Horror Movie Review: 247°F (2011)

Directed by Levan Bakhia and Beqa Jguburia, written by Lloyd S. Wagner, Beka Oniani, and Levan Bakhia. 247°F is a horror/thriller that stars Scout Taylor-Compton, Travis Van Winkle, Christina Ulloa, Michael Copon, and Tyler Mane.

Jenna (Taylor-Compton) has struggled to get over the death of her fiancé in a car accident three years prior to the events of this film. She has become a recluse and struggles with anxiety, especially when it comes to meeting new people.

Knowing she needs to get out, she agrees to spend a weekend at a quiet lakeside cabin with best friend Renee (Ulloa), her boyfriend Michael (Copon) and his buddy Ian (Van Winkle.) A wonderful place where they can get high, drink a lot of booze, and relax. Heck, it even has a homemade sauna, which is probably not the best place to go when you are liquored up and high as a kite.

Case in point, Renee and Michael get into a fight, and he storms out. The trio left inside try to relax but eventually the heat starts to get to them and then they hear a loud thump from inside the cabin. Worried that something might have happened to Michael, they try to leave the sauna, but find the door blocked by something.

They’re trapped inside, the temperature is rising, the controls are outside, and no-one can hear their calls for help.

It’s a good set-up that is brave enough to focus on the characters and not make the overall story one layered with mystery or sinister behaviour. What happens here is an accident but it’s an accident with potential deadly results. Credit to the cast, they look immensely uncomfortable throughout and really nail a lot of the nuances needed to make the experience tense. Everyone is great, but Taylor-Compton is particularly delightful.

Unfortunately, the film starts to run out of steam in the final third and seemingly aware of this, it races towards an ending that doesn’t feel earned. Things escalate in an almost unbelievable way, with a particular conflict seemingly coming out of nowhere. It’s significant enough to derail things and dissipate much of the tension that the film had worked so hard to build up.

Does it ruin the overall experience? Not quite as the film does build up a lot of good will. The engaging characters, strong acting, and overall sauna-based scenario is interesting. Well worth a watch.