Alfred Hitchcock, the world renowned master of suspense, has had many imitators over the year. Almost every thriller that is released has had some influences from the great director, since he practically invented the thriller genre. Two films that were released this year, David Fincher's "Panic Room", and Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia" blatantly borrow many elements from Hitchcock's signature style. Both films can be compared thematically as well as structurally to the best of Hitchcock's suspense thrillers. .
"Panic Room," starring Jodie Foster, acts exactly like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller from beginning to end. The opening credits of the film in which the cast and crew's names are arranged according to the positioning of city skyscrapers and buildings quickly brings upon the opening credits of Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" as well as Hitchcock's "Psycho." There is even a Hitchcock look a like who appears briefly in the first five minutes, recalling one of Hitchcock's famous cameo appearances. .
The plot of the film is quite simple like many of Hitchcock's film. Instead of focusing on plot, both style and the character situations take over the film. Like many of Hitchcock films "Panic Room" is about facing a worse fear. The film begins with Foster and her daughter buying a new house equipped with a panic room. A panic room is hidden room in which you can hide in case burglars break in your house. On the first night that Foster and her daughter move in, burglars try to break into the house. This forces Foster and her daughter to lock themselves inside the panic room. The plot is set up within the first fifteen minutes of the film. The rest of the 90 minutes is entirely execution.
The film borrows many techniques that Hitchcock often used. Panic Room takes place almost entirely in one location. This recalls films like "Rope", "Dial M for Murder" and "Rear Window" in which most of the action also takes place in one location.
