P2 (2007)

34% of critics liked it
(68 reviews)
38% of users liked it
(66,492 ratings)

A corporate workaholic finds that her decision to work late on Christmas Eve has potentially deadly consequences in this thriller starring Wes Bentley and Rachel Nichols. It's that time of the year, and as the snow falls outside and families gather around the dinner table, Angela vows to close one… More A corporate workaholic finds that her decision to work late on Christmas Eve has potentially deadly consequences in this thriller starring Wes Bentley and Rachel Nichols. It's that time of the year, and as the snow falls outside and families gather around the dinner table, Angela vows to close one last deal before the holiday. Now late for her family gathering, Angela rushes down to the garage in hopes of racing home and catching dinner before it gets cold. When her car refuses to start, her phone fails to get a signal, and everyone else has already left, it begins to appear as if Angela's luck may have finally run out. Thankfully, a friendly security guard appears and offers to lend a helping hand. During the course of discussion, the security guard flirtatiously invites Angela to share the Christmas dinner he has prepared in the parking office -- an offer that the high-powered corporate climber laughingly dismisses. The next thing Angela knows, she wakes up tied to a chair in the cold security office located on level P2. It appears as if the security guard's invitation wasn't optional, and that Christmas dinner was the last thing on his mind. Upon realizing just how serious her situation truly is, Angela struggles to escape her subterranean prison and make it out so that she might live to see another Christmas morning. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Franck Khalfoun
Written By: Franck Khalfoun, Alexandre Aja, Grégory Levasseur
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Nov 9, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Apr 8, 2008
Studio: Summit Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
P2 feels like a vehicle lost in an after-hours parking facility, constantly backing up, shifting gears and generally speeding around in circles in a vain attempt to get somewhere.
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
There's some ghoulish humor in P2, and a couple of scares, but it's little more than the umpteenth variation of the woman-locked-in-a-house plot.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
[A] miscast, misdirected botch of a can't-miss plot.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
This is one of those thrillers where the person on-screen is often the only person in the theater who can't guess what'll happen next.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
A slickly efficient neo-grindhouse shocker, a gory palate cleanser for this season of high-toned Oscar magnets and high-minded political dramas.
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
Even by the low standards of the horror subgenre playfully nicknamed "torture porn," P2 is scraping the bottom of the movie barrel.
Dan Jolin, Empire Magazine
Unscary, uninteresting tosh from people who should know better.
Rossiter Drake, San Francisco Examiner
It's lurid and overblown, relying on its lionhearted heroine never to play her most obvious escape card, but for those with a taste for such silliness, it makes for a harrowing night at the movies.
Brian Tallerico, The Deadbolt
Can't maintain interest in its paper-thin premise for the running time of a feature-length film.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
....easily surpasses everything those horror remakes of late entail. Revels in tis ability to put sweat on faces, by way of a tense skirmish between car spaces
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Toda a trama nada mais é do que uma mera desculpa para enfiar a belíssima atriz num vestidinho branco justo e encharcá-la a fim de que ele fique ainda mais grudado em seu corpo escultural.
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
all the pieces are in place for a great thriller - and then, just like your typical Yuletide get-together, it all falls a little flat.
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
Has quite a bit going for it, which makes its eventual reliance on inane genre gimmicks that much more disappointing.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
Despite an enormously creepy turn from Bentley, the story has nowhere else to go but into the standard (albeit judiciously used) stalk-and-slash territory.
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
About as basic and unmemorable as a horror flick gets.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Film Threat
Take "Red Eye," mix it with "Creep," and add a dash of "Haute Tension," finely puree with a sprinkle of camp, and what you have is a long tall glass of this demented horror film...
Beth Accomando, KPBS.org
P2 is nothing fancy or flashy. It could use more innovation, and either tension or dark creepiness, but all in all, it's not a bad directing debut for Khalfoun.

