Panic Button (2011) (1st viewing) d. Crow, Chris (UK)
While there’s much to be admired in this microbudget flick about four guests of a UK social networking site caught in a psychotic mastermind’s elaborate “dream trip to New York” snare, the fact that it is so blatantly “Saw on a plane” diminishes the achievement considerably. From the “game” aspect to the Jigsaw-like modulated tones of the unseen antagonist (here dubbed “Alligator” in keeping with his cute cartoon avatar) to the “do this or you/he/she dies” scenarios presented to the hapless (and insufferably obnoxious) quartet, we’ve seen this picture at least a dozen times before, and it’s coming mighty late to the party. Crow hopefully earns his stripes here and will be rewarded with other, better scripts (I’m still shaking my head that four, count ‘em four screenwriters couldn’t come up with something less transparently derivative).
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