Workaholic Angela (Rachel Nichols) leaves her office late on Christmas Eve with the intention of spending the holidays with her family. However, psycho security guard Thomas (Wes Bentley) has other ideas: he wants the pretty woman to spend the festive season with him and will do anything to get his way.

In my humble opinion, an underground car park—particularly an almost deserted one late at night—is the perfect setting for a scary movie: full of hard, unforgiving, concrete surfaces (perfect for inflicting pain),dark menacing shadows, and eerie echoes, this unique environment offers horror film-makers maximum scope for scaring the bejeezuz out of an audience (I still shiver thinking about the car park scene in Zach Snyder's Dawn of the Dead).

Certainly, P2—to my knowledge, the first film to be set entirely within such surroundings—benefits immensely from its creepy locale's ominous ambiance: with little more than a routine 'woman in peril' scenario for a plot, director Franck Khalfoun relies heavily on his cavernous, subterranean environment to provide atmosphere and scares. Narrow corridors of light surrounded by blackness; flickering neon bulbs; ever vigilant surveillance cameras; claustrophobic elevators and uncomfortable crawlspaces: every aspect of the car park setting is cleverly used to breathe new life into tired material.

Spirited performances from the film's two leads also help to gloss over the film's numerous plot holes and clichés: Bentley is required to over-act as though his life depends on it, and obliges with an impressive, no-holds-barred display of nuttiness (in one hilarious scene, he even gets to pretend he's Elvis!). Nichols also handles her role well, scoring maximum points for her screaming, running, and ability to look unfeasibly hot in a flimsy dress (worn for no other reason than to permit viewers a chance to ogle her impressive cleavage).

Occasionally, the material does get a little TOO predictable for its own good: a couple of moments that attempt to deliver the 'surprise factor' fail spectacularly, and the result of the climactic showdown between Angela and Thomas is telegraphed way too early (close-ups of leaking petrol and a sparking Taser can mean only one thing...). However, with one particularly violent set piece guaranteed to shock all but the most desensitized of gore-hounds, and the constant distraction of Rachel Nichols' magnificent heaving chest, I find it fairly easy to be forgiving about the film's weaker moments, hence my possibly-too-generous rating of 7 out of 10.

Angela (Rachel Nichols) is a hard working businesswoman. It's Christmas Eve and she's one of the last to leave the building. Her car doesn't start and the only person there is security guard Thomas (Wes Bentley). She's in a rush to go to her sister's party. The taxi cab comes but she discovers all the doors locked. The lights go out and the building is shut down.

This is a very strip down horror story. The setting is a simple non-descript business building and underground parking lot. The movie is mostly just two actors. Nichols is a reasonable actress whose biggest asset in this movie is her cleavage. Bentley is a creepy nerd-like character but he's not scary enough. There is some value to this paint-by-number strip down horror, but in the end, the value isn't all that great.

In the Christmas Eve in New York, the workaholic executive Angela (Rachel Nichols) works until late night. When she is ready to drive to her family's Christmas party, her BMW does not start and she calls a cab. However, she is unable to leave the building, since all the exits are locked, and she returns to the garage, where she meets the night watch Thomas (Wes Bentley). The security guard tries to help her with a battery charger, but the car does not start. Angela asks him to open the gate; however, she is unexpectedly attacked by a psychopath, beginning her night of horror trapped in the building.

The claustrophobic and tense "P2" is a surprisingly good low-budget movie. The plot takes place practically most of the time in one location, more precisely in a garage, and the story is credible in times of worldwide insanity. The gorgeous Rachel Nichols has a great performance, half naked and barefoot, running and hiding herself from a maniac stalker. Wes Bentley has also a good performance in the role of a lonely deranged character that is omnipresent in the universe of the suspenseful story. "P2" blends suspense, horror and black-humor in right doses, and there is basically only one gruesome scene; the rest, is pure psychological horror. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "P2 – Sem Saída" ("P2 – No Way Out")