OXYGEN by horror-filmmaker Alexandre Aja (HIGH TENSION, CRAWL) is a claustrophobic, emotional, twisty experience that owes a lot to the Ryan Reynolds modern classic, BURIED. Starring Mélanie Laurent (INGLORIOUS BASTERDS), this is a bottle-film set in the confines of a cryogenic chamber engages the viewer to piece together the mystery of what’s going on in mostly real-time with our protagonist.
I will say one of the twists is pretty predictable, but regardless the movie mostly does a pretty good job twisting and turning and evolving as the story progresses. There is an emotional story at its core as well, which is mediocre, but is necessary for the mystery to play out, so it works, even if I wasn’t as invested in that emotion, as much as the hero’s current predicament.
Laurent’s performance is stellar! She tows the line between hysterical and logical, but does so in a very realistic and relatable way. It’s an incredibly tough role, considering she’s essentially the only person in the film.. And yet, she carries the whole thing by herself.
That being said, the less you know about this one, the more fun it’ll be. So let’s keep this spoiler free, and just say, OXYGEN will leave you breathless.
Check it out on Netflix now!
