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Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (released in some markets as Escape Room: No Way Out and Escape Room 2: Deadly Game) is a 2021 American survival horror film directed by Adam Robitel and written by Will Honley, Maria Melnik, Daniel Tuch, and Oren Uziel. A sequel to 2019's Escape Room, it stars Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, and Deborah Ann Woll reprising their roles from the first film, alongside new cast members Indya Moore, Holland Roden, Thomas Cocquerel, and Carlito Olivero, and follows a group of six people trying to survive a new series of more deadly escape rooms.

Plot[]

After escaping the "sole survivor" escape rooms orchestrated by the Minos Corporation, Zoey Davis and Ben Miller decide to confront the shadowy organization after finding coordinates to its New York City–based headquarters. Zoey is encouraged by her therapist to move on from her trauma and to get over her aerophobia, but she opts to drive with Ben instead of flying.

The pair find the headquarters derelict and are accosted by a vagrant who steals Zoey's necklace. She and Ben give chase straight into the Q subway train. Their train car separates from the rest of the train and is redirected to a remote station, sealing Zoey, Ben, and other passengers Rachel, Brianna, Nathan, and Theo inside. As the passengers realize in horror that they are once again in Minos' deadly game, the train becomes electrified. Zoey and Ben learn that the others are the "winners" of previous escape rooms, having survived them. To escape, the group must collect subway tokens as the electrification increases. Theo is killed while the rest escape. Nathan reveals his escape room group were all priests, Brianna's were all influencers, and Rachel's consisted of people who cannot feel physical pain.

The next room is a bank with a slowly closing vault and a deadly laser security system. The group manages to decipher the complex route to get around the lasers and escape with just seconds to spare. While in the room, Zoey is perplexed by frequent references to someone called Sonya and that the escape rooms have no apparent connection to the group unlike before.

The next room is a postcard-like beach with more references to Sonya. They discover that the beach is covered in quicksand. While Rachel is sinking, Nathan sacrifices himself to save Rachel and is swallowed up by the sand. Zoey finds an alternate route out just as Brianna unlocks the intended exit. An argument on which route to take breaks out; Rachel and Ben side with Zoey. Brianna escapes through the main exit while Rachel and Zoey traverse to the alternate route, but Ben falls into the quicksand.

Zoey and Rachel make their way out through a manhole back into the city. Overjoyed at first that they are outside, they quickly realize they are still in the game when they encounter a panicked Brianna. If they do not make it out of this room, acid rain is periodically sprayed on them. The group opens a taxi to escape into but once Zoey enters, the taxi locks Rachel and Brianna out. Zoey falls into the next room while Rachel and Brianna succumb to the rain and die.

The next room is a child's bedroom containing a diary from Sonya, revealing the rooms are based on a fun day out she had with her mother. Zoey discovers Sonya's mother is Amanda Harper, who survived her fall in her original escape room and was forced into designing escape rooms for Minos after they abducted her daughter. Amanda appears and begs Zoey to become the next puzzle-maker for Minos, warning that she has no choice. Ben is revealed to be trapped in a cage. When Zoey refuses Minos' demand, Ben's cage starts filling with water, but Zoey and Amanda work together to free him. They manage to break out, fleeing the facility. They report their findings to the police, who retrieve the bodies of Rachel, Brianna, Nathan, and Theo; the news about Minos goes public. An FBI agent assures Zoey that Minos will be tracked down.

Filled with confidence, Zoey decides to take a plane home with Ben. Onboard, she sees a woman who resembles her therapist, and then realizes she is in another escape room. The distorted voice of Minos' leader mocks Zoey and Ben for falling into their latest trap as the plane begins to fall and sleeping gas fills the cabin.

Cast[]

  • Taylor Russell as Zoey Davis
  • Logan Miller as Ben Miller
  • Deborah Ann Woll as Amanda Harper
  • Holland Roden as Rachel Ellis
  • Indya Moore as Brianna Collier
  • Thomas Cocquerel as Nathan
  • Carlito Olivero as Theo

Isabelle Fuhrman and James Frain appear in the film's alternate version as Claire and Henry, respectively, in a plotline revealing the puzzle maker's story. Tanya van Graan makes an uncredited appearance as Sonya, who is Henry's wife and Claire's mother in this cut.

Additionally, Lucy Newman-Williams appears as Zoey's therapist and Scott Coker portrays an FBI agent in the theatrical cut. Matt Esof portrays the vagrant who lures Zoey and Ben into Minos' trap in both versions.

Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, and Nik Dodani also appear as Jason Walker, Mike Nolan, and Danny Khan in flashbacks of the first film.

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