P2 has quite a bit going for it, which makes its eventual reliance on inane genre gimmicks that much more disappointing. The premise of Franck Khalfoun’s thriller is promisingly lean and taut: working late on Christmas Eve, businesswoman Angela (Rachel Nichols) gets stranded in her Manhattan office complex’s underground garage and then gets stalked by psychotic security guard Thomas (Wes Bentley). It’s a one-on-one showdown primed to stoke that common fear of being alone in an empty parking lot late at night, and for a time, P2 lives up to its potential, generating chills from Thomas’ obsessed stalker routine and, once Angela escapes his clutches, from their game of hide and seek in the multi-story subterranean facility. Nichols exhibits credible grit even after being stuffed into a sexy cocktail dress that turns all attention to her heaving cleavage (which Khalfoun’s camera makes sure to ogle), and Bentley is both menacing and kind of hilarious as a lonely lunatic whose murderous impulses coexist with a romantic streak and an aversion to animal cruelty. Yet whether it’s due to a lack of imagination or sheer laziness, the film too often partakes in illogical narrative shortcuts that undercut its this-could-happen atmosphere, clearly laying out its realistic cat-and-mouse ground rules, and then having characters perform unbelievable feats and travel implausible distances given their circumstances – cheap, manipulative decisions that disrupt continuity and sap one’s investment in the proceedings.
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