P2

An inexpensive, high-concept thriller, P2 offers a rare starring role for American Beauty’s Wes Bentley, playing a psychopathic parking garage attendant who kidnaps a young businesswoman (Rachel Nichols) on Christmas Eve and holds her prisoner in anticipation of some holiday fun. Director and co-writer Franck Khalfoun does a tolerably good job of maintaining suspense in what is essentially a two-character piece that unfolds in a cramped setting. But P2 never fully transcends the limitations of the woman-in-peril formula, and viewers familiar with movies of this type will always be one jump ahead of the filmmakers.

Shelf Talk: Bentley, who has failed to sustain the career momentum he had after the release of American Beauty, doesn’t count for much with renters, and the talented, attractive Nichols doesn’t really have a following either. Without marquee value and in the absence of wildly creative or offbeat elements, P2 will appeal mainly to hard-core horror fans, who should be satisfied with the mixture of torture, blood and gore. We don’t see much sell-through potential here, although it should be noted that with its first DVD release, Summit has done a fine job with DVD supplements and packaging (the box art features a curvy Ms. Nichols brandishing an axe as she stalks across the titular parking garage).