.

[stephenw-30180 · 6/10 · 8 June 2017]

Ryan, (Eric Balfour) plays a man trapped in a steel room with large heat lamps and an intercom to communicate with him. He does not know how he got there or why he is trapped inside.

A voice starts to communicate with him demanding $1,000,000 be transferred into an account and he has two hours to do so. If not, the consequences are dire. This is the general premise of the film. I will not give away any more information to spoil it for potential viewers.

The General concept has been used many times over, and this film, albeit somewhat different, could have been much better. Throughout 90% of the film, the viewer has no idea who is doing this (or why) it is happening to Ryan. However, as much as there is an somewhat interesting twist at the end, if one pays close attention to detail, you can get a pretty good grasp of what is happening.

Another run-of-the-mill kidnap/torture film that attempts to keep you guessing the why's and how's. Balfour is pretty convincing as the victim but by no means is this one of his better performances.

The ending, as mentioned had a somewhat interesting twist but was not very good at all. If fact, it was bad! All to neat and tidy in its wrap-up and quite contrived.

I gave this film a generous "6" rating just because it kept my attention to the films end but don't expect a heart pounding thriller here. If you have 91 minutes to spare, you could do worse things with your time.

Misleading ratings!

[berbecar-alex · 10/10 · 3 July 2017]

From my point of view, this movie is not even nearly that bad as it is rated here. Acting might be a little bit soft but i think it is compensated with the overall thrill and somewhat constant "heated" pace. At first i had some second thoughts about watching this, considering the rating it has got, but also considering that many other way better movies have low ratings i told my self i could give it a chance and now i'm just glad that i did. I think you could easily give it a chance, might be surprised (in the good way).

Wow! Great movie for anyone that enjoys thrillers!

[lexiarnold · 10/10 · 10 June 2017]

Wow, great movie! It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time and I absolutely loved the ending! The actors and actresses were excellent. I hope to see more movies filmed in Texas and hopefully with this level of magnitude. The writer of this movie is a genius! I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys thrillers and a good story line. This movie deserves an award for sure.

Balfour is great

[chris-21480 · 10/10 · 15 October 2019]

Cool movie...Worth the watch. Ha, if you only knew. This one will be a cult classic someday.