Panic Room

2002

Panic Room

Critics Consensus

Elevated by Fincher's directorial talent and Foster's performance, Panic Room is a well-crafted, above-average thriller.

75%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 185

63%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 235,745
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Movie Info

After purchasing a brownstone in New York, a thirty-something divorced woman and her daughter are forced to take advantage of the hidden room - the "panic room" - when intruders break into their home.

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Cast

Jodie Foster
as Meg Altman
Kristen Stewart
as Sarah Altman
Forest Whitaker
as Burnham
Dwight Yoakam
as Raoul
Jared Leto
as Junior
Patrick Bauchau
as Stephen Altman
Ann Magnuson
as Lydia Lynch
Ian Buchanan
as Evan Kurlander
Andrew Kevin Walker
as Sleepy Neighbor
Paul Schulze
as Keeney
Mel Rodriguez
as Morales
Richard Conant
as SWAT Cop
Paul Simon
as SWAT Cop
Victor Thrash
as SWAT Cop
Ken Turner
as SWAT Cop
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Critic Reviews for Panic Room

All Critics (185) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (139) | Rotten (46)

  • A thinking-man's women-in-jeopardy picture, Panic Room does about as much as humanly possible with its deliberately restricted one-setting premise.

    Mar 27, 2009

    Todd McCarthy

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • Never averse to glistening darkness, meaty metaphor or grandiloquent technical display, Fincher is also surprisingly at home with hokum.

    Jun 24, 2006 | Full Review…

    Geoff Andrew

    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • Fincher mounts some clever, tense sequences in which the trio devises increasingly threatening strategies to force Meg and Sarah out of the panic room, only to be matched with improvised ingenuity from behind the vault door.

    Jul 20, 2002 | Rating: 3/4

    Mark Caro

    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic

  • There's just no denying Fincher's gifts. Give the guy a camera or two or three, millions upon millions of dollars and state-of-the-art technologies, and there's no stopping him.

    Jun 1, 2002 | Full Review…

    Manohla Dargis

    L.A. Weekly
    Top Critic

  • ... one of the most ingenious and entertaining thrillers I've seen in quite a long time.

    Apr 1, 2002

    Richard Roeper

    Ebert & Roeper
    Top Critic

  • Hugely accomplished slice of Hitchcockian suspense.

    Apr 1, 2002 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Neil Smith

    BBC.com
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (185)

Audience Reviews for Panic Room

  • Feb 19, 2017
    A suspense thriller that dazzles visually but begs one to leave common sense trapped in a steel plated room where no sense can get at it. It's got its moments of tension though.
    Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
  • Mar 01, 2016
    Probably as good as it was ever going to be, We all knew what was going to happen but it did a good job of keeping us gripped at times plus the acting was pretty good, The ending had a little twist we could all see coming, It's an above average thriller that does stand the test of time.
    Jamie C Super Reviewer
  • Mar 29, 2015
    Great cinematography and directing. The story is an original and doesn't stick to focal woman in distress tale. The movie is also well cast which takes it a long way.
    Jarrin R Super Reviewer
  • Dec 12, 2014
    I thought it wouldn't be so good as the plot seemed to be too limited. I guess superb directorial skills have no boundaries. Plus, it had a powerhouse cast.
    Maymay A Super Reviewer
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