P2

Just in time for the holidays, here comes a cuddly li'l tale about a generic female exec (Rachel Nichols) chased through a parking garage by a generic maniac on Christmas Eve. But does the world need another two hours in which a terrified young woman sobs and screams her way through a mess of blood and gore? The only scary part about this is that someone out there might actually love it.

The Bigger Picture:  It's Christmas Eve, and all Angela (Nichols) wants to do is get her contracts faxed, leave the office and head to her sister's place for dinner. Unfortunately, her car won't start—which turns out to be Phase One of a bizarre plan cooked up by Thomas, an unhinged security guard (Wes Bentley, who's graduated from creepy adolescent loner in American Beauty to creepy adult loner here).

A dollop of chloroform later, Angela finds herself chained to a table, wearing a low-cut dress. Turns out Thomas has been watching her through the security cameras for a long time, and now she's starring in his Christmas play, Kidnapping Is Just Another Way to Say I Love You.

There's more, and it's all pretty predictable: girl escapes psycho, girl tries to call for help, girl is repeatedly thwarted by psycho. The obstacles that the script throws in Angela's way get lazier and less credible each time, and anyone who's at least seen Die Hard could come up with better escape plans. For a guy who's supposedly blocked every exit, Thomas sure leaves a lot of sharp objects in handy reach.

No doubt there will be people calling this a tale of female empowerment: a woman fighting back against a leering creep who views her as a fantasy object. Which might be more believable if our hero didn't spend the film begging for mercy, handcuffed, wearing a flimsy dress that just happens to get soaking wet.

The 180—a Second Opinion:  At one point in the movie, Rachel Nichols' flimsy low-cut dress gets totally soaking wet!