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P2 (film)
Encyclopedia
P2 is a 2007 thriller film directed by Franck Khalfoun, written and produced by Khalfoun, Alexandre Aja
and Grégory Levasseur and starring Rachel Nichols
and Wes Bentley
.
The trio of Khalfoun, Aja and Levasseur have worked on other genre films as well, including the critically acclaimed 2006 film The Hills Have Eyes
. The name of the film comes from the underground parking garage level in which the film takes place. The plot revolves around Angela (Nichols), a young businesswoman who is imprisoned on Christmas Eve
in the parking garage beneath the downtown Manhattan office block where she works. Her captor is loner Thomas (Bentley), the obsessive and psychopathic security guard
of the underground parking lot, who has been secretly stalking
Angela for sometime and has finally snapped, leading to a murderous game of cat-and-mouse.
P2 was rated "R" by the MPAA for "strong violence/gore, terror and language."
and takes her to his office.
Later, Angela awakens in a haze inside Thomas's office, having been changed into a white dress and high-heels by Thomas and chained to the table. Thomas tells Angela that he loves her despite her "many sins", having obsessively watched and recording Angela for some time through the CCTV in the office block. Despite Angela's pleas and threats, Thomas continues to hold her against her will, even forcing her to call her family and lie about an illness so that no one will come looking for her. Angela tries to escape, but cannot due to Thomas' Rottweiler
.
Taking Angela to another level of the parking lot, Thomas reveals her co-worker Jim Harper (Simon Reynolds
) tied to an office chair. Thomas believes Jim is evil after he witnessed Jim drunkenly hitting on Angela at an office party. After beating him with a flashlight
, Thomas rams him into the wall with his car multiple times, killing him. Amidst the murder, Angela is able to escape.
While Thomas hides the evidence, Angela rushes back to the office and steals some key cards. Angela runs to the elevators with Thomas right behind, and enters. While in the elevator, Angela calls for help from the panel of the elevator. She hears a voice that appears to be an operator but later turns out to be Thomas. Thomas then flushes her out by flooding the elevator with a fire hose from a higher floor.
While hiding in the parking lot, Angela is then tormented by Thomas who plays Elvis Presley
's "Blue Christmas
" over the intercom. She breaks open an emergency fire axe and begins to destroy the cameras one by one while making her way to his office, prepared to fight. Once entering, she finds a video playing of Thomas molesting her body while she was drugged. After a short fight, Thomas manages to knock Angela out.
Angela manages to escape while Thomas is talking to two policemen and kills his dog. She tries to escape by car, but is side-swiped by Thomas in another vehicle, leading up to a game of chicken
, which Angela wins. However, in the heat of the chase, Angela flips the vehicle. Thomas opens the door and Angela, feigning injury, manages to stab Thomas in the eye and handcuff him to the car. Taking his Taser, she begins to leave, until Thomas insults her. She uses the Taser to ignite a stream of gasoline leaking from the car. Thomas is engulfed in the flames and dies as the car explodes. Angela opens the garage gate and walks out into a cold and desolate Manhattan morning just as an ambulance can be heard stopping to help her.
, Gregory Levasseur, and Franck Khalfoun who had previously worked together as director, writer and editor, respectively, on the 2006 film The Hills Have Eyes
. Aja explains of the film, comparing it to his previous work, French slasher film High Tension
, "With a strong plot in the vein of High Tension, P2 gives us a chance to further explore the survival aspect of the terror movie."
P2 began principal photography on August 14, 2006, and continued filming through late 2006. Filming took place exclusively at night, at a real working Toronto
parking garage. There were fourteen white dresses made for the character of Angela to wear; each one was in various stages of dirtiness and decay. Three different dogs were used to portray Thomas' Rottweiler.
It was intended to be featured in the UK based London FrightFest Film Festival
in August 2007, but was pulled out soon before its date and replaced with Teeth
.
P2 was featured in an ad campaign on the social networking website Myspace
, where a trailer for the film could also be streamed.
on November 9, 2007, and in the United Kingdom
on May 2, 2008. In the US, the film suffered poorly on its opening week at the box office gaining just $2,083,398 which is, as of December 2008, the 2nd worst opening week ever for a very wide release (2,000+ cinemas).
P2 was released on DVD
in the snap-case format on April 8, 2008, and includes an anamorphic widescreen transfer with dolby 5.1 surround and special features include cast and crew commentary, production notes and three behind the scenes featurettes. DVD
sales of the film fared better than the box office sales.
, P2 had a rating of 36%. Out of a total of 67 reviews, the film has 23 "fresh" reviews and 44 "rotten" reviews, with an average rating of 4.3 out of 10.
On Metacritic
, the film had an average score of 37 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.
There were however some positive reviews of P2. Roger Ebert
liked the film, giving it 3 out of 4 stars, and stated in his review that "although the plot may seem like a formulatic slasher film, P2 is in fact a very well made, atmospheric thriller with gritty yet realistic characters."
