247°F (2011)

Four friends travel to a lakeside cabin for a carefree weekend, the fun turns into a nightmare when 3 of them end up locked in a hot sauna. Every minute counts and every degree matters as they fight for their lives in the heat up to 247°F.

Directors:

Levan Bakhia, Beka Jguburia (as Beqa Jguburia)

Writers:

Levan Bakhia (story), Beka Oniani (story) (as Beqa Oniani)

Stars:

Scout Taylor-Compton, Christina Ulloa, Travis Van Winkle

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scout Taylor-Compton	...	Jenna
Christina Ulloa	...	Renee
Travis Van Winkle	...	Ian
Michael Copon	...	Michael
Tyler Mane	...	Wade
Rene Etore	...	Beau
Tornike Gogrichiani	...	Jamie
Jeremy Inabnit	...	Man in Woods
Igor Lukin	...	Wade's Double
Ibrahim Idowu	...	Club Security 1
Michael Zaalishvili	...	Club Security 2
Michael Andrew	...	Policeman 1
Beso Natsvlishvili	...	Policeman 2
George Dugashvili	...	EMT 1
Mamuka Mazavrishvili II	...	EMT 2

Storyline

Jenna, Renee, Ian and Michael arrive at a lakeside cabin owned by Ian's uncle Wade. Intending to enjoy a carefree weekend, instead, three of them become locked in the hot sauna. First they think its Michael playing jokes on them, but soon realize that help is not coming and they must find a way out before the heat kills them. As the heat rises they are pushed to their physical and psychological limits - staying alive is not easy any more. Breaking a small window - may be the worst thing they can do, because cool air will trick the thermostat to run the heater full blast. They need to get out, but all they can is wait! Wait for what, wait for who?! How long could you wait in the heat up to 250 degree Fahrenheit.

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Plot Keywords:

heat | cabin | sauna | uncle | electrical shock | 

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Taglines:

This thing can heat up to 250 degrees

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, a scene of sexuality, some disturbing images and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Georgia

Language:

English Ukrainian

Release Date:

1 September 2011 (Georgia)

Also Known As:

119 Graus

Filming Locations:

Tbilisi, Georgia

Box Office

Budget:

$650,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Foley Walkers Studio,Imedi Films,Sarke Studio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The true event that the movie is based on happened in Georgia, where this film is made and filmmakers are from. 4 friends were in the sauna, one left for the toilet, locking his friends in - exactly as it is shown in the movie. He never came back, and when he woke up he didn't remember that he left them in the sauna, and started to search for them elsewhere. Fortunately no one died since they managed to turn the heater off, but they had to spend over 10 hours in the decreasing heat, until they were found.

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Goofs

At the start the friends share a drink of Mead, a popular drink among pagans, which is Wine made from honey rather than from grapes, however they incorrectly refer to it as moonshine, which is home-made Whiskey with concentrations above 50% alcohol by volume.

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Quotes

Ian: Renee, hand us the bucket.
Renee: Fuck off.
Ian: Thank you. That's very helpful of you.

User Reviews

It's difficult to warm to 247°F

Four friends gather for a weekend trip that turns into a nightmare when three of them end up stuck inside of a sauna.

There's not much to go on other than that for a synopsis but movies banking on a claustrophobic vibe have tackled even bigger challenges. One only has to think about Buried, featuring Ryan Reynolds all alone and six feet under. A good screenplay featuring rich characters and interesting conflicts could probably have carried 247°F but unfortunately, this wasn't the case here.

247°F features cookie-cutter protagonists who follow the usual formula but without much savvy and no heart. Of course, you've got the prototypical troubled girl as the main character. Her carefree hot female friend. The cynical jock who is the hottie's insensitive boyfriend and of course, the more down to earth dude who may or may not hook up with our heroin.

Georgia is a country that more and more international productions are turning to for cost-effective shooting, so I suppose they might as well turn to making their own movies. This one has the look and production values of a typical American straight-to-video. The problem here is the story, the screenplay. The movie begins by highlighting the past of Jenna, a now quiet girl who survived a car accident but lost her boyfriend. 247°F takes place three years later, as a medicated Jenna still struggles to get past that tragedy. Unfortunately, the screenplay and direction never make this gripping.

One could hope the story would finally take off once the three characters get stuck inside but this is not the case either. There is no character development, not much in the way of interesting conflicts. No smart thinking and not much drama unfolding other than the three of them successively losing their temper or arguing pointlessly. All of this intersecting with a few scenes featuring people on the outside going about their business. Will the three find a way out? Will someone on the outside help them? Those two questions are what 247°F is all about but unfortunately, the screenplay doesn't build much suspense. The audience is simply left waiting with very little sense of anticipation being built up.

Scout Taylor-Compton is adequate as Jenna. The other protagonists are played by standard B-movie actors probably picked because they are nice too look at. The music score is decent. There are no major faults as far as cinematography... but as a whole, this is below average film making with no heart, because such a story demands a much richer screenplay.

It should also be mentioned that despite this being listed in the horror genre, there is very little here that qualifies the movie as such. (I personally did not mind and I did not lower the rating for that, but think it deserves to be mentioned so that others won't be disappointed)