An Underrated Horror Gem Just Hit Prime Video & Is A Must-See Movie

Looking at the new arrivals on any streaming platform when the start of a new month hits is often one of the most fun things to do with your subscription. Each month, streaming services add and remove new films and TV shows, from major blockbuster releases to entire franchises to hidden gems. June is no different for Prime Video, with the likes of 12 Angry Men, Bring It On, the Bill & Ted trilogy, West Side Story, Public Enemies, The Notebook, Legally Blonde, Bull Durham, End of Watch, and more arriving.

The hidden gems or forgotten films that are hitting Prime Video in June are pretty interesting. They include the Daniel Radcliffe action romp Guns Akimbo, the overlooked Denzel Washington thriller Out of Time, Anya Taylor-Joy's indie Thoroughbreds, and more. Mixed in with those is Escape Room, a 2019 horror flick that was a box office hit and spawned a sequel, yet nobody seems to talk about it when discussing the best modern releases within the genre. That makes it the perfect kind of movie to check out in June.

If you've seen Escape Room already, you can get reminded of why it's such a good film and if you haven't, you can discover a horror movie worth seeing.

Escape Room Is A Really Fun Horror Film

One of the things that makes Escape Room such an intriguing premise is the rise of the titular concept. Escape rooms have become something that people of all ages seem to enjoy doing over the past decade or so. The idea is that a bunch of people enter an escape room and must work together using clues to figure out a way to get out in the allotted time. It brings people together, helps folks learn how to work as a team, and is a good time.

Escape Room takes that idea and applies it to a horror setting. The movie sees several people get sent invitations, via a puzzle cube, to take part in an escape room where the people who find a way out can earn a $10,000 cash prize. As they arrive in the waiting room at the given location, they learn that the area is actually their first escape room and is a giant oven. If you don't get out in time, you burn to death. That lets them know that this is no ordinary escape room situation.

The characters proceed to go through various rooms, each with its own puzzles and deadly consequences if you lose. That makes for the kind of horror movie that everyone can get engaged in as you want to see these people survive, but you also are curious about what dangers they face next. Escape Room received solid reviews, holding a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie also benefits from a really good cast. Taylor Russell (Bones and All) is a good choice for the lead actor, while the supporting cast features Deborah Ann Woll (Daredevil: Born Again), Logan Miller (Love, Simon), Tyler Labine (Tucker and Dale vs. Evil), Jay Ellis (Top Gun: Maverick), and Nik Dodani (Atypical). It makes for one of the more fun casts in a modern horror movie.

There's A Great Sequel To Escape Room

Although people have seemingly forgotten about it, Escape Room was a pretty major box office success. On a budget of under $10 million, the film grossed over $155 million, which is a big deal. That allowed the producers to go forward with a sequel, which arrived in 2021. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions delivers more of what made the first film work, while expanding the franchise's lore as many of the best sequels tend to do.

Most of the cast members, even if their characters died the first time around, reprise their roles alongside new cast members like Holland Rolden (No Escape), Indya Moore (Pose), and Thomas Cocquerel (The Gilded Age). For the most part, the story hits many of the same beats, as it follows a group of people trying to survive a deadly escape room. However, the rooms they enter are creative and clever enough to keep you pulled in. It's the kind of thing that likely only would've needed to change after another installment or two.

The second movie also received similar reviews from critics to the first, yet the score from the audience on Rotten Tomatoes for the sequel is 75%, which is higher than the score for the first by about 20%. Escape Room: Tournament of Champions isn't currently available to stream on Prime Video but it can be rented through the platform in 4K resolution for just a few bucks. That makes this a perfect set of films to binge over a weekend and discover an underrated horror duology, which is the kind of thing we need more of.

Escape Room 3 Is Still A Possibility

As noted, the setup of Escape Room could change a bit more if we got more entries, yet that's still up in the air. While the first film was a pretty huge success financially, the second didn't perform nearly as well. The budget was slightly higher but the box office intake dropped to around $65 million. That's still a success, especially since it came so soon after things started opening up during the pandemic, but it's unclear if it was enough to greenlight a third film officially.

Adam Robitel, who directed both installments so far, was asked about a third film, especially given how Escape Room: Tournament of Champions ends on a cliffhanger. While he would like to make one, he said it depended on the box office run and if there's interest in continuing the story. Alas, nothing has been confirmed and there haven't been any updates in years.

While we wait for the possibility of an Escape Room 3, there is something for fans to do. You can check out the first film on Prime Video and rewatch the second as well, yet there are also alternate versions available. The rooms are the same, yet there are notable differences in the story, making for a whole new experience. Until we get a third film, we can at least watch Escape Room over and over on Prime Video.