Alexandre Aja
Alexandre Aja is a French film director who rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film Haute Tension .-Personal life:...
and Grégory Levasseur and starring Rachel Nichols
Rachel Nichols (actress)
Rachel Emily Nichols is an American actress and model. Nichols began modeling while attending Columbia University in New York City in the late 1990s...
and Wes Bentley
Wes Bentley
Wesley Cook "Wes" Bentley is an American film actor known for his role of Ricky Fitts in American Beauty.-Early life:Bentley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the son of Cherie and David Bentley, who are United Methodist ministers....
.
The trio of Khalfoun, Aja and Levasseur have worked on other genre films as well, including the critically acclaimed 2006 film The Hills Have Eyes
The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)
The Hills Have Eyes is a 2006 horror film and remake of Wes Craven's 1977 film The Hills Have Eyes. Written by filmmaking partners Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur of the French horror film Haute Tension, and directed by Aja, the film follows a family who becomes the target of a group of...
. The name of the film comes from the underground parking garage level in which the film takes place. The plot revolves around Angela (Nichols), a young businesswoman who is imprisoned on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
in the parking garage beneath the downtown Manhattan office block where she works. Her captor is loner Thomas (Bentley), the obsessive and psychopathic security guard
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
of the underground parking lot, who has been secretly stalking
Stalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
Angela for sometime and has finally snapped, leading to a murderous game of cat-and-mouse.
P2 was rated "R" by the MPAA for "strong violence/gore, terror and language."
Plot
Young businesswoman Angela Bridges works in a downtown Manhattan office block and gets stuck working late on Christmas Eve, before leaving to attend a family party. On her way to her car in the second underground parking lot level (P2) beneath the office block, she discovers that her car won't start. After receiving some assistance from the security guard named Thomas and turning down his offer to spend Christmas with him, she calls for a taxi and waits in the lobby. When the taxi arrives, she discovers she's locked in the lobby, and runs back into the parking garage. The lights soon shut down and Angela, guided by the light on her cell phone, wanders around the deserted parking lot. Thomas drugs Angela with chloroformChloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
and takes her to his office.
Later, Angela awakens in a haze inside Thomas's office, having been changed into a white dress and high-heels by Thomas and chained to the table. Thomas tells Angela that he loves her despite her "many sins", having obsessively watched and recording Angela for some time through the CCTV in the office block. Despite Angela's pleas and threats, Thomas continues to hold her against her will, even forcing her to call her family and lie about an illness so that no one will come looking for her. Angela tries to escape, but cannot due to Thomas' Rottweiler
Rottweiler
The Rottweiler is a medium to large size breed of domestic dog that originated in Rottweil, Germany. The dogs were known as "Rottweil butchers' dogs" because they were used to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered meat and other products to market...
.
Taking Angela to another level of the parking lot, Thomas reveals her co-worker Jim Harper (Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
) tied to an office chair. Thomas believes Jim is evil after he witnessed Jim drunkenly hitting on Angela at an office party. After beating him with a flashlight
Flashlight
A flashlight is a hand-held electric-powered light source. Usually the light source is a small incandescent lightbulb or light-emitting diode...
, Thomas rams him into the wall with his car multiple times, killing him. Amidst the murder, Angela is able to escape.
While Thomas hides the evidence, Angela rushes back to the office and steals some key cards. Angela runs to the elevators with Thomas right behind, and enters. While in the elevator, Angela calls for help from the panel of the elevator. She hears a voice that appears to be an operator but later turns out to be Thomas. Thomas then flushes her out by flooding the elevator with a fire hose from a higher floor.
While hiding in the parking lot, Angela is then tormented by Thomas who plays Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
's "Blue Christmas
Blue Christmas
"Blue Christmas" is a Christmas song written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson. The heart-broken tale of unrequited love during the holidays had long been considered a Christmas staple of country music, having been recorded first by Doye O'Dell in 1948 and popularised by Ernest Tubb the next year...
" over the intercom. She breaks open an emergency fire axe and begins to destroy the cameras one by one while making her way to his office, prepared to fight. Once entering, she finds a video playing of Thomas molesting her body while she was drugged. After a short fight, Thomas manages to knock Angela out.
Angela manages to escape while Thomas is talking to two policemen and kills his dog. She tries to escape by car, but is side-swiped by Thomas in another vehicle, leading up to a game of chicken
Chicken (game)
The game of chicken, also known as the hawk-dove or snowdrift game, is an influential model of conflict for two players in game theory...
, which Angela wins. However, in the heat of the chase, Angela flips the vehicle. Thomas opens the door and Angela, feigning injury, manages to stab Thomas in the eye and handcuff him to the car. Taking his Taser, she begins to leave, until Thomas insults her. She uses the Taser to ignite a stream of gasoline leaking from the car. Thomas is engulfed in the flames and dies as the car explodes. Angela opens the garage gate and walks out into a cold and desolate Manhattan morning just as an ambulance can be heard stopping to help her.
