247°F BD [Blu-ray]

What looks to be a promising concept for a horror movie once again collapses under the weight of its running time. "247°F" would be a great short film, but as a full length feature becomes tedious and redundant. It feels like the writers were setting you up for something shocking or a big reveal at the end but fail to deliver on their assumed promise. It's the perfect case of not wanting what you think is going to happen actually not happen, but leaving disappointed because nothing better transpired.

Four friends head up to a lakeside cabin for a weekend of fun and fireworks. Their good times go south when three of them are accidentally locked in a sweltering sauna. They must find a way to escape before the temperature reaches the lethal 247°F limit the human body can withstand before shutting down.

Here's another perfect example of a movie being too clean and clear. It was obviously shot on an HD camera and it shows. The clarity of the picture does nothing to hide the fact that what should be an old cabin looks to have been just assembled by a set crew. The cinematography doesn't completely detract from the movie but it fails to keep the viewer immersed in what they're watching either.

A great 5.1 stereo surround mix delivers hissing gas, fireworks, bloodcurdling screams, and other special effects just the way genre fans love them - loud and blaring throughout their home theater. David Laurie's musical score is a step above the usual indie film electronic and synthesized instrument fare. It complements the inferior movie perfectly and gives it an extra depth it requires.

Special features for the film aren't going to add much incentive for consumers to buy it. There's feature commentary with producer / director Levan Bakhia. A few deleted scenes add nothing to the film. One of them was obviously set up to lead viewers down a false rabbit hole to nowhere. A making of featurette would have at least added a little something extra for genre enthusiasts to enjoy.

"247°F" will no doubt pull in a horror / slasher audience just because of its two main actors from Rob Zombie's "Halloween" and "Halloween II." Scout Taylor-Compton (Laurie Strode) plays one of the trapped friends and Tyler Mane (Michael Myers himself) plays the suspicious owner of the cabin. Unfortunately, the two of them can't save this slow-burning and monotonous thriller from descending into obscurity.

Jenna (Scout Taylor-Compton), Ian (Travis Van Winkle), Michael (Michael Copon) and Renee (Christina Ulloa) are staying at a lakeside cabin owned by Ian's uncle Wade (Tyler Mane, Michael Myers of the Rob Zombie-directed "Halloween" films starring Scout Taylor-Compton). Before going to a party, they decide to take a hot sauna while Wade is away. What was supposed to be a carefree weekend turns into a nightmare when they (three of them, to be precise) are trapped in a sauna with no way to escape.

The premise of "247F" sounds like the opposite of "Frozen" (2010), in which three skiers are stranded on a chairlift. As in "Frozen," three characters of "247F" (which is about 120C) struggle to escape from this harrowing experience, but their options are limited. The backstory of Scout Taylor-Compton's Jenna, who experienced a traumatic accident three years before, cannot disguise the film's thin story.

This is not to say "247F" is a bad movie. It is slick and shot with realism (the film claims it is based on true events) though it feels a little drawn out and slow at parts. The script is believable and actors all did fine jobs. Directed by Levan Bakhia and Beqa Jguburia, the film also wisely refuses to show us the reason the sauna room door got stuck until the final act.

Maybe this is not the greatest film of the "trapped" genre, but is a decent one.

"247 F" takes the sauna and turns it into a relentless monster out to eat three young souls for dinner. Scout Taylor-Compton was the only reason I decided to check out this film at all, I should have known better. Seriously how much can you get out of people trapped in a sauna?

Four friends head out to an uncles cabin which has a recently built in sauna. Drunken antics occur and three of the friends accidentally get trapped in the sauna when the other drunken friend knocks a small step ladder in front of the door than passes out on the couch.

This movie is beyond boring except for maybe the last 20 minutes which are still nothing special. Let me put it this way, the film is so dull and boring it took me 3 days to finish it and I'm mad at myself for even wasting the time to watch it. The only reason I finished it was so I could write up a review on amazon about it.

If you absolutely have to watch a film about people trapped in a sauna than be my guest, check out "247 F" but don't be mad when your done with it and find out its a total waste of your time. If you want to watch a great movie about people trapped in a claustrophobic setting than do yourself a favor and skip this film and watch "Frozen".

The only reason this got 2 stars was because of Scout Taylor-Compton, other than that this film is already erased and forgotten from my memory.