CINEMA: P2

After making an impressive debut in American Beauty actor Wes Bentley has made a string of utterly forgettable movies, and P2 is another one to add to the list.

It’s a schlock horror flick set in the dark, dingy confines of an underground car park. This is where city slicker Angela (Rachel Nichols) finds herself on Christmas Eve with a car that refuses to start. She enlists the aid of creepy security guard Thomas (Bentley) only to discover she’s made a terrible mistake when he drugs her, dresses her up like some cheap hooker and chains her to the table in his office. Escaping From Thomas only adds to her problems as she realises she’s locked in the car park and all the exits are blocked.

So far, so derivative as the usual ‘female in peril who learns to fight back’ scenario wends its wearisome way to its predictable end. We’ve had so many cheap horror flicks lately, they are all starting to merge into one huge homogenous mess – time for something really scary.       Dee Pilgrim