Escape Rooms. Everyone has tried one or knows what they are nowadays! They continue to revolutionize the entertainment industry by immersing participants in Hollywood-like storylines and challenging them to use their quick wits and communication skills in order to escape. Here at Red Door, we strive to make our episodes so immersive they make you feel like you’re the star in a movie! To get you in the escape room spirit, we’ve put together a short list of the best escape room films of all time.
ESCAPE ROOM 2019
If you’re looking for a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat for the full 1hr and 39min, Escape Room movie 2019 is it. Six strangers travel to a mysterious building to experience the escape room and win $1,000,000. Seems easy enough, right? Don’t be fooled, diabolical tricks and traps await the contestants every step of the way. Trust me, it’s worth a watch! [Official Trailer]
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Main Cast: Taylor Russel, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Adam Robitel, Jay Ellis, Nik Dodani
JUMANJI (1995)
Not so much a movie about escaping a room or location, but all about finishing and beating the game! The board game’s crystal ball reveals one cryptic message after the other. The only way to win is to keep rolling with the punches… or jungle stampedes. [Official Trailer]
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Main Cast: Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (2017)
With a modern twist on the 1995 film, Jumanji’s protagonists find themselves trapped inside a video game and need to find a way out. Similar to an escape room’s 60 minute time challenge, each player only has three lives to interpret clues, solve puzzles, evade danger, beat every level, and escape the virtual reality. No big deal, right? [Official Trailer]
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Main Cast: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas
THE MAZE RUNNER (2014)
Based on James Dashner’s 2009 young adult dystopian novel, the prisoners of the Glade must find a way out. But no one has ever survived the Maze. With the Maze constantly in a state of flux, the selected Runners are tasked to outrun danger and outwit the Maze in order to escape. [Official Trailer]
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Young Adult, Action, Sci-Fi
Main Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Sequels: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
CUBE (1997)
Cube is less horror movie and more escape room-esque. A small group of people finds themselves “locked” in what seems like a large cube—a rotating cube. With a hatch on each face of the room that rotates every so often, the group must find the correct hatch by solving the clues written on the door. Choose the wrong door and it will be their last. [Official Trailer]
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Horror, Sci-Fi
Main Cast: Nicole de Boer, Maurice Dean Wint, David Hewlett
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)
I don’t want to spoil anything for this movie, so let’s just say the resolution is a long time coming. This story follows the lives of inmates imprisoned at Shawshank State Penitentiary, their relationships, and the injustice they witness. Sometimes the best virtue to practice in an escape room is patience, and The Shawshank Redemption is a testament to that. [Official Trailer]
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Main Cast: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton
PANIC ROOM (2002)
A mother and daughter move into a new house and on the same day, there’s a break in. Lucky, huh? The mother, played by Jodie Foster, locks herself and her daughter in the titular panic room as the burglars attempt to break in. As the intruders try to draw the family out of the room, they must thwart their threats and find a safe way to escape. [Official Trailer]
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Main Cast: Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam
SPLIT (2016)
This is an escape plot with a terrifying twist that you’ll have to watch to find out. Three teenagers are kidnapped by a man suffering from dissociative personality disorder. The girls will have to outsmart each of their captor’s personalities in order to escape the underground cell and reach safety. [Official Trailer]
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Horror
Main Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson
THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963)
Based on the true story, a group of captive soldiers needs to make a huge escape from a German POW camp in the midst of World War II. What’s the key to escape? Wit. These soldiers must outsmart their captors in order to find refuge. [Official Trailer]
Rating: NR
Genre: Adventure, Drama, History
Main Cast: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough
SAW (2004)
With a serial killer named Jigsaw, how can you not expect some deadly puzzles? Only given challenges and obscure riddles, Jigsaw’s victims must escape for their lives. No hint buttons. “I want to play a game.” Me too, Jigsaw, but how about we just go to an escape room this time? [Official Trailer]
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Main Cast: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover
Sequels: Saw II (2005), Saw III (2006), Saw IV (2007), Saw V (2008), Saw VI (2009), Saw 3D: The Final Chapter (2010)
Have you seen any of these films? Or maybe you plan to. Test your mind and notice the escape tactics and problem-solving strategies shown in these escape movies. And then let’s see if you can apply them in an escape room and beat the clock… Sounds like a challenge to me! So, get off the couch, book an escape room experience here, and be the star of your own escape room movie adventure!
