Customer Reviews

Breathing Room

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Independent movies can be really great....or really disappointing. This particular example has some of both characteristics. Compared to some of the independently-produced disasters I have suffered through recently, I would have to say that the acting was quite acceptable, the inevitable hand-held camera work was not only well done but actually accentuated the uncertainty of the events taking place, the sound quality was good (you could actually understand the dialog), and the majority of the plot was able to maintain my interest. In fact, up until the final few minutes, I would rate this as a better-than-average independent production. But then they dropped the ball.

I cannot explain my dissatisfaction without revealing some plot details, so if you intend to see this movie, perhaps you should read the following after watching it and then see if you agree.

The conclusion was simply not satisfactory. After investing about 90 minutes of your life watching a suspenseful story, you are entitled to a plot resolution that makes the investment worthwhile, or at least makes sense. Other reviewers have discussed the plot in some detail, so I won't bore you with another recap, but at the end, when it appears that the most obvious person was indeed a homicidal maniac, sneering while gouging the one likeable character with broken glass, we get a tour of the entire facility. It is a scientific research center, with lab-coated personnel monitoring every moment of the slaughter that has transpired. In fact, the homicidal maniac must also be a scientist, since she carefully reviews some files and makes some notes in a journal, before entering another room full of innocent (and not so innocent) victims to begin another gore fest.

In what parallel universe do homicidal maniac-scientists run a continuous series of experiments in which test subjects are brutally murdered? What was gained by the experiment? What do we, the audience, gain from this experience? If frustration and disappointment are your goals, then I guess this cinematic experience would be fulfilling, but to me it is simply a matter of a lazy, unimaginative screenplay. They assume that some gore and suspense will justify the time and money we spend on their product, and that we will simply overlook their inability to bring it all to a reasonable conclusion. In my opinion, they are wrong, and I regret that they effectively ruined a fairly good movie with a really lousy ending. With a little more effort and originality they could have created something really good. It's a shame they didn't.

The premise of this movie is like, what if you take Saw and crossed it with The Cube? Poof! Breathing Room!
14 Strangers placed in a room trying to figure out how to get out using clues that are revealed as the story unfolds, Each person wearing a jump suit with their contestant Number on it. As clues are revealed and characters die, the level of paranoia also builds, is one person amongst them the killer?
This movie is ok, not as gory as The Cube, and not as intricately layered as Saw. The drama and the dialogue are pretty intense and the different character types are credible and not too cliché . This Movie centers around Tonya the last of the fourteen contestants who wakes up in the dark next to a dead guy. (98% of this film takes place in this room.) Unlike the cube where the people have to work together, the people in BR must figure out who amongst them is the threat. And in a very Agatha Christie fashion BR is kind of a horror And then there was none. The death scenes are definitely not as gory or as thought out as the trap infested rooms of The Cube, or diabolical devices created in Saw.
However, for a low budget movie it was bloody where it needed to be. Which may have merited a PG-13 rating rather than an Unrated tag. For that matter, if this was an unrated film I'd probably be bored out of my mind with the regular rated version.
On a down note this movie is trying to hard to be Saw II. A bunch of strangers in a room(in Saw II's case a bunch of people in a house) using clues to get out, and just like in Saw II the last person introduced in the group is a chick and by the end of the movie you can easily guess that she is.......well for the people that haven't seen Saw II I won't spoil it. Rip off!
The ending of this film is predictable, and held no surprises......at all!
Bottom Line..................If you're going to make a thriller horror make sure that you have an original idea. Not rip off a couple of movies that are better. Rent it don't buy it. 2 Stars

"Breathing Room" is a thrilling ride with a terrible conclusion. Fourteen strangers, thrown into a room together, forced to play some horrible, sadistic "game." Basically, it's a blending of "Saw" and "Cube," but it still had potential. You're trying to piece it together, trying to figure out the true nature of the players... until the ending. The ending is absolutely TERRIBLE, because it MAKES NO SENSE. At the end of the film, you're left with an empty feeling that there was absolutely no point to anything you just watched. Avoid this movie at all costs.

After awaking in a dark closet with a corpse, Tonya (Ailsa Marshall) opens the door to a room full of strangers. At first, it seems, their only similarities are the prison uniforms with which they've been provided and the electric-shock dog collars around their necks. But, as their time together continues, they realize they're all part of a sick & twist game involving rules by which they must all abide and a series of clues they must solve in order to, possibly, find freedom and answers. The fight begins when 'curfews' start and, one by one, the players are eliminated.

Simply. . . it's a pathetically blatant ripoff of [i]Saw[/i] and [i]Battle Royale[/i]. It looks (and sounds) extremely cheap. There's nothing new, original, or interesting about the story. The violence and gore are sparse, and there's no nudity or sex to distract us. It's slow to the point of boredom, with the same things happening over and over again. It's as predictable as the result of a Harlem Globetrotters game. There is very little terror at all, or anything to keep a horror fan happy. In short, there's nothing in this film that can't be seen in five other, better films. So I would suggest seeing those instead. I will give one compliment the acting wasn't too bad and there are a few that actually seem to have a chance at a future. . . as long as they stop doing films like this.

After reading all these reviews I was a bit shocked at the level of ranting about similarities of other films the reveiwers saw in this one. Give me a break! This is a low budget independent film that delivers. If you enjoy independent films and you enjoy riding the roller coaster with new names in the business, this movie is a must see. John Suits is an up and coming writer and director. Bryce Gerlach certainly has a future in producing. Watch for them both in films to come. This movie is exactly as sold - a great thriller with twists and turns and deeper meanings throughout. An excellent evening of fun!

After reading the other reviews, I wonder... when did we become so mindless that a movie has to fill in ALL of the gaps and blatantly SPELL OUT everything? This movie keep you guessing as to who the bad guys are (not one, but at least three) and then ends leaving you to make up your own mind as to the evil purpose behind the game. It was creepy and allowed you to spend the majority of the movie trying to figure it out and then doesn't force its own morality at the end. It doesn't make you scream, it makes you think. What fun is a mystery without surprises? It's entertaining and creepy. Watch it and decide for yourself.

An even better comparison than Cube or Saw is the English thriller Exam, whose premise is so much like of Breathing Room that a comparison between the two is practically a controlled experiment. I don't know if I would have enjoyed Breathing Room as much if I had not seen the other one first, so that I could appreciate how it avoids the trap of seeming like a stage play. Breathing Room is, strictly speaking, not good, with no tension, uneven performances, too much repetition, and a disappointing sputter of an ending. But still if you like puzzle movies, this one makes turns its shoestring budget into a gritty virtue and delivers the goods in a workmanlike way. Nowhere near the best examples of the genre, but if you're a sucker for twists, this'll do.

This movie is great for any horror fan. Good plot and believable special effects keep you glued to the screen. Well worth adding to your collection!

In my view, if a film entertains, it's done its job. This is not the best film ever, it's not even close ... but it is a good low budget horror film that keeps one wondering what's going to happen next, and how it's all going to fit together.