"P2": A tense, minimalist horror-thriller about a woman trapped in a parking garage

P2 is a horror/thriller film stripped down to the bare basics: a woman, a man, and an enclosed space. Angela Bridges (Rachel Nichols) is a young workaholic working overtime on Christmas Eve. Once she finally decides to leave, she finds that her car will not start. She gets help from security guard Thomas (Wes Bentley) but still fails to get the car to start. Angela resolves to call a taxi. Thomas invites her to spend Christmas with him but she declines his offer, anxious to get home and have dinner with her family. However, she soon finds herself locked in the building, unable to leave. When she goes back to the parking garage, the lights go out, and Thomas drugs her and takes her to his office to have his Christmas dinner, whether she wants to or not.

What follows is a suspenseful, occasionally disturbing story about Angela desperately trying to survive against the twisted affections of the increasingly unhinged Thomas. The story is simply but the thrills and scares are definitely quite effective, and Angela, as a scared victim of an obsessive stalker, is a very easy protagonist to root for. Thomas, the deranged and entitled security guard responsible for Angela's plight, also reminded me a lot of Joe Goldberg from the TV series You, only more overtly creepy and murderous and much less charming, being completely willing to force or manipulate a woman they are interested in so the woman will be forced to love them, and the obsessive stalker can receive "love" and attention to puff up their ego and validate their own views on love. Thomas goes to ever greater lengths to justify his horrific behavior and to hurt Angela when she understandably continues to rebuke him, right up to the conclusion of their cat-and-mouse game.

The two leads give a very good pair off performances, showing Angela's terror and grit and Thomas's growing insanity. The closed parking garage is also a good way to amp up the tension given that it's an enclosed space where Angela cannot leave as long as Thomas is in her way.

There are a few really unexpectedly gory scenes, so for those with a low gore threshold, please refrain from watching this film.

Overall, P2 is a suspenseful horror/thriller anchored by good performances from the two leads and a simple yet effective story.

Score: 8/10