Panic Room 🎥 2002 Movie Info

Plot Summary

Recently divorced Meg Altman and her eleven-year-old daughter, Sarah, move into a four-story brownstone in New York City’s Upper West Side. The house’s previous owner, a reclusive millionaire, had installed a “panic room” to protect himself from intruders. The room is reinforced with concrete and steel and features a thick steel door. It also includes an extensive security system with multiple surveillance cameras and a public address system. On Meg and Sarah’s first night in the house, three men break in: Junior, the previous owner’s grandson; Burnham, an employee of the home’s security company, who built the panic room; and Raoul, a thug brought along to the break in by Junior, without Burnham’s knowledge.

They intend to steal bearer bonds locked inside a floor safe in the panic room. When Meg wakes during the night, she sees the men on the security cameras and rushes to the panic room with Sarah. To force them out, the men pump propane gas into the room’s air vents. Meg ignites the gas while she and Sarah cover themselves with fireproof blankets; the ignited propane leaves Junior badly burned. Meg taps into the main telephone line and calls her philandering ex-husband, Stephen. As she tries to explain their situation, the intruders cut the line, ending the call.

When all attempts to breach the room fail, Junior gives up on the robbery but lets slip that there is more money in the safe than he initially disclosed. When he tries to leave, Raoul fatally shoots him and forces Burnham to continue with the robbery. Stephen arrives and is immediately taken hostage. Raoul severely beats him, ensuring that Meg sees it on the security camera. Sarah, a diabetic, suffers a seizure as her glucagon syringes are in her bedroom. Raoul tricks Meg into thinking it is safe to temporarily leave the panic room.

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