Read all 17 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Ken S

The suspense and execution of this cat and mouse thriller is pretty solid, however the most remarkable thing about this piece are Mrs. Rachel Nichols assets (and I don't mean her acting chops)
Lewis C

"Wait! Why? Why can't we be friends?" First of all, this is definitely not a horror film. It barely qualifies as a thriller. I could tell early on that cleavage was going to be the main reason that I finished watching P2. The villain was definitely crazy, but not… More
"Wait! Why? Why can't we be friends?" First of all, this is definitely not a horror film. It barely qualifies as a thriller. I could tell early on that cleavage was going to be the main reason that I finished watching P2. The villain was definitely crazy, but not dangerous crazy. He gave off a "pathetic, lonely, and probably picked on a lot when he was little" vibe. His dog was much scarier than he was. I have to say that Rachel Nichols' character wasn't quite as stupid as one would expect in this kind of movie, she even actually did appear to be making an effort to save her own life on several occasions. Of course, there are contrived situations that are there solely to provide "suspense" and allow the story to continue (the cab driver leaving; the phone not working inside the parking garage, but it works a few inches past the gate; Rachel stabbing the villain in the shoulder instead of somewhere more damaging, like maybe the NECK). I'd like to think that if I was in her situation, I would have been able to calm myself enough to figure out that simply triggering a fire alarm would probably be a good way to get some help. Rachel Nichols in that dress makes it easier to ignore the plot holes and keep watching, but I don't think anyone would want to spend more than a few dollars for it. As negative as this review may sound, I do think that most movie critics were too hard on P2. I can't really pinpoint exactly why I liked it so much (beyond the aformentioned dress and its effect on Nichols' figure). Maybe it was because Nichols makes her heroine so easy to root for, because Bentley makes his character so creepy pathetic and easy to hate, or because of the novelty of the setting. Or maybe it's simply because the undeniable ridiculousness of it all somehow works in P2's favor.
Dead A

The most horrible scene was when that parking attendant Tom drive his car and crashed that man on the wall. It seemed so real and gross. Didn't like the movie though. It's boring.
Luke B

P2 is simple but also quite effective. It keeps the action very enclosed and mostly believable. Sure there are your usual moments of generic horror bad luck, such as no phone signal or dropping a phone out of reach, but it uses them sparingly. The chills will be familiar to anybody… More
P2 is simple but also quite effective. It keeps the action very enclosed and mostly believable. Sure there are your usual moments of generic horror bad luck, such as no phone signal or dropping a phone out of reach, but it uses them sparingly. The chills will be familiar to anybody that has ever walked through an underground car park alone. The gore is very minimal, only one scene truly shocks and disgusts, but it is done so well and with utter hopelessness, making it a painful (in a good way) watch. A good psychological/stalking film.
Leigh R

Creepy...
_kelly .

What makes a story like this work is mostly in the acting, and we get all of that. Visuals are thoughtful, as is expected of an Aja/Levasseur production. A great killer thriller, especially for such a small cast. Wes Bentley of American Beauty's "Ricky" fame does a… More
What makes a story like this work is mostly in the acting, and we get all of that. Visuals are thoughtful, as is expected of an Aja/Levasseur production. A great killer thriller, especially for such a small cast. Wes Bentley of American Beauty's "Ricky" fame does a fantastic killer, and Rachel Nichols is an even better screamstress. The only doubtable scene is the elevator scene, and everything else feels possible and easily mirrored in real life.
Dean M

An underground parking garage becomes a focus for terror in this tense and gruesome horror thriller is a fine simple but effective exercise.
E.J. B

Another crappy torture porn flick trying to disguise itself as a metaphor for female empowerment.
A.D. V

In a game of cat and mouse it's kinda important that the cat and mouse are actually believable. Rachel Nichols seems to hold her own but it's Bentley that the film collapses under. Not that he's a bad actor but he's just not intimidating or even menacing.… More
In a game of cat and mouse it's kinda important that the cat and mouse are actually believable. Rachel Nichols seems to hold her own but it's Bentley that the film collapses under. Not that he's a bad actor but he's just not intimidating or even menacing. He's more fit for a PG-13 or family movie villian. Someone who doesn't kill people, just threatens to do it.
Steve K

To be fair, the idea wasn't so great to begin with, and the direction void of suspense. Still, why do people keep thinking Wes Bentley should play a heavy? Double plus ungood, Mr. Aja.
Lorenzo v

With the resurgence of the horror/thriller genre in recent years, writers and directors have started to utilize a number of locations and situations that have proved unsettling in real life to be the center point for a film. P2 is one of those films. Who among us hasn't felt a… More
With the resurgence of the horror/thriller genre in recent years, writers and directors have started to utilize a number of locations and situations that have proved unsettling in real life to be the center point for a film. P2 is one of those films. Who among us hasn't felt a little uncomfortable in a empty, dark parking garage, with no one in sight to call out to if there is a problem? P2 proves to be an effective, if not exactly original, thriller that does a good job of keeping the audience on the edge of its seat.
Dr Blood

