ESCAPEE

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Directed by:
Written by:
Starring: , ,

FILM: Escapee
STARRING: Dominic Purcell,  Faith Ford, Carly Chaikin, Melissa Ordway,  Kadeem Hardison, Scott Elrod
DIRECTED By: Campion Murphy
RUNNING TIME: 1 hr 33 mins
CERTIFICATE Certificate 15

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr_FmghjVCo[/youtube]

 Hughesy’s Verdict!

Best DVD cover of the year for me goes to Escapee.  Now when I say that, I do not mean for its wonderful artistic imagery and the stunning thought that has gone into it, but because of the obvious sell it aims for.  Let me explain!  On the cover we see shaven head Dominic Purcell in a yellow prisoner suit and with cell bars behind him.  Even the title Escapee cries out that this is going to be one kick ass prison flick.  Now what is the problem I hear you ask unless you have already guessed?
You see Purcell was one of the brothers in the highly acclaimed TV show Prison Break (see where I am going with this?)  a show that was launched on the back of the success of 24 and to its credit the very first season more than kicked the backside of Jack Bauer.  But when the “Prison Break” actually happened there was nowhere else for the show to go and the writers stretched out some idiotic plotlines that quickly made the show be cancelled after only four brief seasons.
The idea to scrap the show had many fans in America and Britain scream in despair and since then Purcell and his co-star Wentworth Miller have struggled to find another show to build on the promise they shown and this brings me now to this film and of course that cover!  Its a plain in your face obvious ploy to drag in all the heartbroken Prison Break fans to buy this film and you know what?; that makes me laugh out loud at the thought because there will be many who will fall for this cheap marketing scheme and I would love to see their face when they put the film in their DVD and press play.
If they are expecting a Prison Break style thriller then they are in for a huge shock, because another thing I should mention is that the DVD cover gives out an impression of a total different film.  Imagine my surprise when after 15 minutes of running time that I realised that what I was watching was in fact a horror film.  Yes guys! and not just any horror but a slasher film, so you can imagine the feeling of emotions that was running through my horror veins.  Sadly though that was the one and only time I showed any feelings towards this film because after I got over the initial shock I soon realised that Escapee was another lame horror film that failed to light up my horror life!
We start off with some flashes of a girl being murdered and hung before we fixed to the usual group of pretty teens and this time we are with psychology major Abby Jones ( Christine Evangelista), for this cliche ride.  Abby and her class are on an observation trip in a local mental hospital where just as it is in all horror films a vicious bogyman is being transferred.  This time its not Michael Myers but Harmon Jaxon (Purcell) a man who takes great delight in killing pretty girls.  When the group and this evil bastard crosses paths the guards tell the group to face the wall and do not make eye contact but Abby stupidly ignores this (well she has too otherwise there is no film) and as soon as their eyes meet, Jaxon immediatly gets obessed and tells her he is going to “have her!”.  Showing the ease he never managed to in Prison Break, Jaxon (a riff of the name Jason) escapes from the hospital and along with the usual straight to DVD weather storm heads off to find his new prize Abby and to kill a few people on the way!

Purcell to his credit does a real good job playing the nut job even though he dons what seems a ridicolous wig and while I would like to say that this is a dire film, there is something quite watchable about the whole thing.  There is enough gore to keep the horror fans happy and the serial killer angle may do enough to please those who like that sort of stuff in their films especially as the film contains a neat and unexpected twist coming towards the end.

Yes I have seen better, damn guys you probably have also,  but if you love cheap and lazy horror films then this is a perfect weekend rental and if you are a fan of Prison Break and most importantly Purcell then you will no doubt lap this up and with a cover like that-how can it not seduce you?

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

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About Ross Hughes 535 Articles
Since my mother sat me down at the age of five years of age and watched a little called Halloween, I have been hooked on horror. There is no other genre that gets me excited and takes me to the edge of entertainment. I watch everything from old, new, to cheap and blockbusters, but I promise all my readers that I will always give an honest opinion, and I hope whoever reads this review section, will find a film that they too can love as much as I do! Have fun reading, and please DO HAVE NIGHTMARES!!!!!!

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