Nice House You Guys Have Got
On Yuppies, Securitisation, and Home Invasion
Panic Room (2002) Dir. David Fincher
Divorced mum Meg and her daughter Sarah move into a new home with an in-built panic room. On their first night, the house is broken into and Meg and Sarah take shelter in the safe room. Unfortunately, that’s the room the robbers are interested in.
“They're in vogue in high-end construction. One can't be too careful about home invasion.” - Evan Kurlander
I was in two minds about picking this as I suspect a lot of people don’t think of Panic Room as a horror film. But: a) I wanted a home invasion day, b) I consider home invasion films a subgenre of horror, and c) Panic Room, in my opinion, is a modern masterpiece of the form.
Sometimes you just want a swiss-watch, meat-and-potatoes, every piece in its right place, rollercoaster. In that sense, Panic Room is probably Fincher’s most straight-ahead genre piece - a slight, single location potboiler that came out between two of his more revered and formally inventive films: Fight Club and Zodiac. But when he wants to deliver a Hitchcockian nail-biter, Fincher absolutely delivers.
Fincher isn’t afraid to call attention to the comparison either, with bold Saul Bass style opening credits (giant letters hovering over the city that call to mind North by Northwest) daring you to recall Hitchcock. He effortlessly builds tension with floating, omniscient cameras that cruise through the house in fluid, unbroken motions. Using CGI to guide us past errant mugs or to follow floating feathers that foreshadow future set pieces. All of it in aid of making us feel like we know the space ourselves - we understand the geography - and by extension feel invested in watching the protagonists negotiate it.
One of my favourite shots is the cross-section of the invaders trying desperately to open the elevator door as we watch Meg and Sarah, slowly descending, huddled in the opposite corner of the screen. It almost treats the screen like a comic book panel. Ugh. I sort of hate David Fincher film bros but I do get it. He is very good at this.
Home invasion films are usually, at best, politically tricksy. We’re generally introduced to a yuppie family of some description, and the invaders are often of a lower class. Without any critical interrogation, it can be a regressive sub-genre and some of the worst offenders (the xenophobic French film Ils/Them comes to mind) can be outright offensive.
“I wish I could put my kid in a place like this. Not that I didn't try. Just sometimes things-- they don't work out the way you want them to. Wasn't supposed to be like this. You weren't supposed to be here.” - Burnham
Panic Room largely fits into this “scary parable for the upper class - to encourage them to buy a Ring system” framework and can absolutely be seen to fall into the broad Securitisation Propaganda category of most home invasion films. That being said, the central antagonist is Junior - a rich, spoiled brat who is just after a larger inheritance than the rest of his family. He’s also played by Jared Leto with cornrows. So an almost universally detestable villain we can all agree is the absolute worst. Burnham, the blue collar technician of panic rooms - played by Forest Whitaker - is at least treated with empathy, but could still have been given a little more grace in the final act of the film.
The film was beset with production problems which are too numerous to go into here (see links below) but just one of the bits of fun trivia: Nicole Kidman was originally supposed to play Meg but had injured herself filming Moulin Rouge so Jodie Foster stepped in. Kidman can be heard on the phone playing the ex husband’s new partner.
It’s hard to imagine this film without Foster if I’m honest. She’s just one of the most engaging screen presences of all time and her steely but understandably distressed demeanour throughout the film holds the whole thing together. Kristen Stewart nails it too of course.
If you can stomach watching a film about rich people defending their incredibly opulent home - in the middle of a suffocating housing crisis in the UK (and beyond) - I’d encourage you to start here. It’s one of the very best.
Where can I watch it in the UK?
You can rent it for £3.49 on youtube/google/amazon/apple or buy it for £4.99 on amazon.
Pairs well with
I very nearly went with You’re Next (2011, dir. Adam Wingard, available to rent for £3.49 on youtube/google/amazon) as my first choice. To the extent that I even drew an illustration for it.
I love the collaborations between director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett - and particularly enjoy that the weapons company that the family works for in this - KPG - is also key to the events of the duo’s next project - the equally fun The Guest.
In You’re Next, what begins as your traditional 2000s torture porn adjacent home invasion, quickly turns into a much more interesting subversion wherein the yuppies themselves are the problem and they soon get much more than they bargained for. A huge amount of fun with some superb deaths and set pieces.
Honourable mentions to Becky (and the forthcoming Wrath of Becky), and the relatively recent Til Death starring Megan Fox - a solid home invasion which I think was overlooked.
Further Reading
There’s a great episode of This Had Oscar Buzz about Panic Room. Half of it is about the EW Spring issue that had Jodie Foster on the cover if you’re interested in what else was happening in Hollywood around 2002. If not, they get into the film around an hour in.
The always great Evolution of Horror featured Panic Room during its Home Invasion season. It’s paired with The People Under the Stairs (more on that another day). There’s also an episode on You’re Next and The Guest that’s worth a listen.
This Every Frame a Painting video about what Fincher doesn’t do is interesting.
As is this video essay by Nerdwriter about how Fincher hijacks your eyes.
Daniel Netzel explores the logistical nightmare of Panic Room in this video.
A nice piece about the Panic Room title sequence.
Blank Cheque are currently doing a season on David Fincher and the latest episode is on Panic Room.
Other Recommendations
On a slightly related note - I enjoyed this video essay by Broey Deschanel about whether or not we can still enjoy Fincher and Sorkin’s The Social Network.
And if we’re going to be thinking about the politics of Fincher, it’s worth watching this Maggie Mae Fish analysis too.
If you’re in Edinburgh, Lighthouse Books have a double bill of horror book events coming up on October 19th: at 7pm - Hazardous Spirits with Anbara Salam, 8pm - drinks & signing, and 8.30pm - Every Version Ends in Death with Aliya Choudry.