Anytime an image pops on the screen of a person being stuck in a small space it’s bound to mean that something really messed-up has happened, or that the movie is going to widen as the focus starts on the main character and then extends to their surroundings as things continue to open up. But opening up doesn’t appear to be the case in Oxygen as Melanie Laurent finds herself inside a cryogenic chamber where the oxygen levels are depleting in a hurry and there appears to be no way out. When a voice suddenly pipes up over an unseen speaker telling her that ‘they’ don’t want her regaining her memory, one has to wonder if it’s a cruel trick to gain more information or if it’s her guardian angel coming to save her. In any case, waking up in a strange place, especially a cramped one, isn’t bound to be a pleasant experience, no matter that she’s been hooked up and kept in stasis, which would hopefully mean that she’s still in one piece and not entirely compromised. So far this brings to mind a number of images that have to do with being buried alive, of which there have been a few. This one is bound to be a little different though since it almost takes the idea of being completely isolated and puts it with being confined in a smaller space, which are both fears that many people have and are highly debilitating.
It might not feel that there’s enough information that’s being given in this trailer, but this is kind of great actually since it doesn’t show too much and it’s because of that this movie will no doubt be worth taking a look at since giving too much would be a mistake. Way too many movies are ruined by giving up too much in the previews, as this allows the audience to guess at what’s coming and, unless there’s some serious twist somewhere in the movie, it can lead people to think that the movie isn’t worth much since it had to give away too much in order to grab the attention of the audience, and didn’t have enough to keep them around when they sat down to watch. This failing is kind of hard to figure out simply because it’s something that one might think that a lot of directors would already be aware of and would know how to avoid or counter. One has to give a little bit away when trying to make their movie known to the public, that’s kind of hard to avoid, but giving up too much is a serious faux pas that would be kind of embarrassing.
So far this movie doesn’t suffer from that failure since it gives just enough to be enticing and to make a person wonder why Laurent’s character is there, what might have happened that she needed to be put in a cryogenic chamber, and why anyone wouldn’t want her to regain her memory. That kind of gets the mind churning when thinking about foul play and something bigger on the horizon. This is the kind of trailer that makes it evident that the story might be worth looking into since it shows some sense of determination and possibly hope in a dangerous and potentially fatal situation as the oxygen meter continues to show the level going down. That alone is something that can be labeled as interesting enough to look into. There’s no doubt that there’s going to be some nefarious plot that will be uncovered near the end, but there’s still a lot of suspicion as to who the mysterious voice could be and whether or not the owner of the voice is attempting to trick Laurent or is really trying to help her. That does sound a bit mistrusting, but in movies such as this, it’s hard to know who to trust when not everyone can be seen. How much of this movie is going to be taking place in the chamber is hard to say, but given that the oxygen level is dropping in the trailer it’s easy enough to guess that it won’t be entirely confined to the chamber.
It does feel as though those that suffer from claustrophobia might not be able to watch this movie comfortably simply because they might find it a little difficult to deal with the situation that Laurent is thrust into. Even those that don’t suffer from the phobia tend to cringe when thinking about being confined to such a small space, as the walls tend to crowd in on people as their fears take over and they begin to empathize with the person on the screen. At the very least, one can take comfort in knowing that there’s a good chance that she’ll get out.
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