247°F (2011)

I despise the heat with a passion. I'd rather be under certain acts of torture than be exposed to long term heat. Unfortunately, the characters in 247°F do not have a choice. They become trapped in a sauna, deflated by excruciatingly intolerable heat while they are left to fry and have their skin sweat to disintegration. We're approaching winter in Chicago and in certain sequences I felt like I was drowning in my own sweat and exhaustion watching this film.

The story centers on four college kids who venture out to a remote cabin owned by one of the kids' uncles who has graciously allowed them to spend the night there after they return home from a late night party. The kids are nervous Jenna (Scout Taylor-Compton), straight-laced Ian (Travis Van Winkle), obnoxious Michael (Michael Copon), and bitchy Renee (Christina Ulloa), and the cabin owner is Ian's uncle Wade (Tyler Mane), who also offers up his man-made sauna in his backyard. The teens immediately decide to spend some of the evening jumping from the sauna to the lake, then back to the sauna.

Then, as party time approaches, Michael becomes drunk and bothers his long-suffering girlfriend Renee, leading to her, Jenna, and Ian staying in the sauna while Michael lumbers around drunk outside. Suddenly, an abrupt pang of something falling is heard in the air, and the next thing the three know, they can't get out of the sauna because the giant wooden door is stuck. The homeowner is gone, Michael is passed out drunk, and no one is nearby to help the unfortunate teenagers. At first, it's almost a unanimous consensus that this mishap is a cruel joke by Michael, but as time goes by and the sauna temperature sits uncomfortably at 184°F, they begin to rationalize that Michael could not be this sadistic to stretch out a joke for this long.

Considering the fact that claustrophobic films are difficult to accomplish and more difficult to even find in a market dominated by "the-next-big-thing." 247°F is perhaps the best movie about a group of friends being trapped in a sauna increasing in temperature that could be made. It's unfortunate that the characters are rather underwritten, but it is quite a blessing that their actions once locked in the sauna are sensible and believable. They seem to consider options and consequences of their actions more seriously rather than impulsively breaking things and spewing senseless chatter. Although the characters do often yell, it seems to be more fitting because they are hot, exhausted, and noticeably drained of their energy.

One could view 247°F as an eighty-eight minute continuation of the infamous tanning bed scene in Final Destination 3, as we watch these three characters helplessly fry, unsure of how to respond. The film's strength is in character-subtleties, but its shortcomings are in dialog and development. It pales in comparison to genre greats like Frozen and Open Water, yet it satisfies someone who religiously seeks out these films, no matter what contraption the characters are stuck in rather it's an isolated ATM kiosk, a ski-lift chair, or an elevator. Claustrophobic films are especially difficult films to make because they requires character dialog and human interest. I return to the idea that this is probably the most accomplished film about characters being locked in a sauna that the public will ever see.

Starring: Scout Taylor-Compton, Travis Van Winkle, Christina Ulloa, Michael Copon, and Tyler Mane. Directed by: Levan Bakhia and Beqa Jguburia.