“WE all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call, no way out, just the upstairs window to look out of while the fire burns the house down with us trapped, locked in it,” wrote Tennessee Williams.
And this sense of dread and anxiety which smoulders inside all of us, hemming in our innermost conflicts, is at the very heart of German escape room thriller Brick, now streaming on Netflix.
When a mysterious brick wall encloses their apartment building overnight, Tim (Matthias Schweighofer) and Olivia (Ruby O. Fee) must join forces with their wary neighbours if they are to have any chance of getting out alive.
Directed by Philip Koch, this morality tale shines a light on dealing with personal struggles while reaching out to family and friends. Brick comes laden down with a satisfying sci-if twist of Matrix soap opera proportions and albeit, not the most original concept, it still proves highly entertaining.
The film opens with Tim and Olivia, a grief stricken couple who have loved and lost, and now find themselves stuck in a moment that there seems no moving on from. Olivia announces, in her newly purchased camper van, that she has just quit her job and is ready for a new start far away from the anguish that now fills their living space. Tim, however, believes this is not yet the time, and looks set on being left behind if he doesn’t begin to heal his heart and face his demons head on.
When they wake the next morning, their world is a very different place and any plans of a new life seem like a foolish impossibility. The windows and doors, throughout their apartment building, are all blocked by an impervious black brick wall, which appears alien in makeup.
Fans of films such as Vivarium and Cube will surely get a kick out of this solid thriller with a real blueprint for puzzle-solving excitement.
(3/5)
