Alejandro Aja’s “Oxygen” (Netflix, 05.12.21) his follow up to “Crawl” is an extremely watchable understated horror film. With the “buried alive” aspect almost being a genre of its own, this French thriller does really well to break out of what, if not paced well, could have easily become a tedious 90 minutes. It’s absolutely best to enter this one with an open mind and most crucially to know as little as possible, so no plot points here. What I will say though is that with all the elements of suspense, claustrophobia, and isolation that it does so well (including some horror elements sprinkled in for greater effect by Aja), its triumph comes from its humanity. Which is unlocked through the fantastic performance by star Mélanie Laurent (“Inglourious Basterds”). As much as the stylistic features are key to keep you engaged, these solo outings (think “Locke” starring Tom Hardy) live and die on the performance by the individual, and Laurent excels, revelling in fear, hope, panic, and tragedy.
SCORE: B
I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of looking forward to the “Michael” sequel. Whether Vantoine directs it or John Logan, it doesn’t matter—it’s an inevitable sh*tshow that will result from its making and release.