Cast
- Rachel NicholsRachel Nichols (actress)Rachel Emily Nichols is an American actress and model. Nichols began modeling while attending Columbia University in New York City in the late 1990s...
... Angela Bridges - Wes BentleyWes BentleyWesley Cook "Wes" Bentley is an American film actor known for his role of Ricky Fitts in American Beauty.-Early life:Bentley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the son of Cherie and David Bentley, who are United Methodist ministers....
... Thomas Barclay - Simon ReynoldsSimon ReynoldsSimon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
... Jim Harper - Philip AkinPhilip AkinPhilip Akin is a Canadian actor who has been active for over thirty years in stage, film, and television. He has had featured roles in major American films such as The Sum of All Fears, S.W.A.T., and Get Rich or Die Tryin’...
... Karl Donson - Stephanie MooreStephanie MooreStephanie Moore is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles on P2 as Lorraine and in the films Cube Zero, Angel Eyes, and John Q.-Filmography:*Labour Laws *King of Sorrow as Julia Baker...
... Lorraine Bridges - Miranda Edwards ... Jody McKlennan
- Paul Sun HyungPaul Sun HyungPaul Sun-Hyung Lee is a Korean Canadian actor, well-known from the television series Train 48 as "Randy Ko". When he was three months old, his parents immigrated to Canada, and living in London, Ontario, Toronto, and Calgary. In 1990, Paul moved back to Toronto to attend the University of Toronto,...
... Doug Tran Phu (Man in Elevator) - Grace Lynn KungGrace Lynn KungGrace Lynn Kung is a Canadian actress. Kung is currently starring in InSecurity as Jojo Kwan, for which she received a Gemini Award nomination....
... Kim Phu (Women in Elevator) - Philip Williams ... Cop #1
- Arnold Pinnock ... Cop #2
Production
The film re-unites Alexandre AjaAlexandre Aja
Alexandre Aja is a French film director who rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film Haute Tension .-Personal life:...
, Gregory Levasseur, and Franck Khalfoun who had previously worked together as director, writer and editor, respectively, on the 2006 film The Hills Have Eyes
The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)
The Hills Have Eyes is a 2006 horror film and remake of Wes Craven's 1977 film The Hills Have Eyes. Written by filmmaking partners Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur of the French horror film Haute Tension, and directed by Aja, the film follows a family who becomes the target of a group of...
. Aja explains of the film, comparing it to his previous work, French slasher film High Tension
Haute Tension
Haute Tension is a 2003 French horror film that was later released in 2004 in the United Kingdom and 2005 in the United States and Canada. The film, directed by Alexandre Aja, stars Cécile de France, Maïwenn and Philippe Nahon....
, "With a strong plot in the vein of High Tension, P2 gives us a chance to further explore the survival aspect of the terror movie."
P2 began principal photography on August 14, 2006, and continued filming through late 2006. Filming took place exclusively at night, at a real working Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
parking garage. There were fourteen white dresses made for the character of Angela to wear; each one was in various stages of dirtiness and decay. Three different dogs were used to portray Thomas' Rottweiler.
It was intended to be featured in the UK based London FrightFest Film Festival
London FrightFest Film Festival
FrightFest is an annual film festival held in central London over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The first event was held in the year 2000....
in August 2007, but was pulled out soon before its date and replaced with Teeth
Teeth (film)
Teeth is a 2007 comedy horror film written and directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein, about a teenage girl who has teeth in her vagina. It premiered January 19, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival in the independent drama category...
.
P2 was featured in an ad campaign on the social networking website Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, where a trailer for the film could also be streamed.
Sales
P2 was released theatrically in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on November 9, 2007, and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on May 2, 2008. In the US, the film suffered poorly on its opening week at the box office gaining just $2,083,398 which is, as of December 2008, the 2nd worst opening week ever for a very wide release (2,000+ cinemas).
P2 was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the snap-case format on April 8, 2008, and includes an anamorphic widescreen transfer with dolby 5.1 surround and special features include cast and crew commentary, production notes and three behind the scenes featurettes. DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
sales of the film fared better than the box office sales.
Critical reception
The critical reception to P2 was generally mixed. As of November 29, 2009 on the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, P2 had a rating of 36%. Out of a total of 67 reviews, the film has 23 "fresh" reviews and 44 "rotten" reviews, with an average rating of 4.3 out of 10.
On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had an average score of 37 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.
There were however some positive reviews of P2. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
liked the film, giving it 3 out of 4 stars, and stated in his review that "although the plot may seem like a formulatic slasher film, P2 is in fact a very well made, atmospheric thriller with gritty yet realistic characters."