Debapriya Bhattacharya
Directed by Adam Robitel, ‘Escape Room’ follows six Chicago individuals from different walks of life who receive a puzzle box by mail. On solving it, they get invited to an escape room experience by Minos, a company that is offering a million dollars to the first person who manages to get out. However, things take a dangerous turn when the participants realize that the waiting room in which they are gathered is a part of the escape room experience itself, and that failing to solve the puzzles can result in death.
Escape Room Filming Locations
While the narrative of ‘Escape Room’ is set in Chicago, Illinois, the movie was primarily lensed across Cape Town, South Africa. Some scenes were also shot in Chicago, Illinois. Filming began in October 2017 and wrapped up in January of the following year. The psychological horror film was produced under the working title ‘The Maze’ and faced a few delays in post-production. South Africa is a favored shooting destination for filmmakers around the globe because of the low production cost and varied landscape that can easily double as any setting, with the likely exception of dense snow-covered regions like the Arctic. The region is known for its beaches, mountains, and lush greenery that form stunning backdrops, as well as local studios that support productions with every modern amenity.
Cape Town, South Africa
The city of Cape Town in South Africa stood in for Chicago, Illinois, throughout the ‘Escape Room’ movie. Elaborate set pieces were constructed to bring the escape rooms to life. In an interview with Wicked Horror, director Adam Robitel shared that he was “terrified” about shooting in the country as he knew no one in the place. However, production designer Edward Thomas came in as the saving grace. “Ed had shot a lot of movies there,” said Adam. “He had this incredible team that was just ready and crewed right up. It’s different down there; they can just start pouring concrete. They don’t have the zoning laws and all the shit that we have here.”
Among the places the crew visited is an old factory in Cape Town, to film a scene where the characters are in danger of being crushed under a press. The backgrounds for process shots were created at the Springfontein Film Location, situated around 28 miles north of the main city. Many sequences were also captured at the Cape Town Film Studios, located at 7 Film City Boulevard on Faure Street in Cape Town. The studio is a public-private partnership that is supported by every level of government to aid and promote the movie-making industry in the country. Apart from ‘Escape Room,’ other films that have been shot in Cape Town include ‘The Empty Man,’ ‘The Last House on the Left,’ ‘Resident Evil,’ ‘The Bone Snatcher,’ and many more.
Chicago, Illinois
To better represent the setting of the story, on account of production not taking place on the scene, a second production unit of ‘Escape Room’ captured establishing shots in the city of Chicago, Illinois. The well-known urban landscape with a variety of architectural styles has been seen in a multitude of other projects. These include ‘Child’s Play,’ ‘Candyman,’ ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street,’ ‘The Amityville Horror,’ ‘Flatliners,’ and ‘The Grudge 2,’ among others.
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