Entertainment

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Rachel Nichols and Wes Bentley star in "P2."   ADVERTISEMENT   "P2" (1 star) Empty scares: A businesswoman (Rachel Nichols) is terrorized by a stalker (Wes Bentley) in an underground parking garage on Christmas Eve. Technically quite slick, this movie has nothing else going for it, and nothing for the two hard-working actors to play. Rated: R rating is for violence, language Now showing: Alderwood Mall, Everett, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Meridian, Woodinville, Cascade Mall   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, November 9, 2007 Parking garage thriller rings hollow By Robert Horton Herald Movie Critic The creepiness of parking garages is pretty much accepted as a universal, so the makers of "P2" have definitely got a concept here. This film takes place mostly in the dank concrete jungle beneath a clean, well-lighted corporate building in Manhattan. It's Christmas Eve, and if our heroine, a businesswoman played by Rachel Nichols, had watched the holiday-set "Die Hard," she might have had some idea what she's in for. Instead, just when the building has cleared out, she's confronted by the freaky parking attendant (Wes Bentley), who's down on level P2. Bentley has something in mind for Nichols, and it includes an intimate Christmas dinner: turkey, wine, and the handcuffs that keep her chained to the table. The subsequent unpleasantness uses the various levels of the parking garage for maximum effect, and the movie certainly never lets up. The story was hatched by Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur, who came up with the clever and maddening French thriller "Haute Tension." There's some amount of logic in the trapped heroine's actions. And, from the box office perspective, there's logic in putting Nichols in a low-cut evening dress. I liked the fact that no guns are used -- just weirdness and a Taser. In fact, the words "Don't Tase me, bro," will be echoing through theaters throughout the nation this weekend, just because of certain moments in this movie. If director Franck Khalfoun stages the action in an acceptable way (including a couple of required gross-out moments), he fails miserably to supply his two actors with something to play. Other than Suffering Victim and Crazed Psycho, that is. It's all borrowed from other movies about stalkers. Rachel Nichols is a model known for an ongoing role on "Alias," and she probably has some kind of career ahead of her. Whether she can act or not isn't answered by this movie, but she is adept at torment. Wes Bentley looked like a star-in-the-making when "American Beauty" launched him, but he hasn't made a big impression since then. This proves he can get his Anthony Perkins on, but not much else. Of course, Perkins' performance in "Psycho" made people stop taking showers, and "P2" will likely have a similar effect on parking garages. It's an excellent argument for carpooling.

1. Emory’s owner fears fire was arson 2. Monroe honking case makes it to state Supreme Court 3. Vatican ponders the souls in space 4. 81 veterans' names, 81 meaningful lives honored in Snohomish 5. Hope dims that Olympics will boost region 6. Student hit in crosswalk to return 7. Smokey Point to celebrate end of roadwork 8. Death on Edmonds waterfront ruled a suicide 9. Help for young moms may continue 10. Semifinal slate sealed on ‘Dancing With Stars’ 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Bazaar Fever • Hawks proud of historic season • Olson always put Edmonds first • Honoring student veterans • ‘Wheedle' author comes to Lynnwood bookshop • Mavs build early lead en route to easy win • Prep football games of the week (state playoffs) • Tears of laughter, tears of grief • Death on Edmonds beach likely a suicide • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million