Interviews
‘Escape Room’ Director Talks Sequel Rooms, Mythology and Returning Stars [Exclusive]
Escape Room (read our review) is a concept that could easily be franchised. Every movie could feature a new group of gamers stuck in escape rooms that don’t let you out if you fail to solve them. All the sequels really need are more cool escape rooms. And that’s what director Adam Robitel is currently working on while developing a follow-up to this year’s hit.
“It’s really tough,” Robitel said. “We did fire, gravity, ice, cold, gas so we need to outdo ourselves now. We’re in the box.”
“I can’t draw and quarter somebody, so what are those visual ticking clocks? We have some really cool stuff we’re developing and hopefully the audience will think that way too, but it’s tougher. We did do the greatest hits in the first movie so the road gets narrower as it goes on. How do you give the audience what they’re expecting from an Escape Room movie but also not the exact same thing that the first movie did? So we’re really trying to iron all that out right now.”
Spoiler warning. The first Escape Room ended on sort of a cliffhanger though. The Minos company were testing an airplane escape room they planned to use for a flight the survivors of their previous game were taking. So, would those survivors solve this flying puzzle too?
“We’re exploring all that right now,” Robitel said.
“We’re knee deep in developing the sequel. We’re exploring various ideas with how it all plays out.”
Another spoiler alert for those who have yet to discover Escape Room, but those who have may want to see the characters who did survive return to face another game. Will Zoey and Ben be back for the sequel?
“There’s talk of that, yup,” Robitel said. “We’re looking at all options right now about what makes sense.”
Robitel also told Bloody-Disgusting about how that airplane escape room ending was a reshoot to replace the film’s original ending. As such, it expanded the mythology of Minos to establish their New York headquarters and how they develop their elaborate escape rooms. That gives Robitel more material for the sequel.
“I think the implication is that Minos is far more widespread in the halls of power in our society than we realize,” Robitel said.
“I think we’re in a time of real paranoia, whether it’s institutions or police state. We’ve never been in a time of such divisiveness as a culture, so we always love the idea. It was tough admittedly to pull back the veil and I know some people are like oh, this is about rich people watching people get killed, but there’s some cool mythology that we’re trying to bring in the second movie. I think the fact that they could hijack a plane, whether it’s literal or figurative, there’s something cool about that. It’s pushed for sure but we think hopefully the audience is going for the ride. A Machiavellian company that’s out there and knows everything about you. Whether you call them the Illuminati or what have you, that they toy with us.”
Escape Room is now on digital and will be on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday, April 23.
As the inaugural season of Apple TV+’s stellar new series “Widow’s Bay” barrels toward its finale in two weeks, the latest episode gives Kate O’Flynn the spotlight as her character revisits her trauma with the Boogeyman.
“Your Baggage“, directed by Andrew DeYoung (Friendship), sees O’Flynn’s scene-stealing Patricia once again renew her fight with the Michael Myers-like stalker that slaughtered her peers during her adolescence. Thrillingly, it makes for one extended chase sequence that sees Patricia trying to warn others, while evading the undead killer.
In short, this episode’s incredible riff on Halloween and the slasher subgenre transformed Patricia into a fierce Final Girl.
“Well, that felt like a bucket list that I didn’t know was on my bucket list until I did it, but when I did it, I just lapped up every minute,” O’Flynn tells Bloody Disgusting of her triumphant turn this episode. “It felt fantastic for her to get that moment where she is becoming a badass. That was amazing.”
The actress turned to a few notable references for her performance. “Horror-wise, I go back to my youth, which was referenced in some of the episodes: Wicker Man, Carrie, and Rosemary’s Baby, that sort of thing is my kind of vibe.”
O’Flynn also notes how the series’ unique tone allows for so much creative freedom to make bold swings. “There’s something very freeing about it. Every moment is up for grabs, so it’s like we don’t have to totally land in one direction or another. It keeps it alive.“
Patricia is the eccentric assistant to Matthew Rhys‘ Mayor Tom Loftis, who’s at the forefront of trying to solve the island’s pesky curse predicament. Rhys felt the same about “Widow’s Bay” and its rare ability to make you laugh and scream in equal measure, stemming from series creator Katie Dippold.
“The mandate was, ‘It’s a real world with real people. You play for real.’ There’s no playing for comedy or horror,” Rhys echoes O’Flynn’s sentiments on how freeing the series’ tone has been.
New episodes will release every Wednesday through June 17 only on Apple TV+.
Kate O’Flynn in “Widow’s Bay,” now streaming on Apple TV.
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