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ClareR (6106 KP) rated The Chalet in Books
Nov 8, 2020
This story is split between two timelines to begin with - the present day and twenty years before. In the present day, two couples are sharing a chalet for a holiday mixed with business. I’ll say this again: these are not particularly nice people. They’re rich, entitled and generally insensitive.
Interspersed with this timeline is that of two couples twenty years earlier. Two brothers and their girlfriends are on a skiing holiday. They’re all Oxford University students: three come from affluent upper class families, and one, Louisa, comes from a working class, single parent family. She is made to feel different at all times - whether this is her own insecurities is never quite clear. Her boyfriends brother certainly doesn’t do much to make her feel welcome. At some point during this holiday, there’s a terrible accident that has an equally terrible effect on characters in the present day timeline.
I won’t say any more about the storyline - I don’t want to be the one to spoil someone’s reading enjoyment! What I WILL say, is that I thoroughly enjoyed this and looked forward to reading it every morning on the Pigeonhole app. It’s a tense, exciting, addictive read - and I loved it!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this and helping me once more, to read my NetGalley books! And also thanks to the author, Catherine Cooper for reading along with us.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Escape Room (2019) in Movies
Sep 15, 2020
It's disappointing because I found myself unexpectedly enjoying the bulk of the movie, even if it doesn't carry a lot of substance.
It's a more recent entry into the currently popular and seemingly unending PG-13 corner of horror. This of course means little in the way of gore or scares, something that I would usually take issue with, but managed to get on board with in this instance.
The set up is resemblant of Saw, but the later films in that franchise are evidence that more gore certainly doesn't make for a better film. With the focus here not being on violence but the actual puzzles the characters have to work through, I found it to be fairly engaging.
The set pieces and room designs are imaginative, and a lot of these moments are suitably tense.
The cast are decent as well - Taylor Russell, Tyler Labine and Nik Dodani are likeable, and I always enjoy Deborah Ann Woll whenever she pops up in things.
My main gripe however is the plot. The premise is really straightforward, not much room for error in that respect, so the inclusion of a faceless Hostel-esque corporation who caters to rich people who profit from this whole thing is just dumb. It's feels lazy, unnecessary, and more than anything, really tacked on and rushed. The ending flies by in an attempt to hastily set up a sequel rather than focusing on ending this film in a satisfying manner. It's a real shame because the majority of the film is relatively entertaining, and the climax just de-rails it completely.
Escape Room is worth watching for the Saw meets Cube premise, but ultimately ends up being a bang average thriller.