Another ‘Escape Room’ fantasy is opening Friday

Above : Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” continues an already well-covered horror genre. (Photo/Sony Pictures)

I’ve already written about one film that is opening in area theaters on Friday. It’s the “Space Jam” update, “Space Jam: A New Legacy,’” in which LeBron James takes over the role Michael Jordan made famous in the 1996 original.

But a second film is scheduled to open, too. And it is no kids’ venture.

Titled “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions,” which pretty much gives away its whole conceit in it tagline, the film is a sequel to 2019’s “Escape Room.” Both were directed by Adam Robitel.

But that’s where the confusion starts. A 2017 film titled “Escape Room,” featuring the same basic plot – involving a bunch of people, often teens, trying to escape a rom (or rooms) or die – was written and directed by Peter Dukes and released online.

Another “Escape Room,” directed and co-conceived by Will Wernick, came out the same year (and premiered June 9 at the Seattle International Film Festival).

And not to belabor the point, but a 2018, film titled “No Escape Room” streamed on the SYFY channel. And a Russian film titled (in English, of course) “Escape Room: Quest of Fear” was released in 2020.

Which is where I lost count. Or interest. Or something.

The latest of these escape fantasies is getting slightly better than average scores (60 percent as of this writing on Rotten Tomatoes). Here are three review:

Jake Wilson , The Age (Australia): “This is a film aimed at a young crowd that finds a middle ground between blithe optimism and despair — which in itself is uncommon enough to deserve some praise.”

William Bibbiani , TheWrap: “Flings itself headlong into its own stupidity but avoids seriously injuring itself in the process.”

Jesse Hassenger , AV Club: “Sometimes it’s hard to spot the difference between an immersive thriller and a carnival ride that spits you right back out into the line as soon as it’s over.”

Sounds like … fun. As long as you can escape the theater after the curtain rises.