If you want an alternative Christmas movie this year instead of the usual "Die Hard", you may want to give this one a try. Rachel Nichols, who was the spiteful blonde in "The Woods", does a great job as the victim who is trapped by an insane car park attendant on… More
If you want an alternative Christmas movie this year instead of the usual "Die Hard", you may want to give this one a try. Rachel Nichols, who was the spiteful blonde in "The Woods", does a great job as the victim who is trapped by an insane car park attendant on Christmas Eve. Wes Bentley, who plays the aforementioned psychopath, also gives a good performance but somehow is not quite in the Christian Bale league to which his character aspires. Everything is done really well and, although it is very reminiscent of "made for TV" films like "Final Jeopardy" (1985), it is actually quite an original story for once with a stronger than usual female lead. It certainly has enough action and a brisk pace that keeps you from getting bored. It's not really a horror film though and isn't particularly scary. It's more of a thriller with some excellent gory moments. Rachel Nichols has some lovely cleavage on show too for those of you who appreciate such things. I know I do.
Todd S

Movies derived from naturally creepy places and situations should be the scariest movies of all-time. Unfortunately, most of the time they are way too predictable to even be entertaining and that was the case with P2. A woman gets trapped in her office parking garage, on a holiday… More
Movies derived from naturally creepy places and situations should be the scariest movies of all-time. Unfortunately, most of the time they are way too predictable to even be entertaining and that was the case with P2. A woman gets trapped in her office parking garage, on a holiday weekend, and is being stalked. Sounds interesting, but it wasn't. This film has got to be one of the slowest moving "thrillers" I've ever seen. The acting was actually pretty good in this film, but everything that happens, you know it's coming sooner or later and there are no surprises what so ever. Like I said the acting was pretty good, so it's not a total piece of shit, but it's slow, predictable, and just a really weak story. I usually love the "it could happen" type of films, but if P2 really did happen, no one would be surprised or really care all that much.
Jacob P

A fun little scary movie for the holidays.
Bradley J

Though full of unnecessary gore, P2 is still an edge-of-your seat thriller with a good performance by Rachel Nichols. Overall Rating:67
Yinalí R

This movie is so wicked!!!
Francisco G

Nice knockers! Oh wait, that's not kind of movie...
Doctor S

I can't put my finger on it but this drawn-out cat & mouse horror didn't work for me. Maybe it's first-time director's Franck Khalfoun (who played the gas station attendant in High Tension, whose director Alexandre Aja wrote the script for… More
I can't put my finger on it but this drawn-out cat & mouse horror didn't work for me. Maybe it's first-time director's Franck Khalfoun (who played the gas station attendant in High Tension, whose director Alexandre Aja wrote the script for P2 - follow all that?) inability to properly tighten a noose, instead opting for punctuated cheap scare tactics. Or maybe it's Wes Bentley who cannot create a creepy nor menacing enough villain, which in a two-person cast is a rather vital component, wouldn't you agree?
Adam M

Tense horror about an office worker getting ready to go home for christmas and to a family party but instead getting locked in and terrorised by a mental fellow worker. This might sound like boring, been there seen it kinda stuff but this is actually pretty gripping with some scares… More
Tense horror about an office worker getting ready to go home for christmas and to a family party but instead getting locked in and terrorised by a mental fellow worker. This might sound like boring, been there seen it kinda stuff but this is actually pretty gripping with some scares and a few scockingly gory moments. Worth a watch.
Sam C

This movie only barely qualifies as a horror movie, in fact, only in one scene would I categorize it as a horror movie. In this psychological thriller (I like that better since the movie is more about how much she can take until she breaks) Rachel Nichols is playing the obligatory… More
This movie only barely qualifies as a horror movie, in fact, only in one scene would I categorize it as a horror movie. In this psychological thriller (I like that better since the movie is more about how much she can take until she breaks) Rachel Nichols is playing the obligatory girl who gets kidnapped...blah, you know how it goes. It's not nightmarishly terrible, but if it were 10 minutes longer it could've been. I thought Rachel Nichols did a good enough job here. My biggest problem would be the kidnapper guy (who cares what his actual name is, even if it is on this page). Every time he tries to actually "act" crazy, he is absolutely AWFUL. I swear I wanted to laugh everytime he lost his temper. Even with the movie being 100 % predictable, I think the unbelievability of his performance is what ultimately kills the tension and of course...the movie.