This is a fantastic movie and even more so given it's a low budget indie entirely filmed in one small location! I have great admiration for a team that can put together something with the quality of this movie particularly with those obstacles.
The direction is top notch, building suspense throughout, delivering unpredictable shocks & events and developing some lovely relationships between the people trapped in the building. The cinematography and music score are spot on lending a hand to the overall gritty industrial mood of the environment and sense of impending doom & hopelessness. But it's not at all a depressing movie. It's actually quite uplifting. I loved the characters and their believable and interesting interactions. There was some top notch acting from several people and the character of one in particular was so well acted & developed I wanted to see more of him!! Several other characters were also very likable and engaging while others were infuriating but you still didn't want them to get hurt. It's a fine movie indeed that makes you care so much for the people they've invented that you feel sad when the movie ends and they've gone.
Yeah the plot had some holes here and there but they are not that significant in the context of how incredibly well this movie is put together. Most of the time it hung together well, people behaved as anyone would in the situation and it was mostly unpredictable. Special marks for having a strong female character, for not pulling punches about who "bites the bullet" and who doesn't and for the interesting side story of the alcoholic lad. And of course for the thoroughly fascinating stand-over guy. (I'll be looking for more movies with that young actor in them!!)
The "reveal" and final scene could possibly have been handled better, but I've seen a lot worse and I was happy enough with it. In any case, the journey to get there was so engrossing and enjoyable it really didn't matter.
The only truly (wholly) negative reviews I've read about this movie have focused on very trivial details (nit picking) &/or a couple of plot holes to proclaim this pretty much the worst movie in the history of the Universe. This seems a little petty & extreme to say the least. It's most certainly NOT the worst movie, nor is it the best but it's definitely one of the better ones, regardless of any flaws it may have. I say, you show me a movie totally without flaws and I'll find at least one anyway! :)
I thoroughly enjoyed every moment and recommend it unreservedly for people who enjoy good drama, thriller, suspense, action movies etc and for those who like to see how a movie can be brilliant without the need for a huge budget and fancy effects.
