David Fincher scores yet again with another tense thriller starring (Jodie Foster) divorced Meg Altman with her daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) how have locked themselves in the "Panic Room" from which no intruder can enter from the outside, that is until (Forrest Whitaker) Burnham and his accomplices enter the home Raoul (Dwight Yoakam) and Junior (Jared Leto).
Picture was good as it can be for DVD framed at 2.40:1 scope the film mostly takes place in darkly lit house flesh tones looked a bit muted in parts where other parts that had some light looked surprisingly good.
Sound got my attention from the opening credits Howard Shore's score has a few thrilling intensified cues with Foley footsteps running towards the panic room as the crocks try to beat in ceiling with sledgehammer from underneath and then try from the side with a gas bottle rigged to hole in the wall that gradually fills up. Meg uses lighter to send explode the bottle from the outside before they both chock to death.
The sequence where Burnham is drilling into the wall sounded very realistic with the muffled directional sound to screen right. It even made me look towards the floor thinking someone was doing some late-night drilling LOL.
Score plays nicely with small beats in the music that is until the gas is sparked with high level strings on the score and effects the bottle spins around and brakes apart pieces fly though the air embedding into the ceiling. You'll get the sense of being in the Panic Room as the sound goes to a narrow claustrophobia to the livelily echoes of the house as the crocks run around dialogue bouncing around.
This is a film I could watch over again coming it at 1 hour 47 minutes is nicely paced in the editing thou it may be slow at first, it only takes 15 minutes before it warms up.
Extras A little bone dry here with only Trailer teaser and director cast filmographies
It was ok for me. I've also liked just about every role Forrest Whitaker has pulled off. He's an amazing actor. Likable and respectable.
Not to mention there are several scenes of Jodie Foster's perky little...................you know lol.
What's really intriguing is the fact that these panic rooms exist in many upper class inner city homes. My sister-in-law rented a town home in one of Philadelphia's brownstone neighborhoods that had one. Not as elaborate as the one in the film for fighting off burglars but they serve more than one purpose.
