A group of fourteen strangers wearing electronic necklaces are locked in a large room without any previous explanation. Sooner they are informed by a man in a monitor that they are participating of a deadly game, where the prize of the winner would be his or her own life, but they should follow certain rules to stay alive. Further, the man tells that there is one rapist, one murdered and one pedophile among them. Under the leadership of Lee (Michael McLafferty), the contestants try to resolve their own suspicions to survive.
After the original 1997 "Cube", there are many rip-offs of strangers locked in an environment participating of a sick game, like for example the franchise "Saw"; or "House of 9" or the 2006 "Unknown"; therefore, "Breathing Room" is unoriginal. Unfortunately "Breathing Room" is not even a "good rip-off" because the story is boring and annoying in some moments; and the unexplained conclusion of the scientific experiment the team was submitted is pointless and disappointing. Who are the scientists? What is the objective of the sadistic experiment? Why those persons have been selected to participate? The viewer has no answer for these simple questions; therefore the story and the screenplay absolutely fail. In the awesome 2001 "Das Experiment", there is a previous explanation for teaming-up the guinea pigs. However the acting is great and the actors and actresses are able to transmit their claustrophobic tension and pain to the viewers. My vote is four.
Title (Brazil): "O Quarto do Inferno" ("The Hell's Room")
After the original 1997 "Cube", there are many rip-offs of strangers locked in an environment participating of a sick game, like for example the franchise "Saw"; or "House of 9" or the 2006 "Unknown"; therefore, "Breathing Room" is unoriginal. Unfortunately "Breathing Room" is not even a "good rip-off" because the story is boring and annoying in some moments; and the unexplained conclusion of the scientific experiment the team was submitted is pointless and disappointing. Who are the scientists? What is the objective of the sadistic experiment? Why those persons have been selected to participate? The viewer has no answer for these simple questions; therefore the story and the screenplay absolutely fail. In the awesome 2001 "Das Experiment", there is a previous explanation for teaming-up the guinea pigs. However the acting is great and the actors and actresses are able to transmit their claustrophobic tension and pain to the viewers. My vote is four.
Title (Brazil): "O Quarto do Inferno" ("The Hell's Room")