THE ESCAPIST
A gritty prison escape with redemptive flashes—for adults only.
Should You Watch It?
The Escapist earns its three-star rating through absorbing character portrayals, a compelling overall storyline, and an unusual approach to suspense. Sounds, facial expressions, and images often carry what another film might explain through dialogue or a complex musical score. Two major characters sacrifice themselves for fellow prisoners, and the protagonist’s uncertain Christian faith gives the story redemptive weight.
But the film’s prison setting brings serious costs. Its foul language, brutal violence, drug use, gambling, sexual content, and implied prison rape make it unsuitable for families. The flashback structure creates confusion and weakens character development, while the film’s Christian elements remain less clear than they could have been.
The practical answer is simple: adults with discernment may find this gritty drama worthwhile, but it is not appropriate for children or young teens.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESFrank Perry is an older man serving a life sentence when, after 14 years, he learns that his only daughter is close to death following a drug overdose. Driven by fatherly love, he urgently organizes an escape so he might see her again.
To carry out the plan, Frank recruits a motley group of fellow prisoners, each bringing different motives, skills, and struggles. The story unfolds through flashbacks as the escape takes shape.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this is a fairly engrossing film with real artistic strengths, though its weaknesses keep it from being fully cohesive. The performances are excellent, especially in the absorbing portrayals of the prisoners. The filmmakers also create suspense through sound, images, and facial expressions rather than relying on a complex musical score.
The flashback structure allows for unforeseen twists, but it often leaves the audience confused about what is happening. The lack of background information makes the characters harder to understand or empathize with, and it hurts the storyline’s cohesion. Still, the actors’ work helps compensate for the limited dialogue and information.
The Worldview
The film presents a strong mixed pagan worldview with light humanist elements. Most characters rely on their own means for escape. It also includes an anti-biblical reference in which a character says the story of David and Goliath is untrue.
At the same time, the film contains ambiguous but solid Christian elements. Two main characters sacrifice themselves to help other prisoners. Frank sits in a prison chapel and stares at a crucifix. A man prays to God for forgiveness while attempting an escape he believes he should not make because he needs to remain in prison to pay for his wrongdoing. Frank also says, “the Lord provides.”
The difficulty is that Frank’s faith is never clearly explained. His contradictory actions leave the audience uncertain about what he believes. The film’s central redemptive acts are meaningful, but the filmmakers do not make their intended point clear.
The story’s concern for sacrifice and forgiveness connects with Christ’s call to love others sacrificially: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong mixed pagan worldview includes light humanist elements where most characters rely on their own means for escape, one anti-biblical reference where character says the story of David and Goliath is untrue and Christian protagonist seems to act in contradictory ways, and sometimes ambiguous but solid Christian elements includes two main characters sacrificing themselves to help other prisoners, protagonist sits in prison chapel and stares at crucifix, man sits in confession box and prays to God asking for forgiveness for the escape he is attempting because he knows he should remain in prison to pay for the wrong he has done, main protagonist says “the Lord provides” in reference to their escape plan, images of crucifix on door to chapel and at the front of the chapel, men find means of escape through the prison chapel, and men use large crucifix to aid in their escape, plus strong homosexual content includes references to homosexual cross-dressing and homosexual activity in prison, including implied rape; 28 obscenities and one profanity; violence includes very strong, somewhat brutal scenes and sometimes bloody violence such as man cuts off his own thumb at the command of other prisoner with blood and appendage shown after the fact and sounds are heard of the act, man pulls knife on other man to threaten him, two men engage in bloody boxing match with multiple punches and knee jabs thrown at each other and heads are slammed to the pavement, man gets tooth knocked out, dirt tunnel collapses on man and kills him, man beats other man over the head with a chair (bloody mess) and attempts to suffocate him with a pillow, man falls down flight of stairs which kills him, two men get hit by train and are killed but camera cuts away from the scene so it is not actually shown, man stabbed in the side and the actual stabbing isn’t shown but there is blood after the fact; non-depicted sexual content includes man cross-dresses and dances around arriving prisoners, men try to touch the new prisoners and make catcalls, men hold up signs with numbers on them indicating the new prisoner that they like the best, man leers suggestively at other man, and implied prison rape; upper male nudity in many scenes, men in their underwear, and shower scenes with rear male nudity; no alcohol; smoking depicted by multiple characters throughout movie, characters use cigarettes for bribery, man makes drugs and deals them in the prison, prisoners make trades for drugs, man makes poisoned batch of drugs, drug use depicted by prisoner who dies because it was a poisoned batch, references are made to main protagonist’s daughter being a drug user and overdosing; and, gambling, discussion of murder, corrupt prison guards, blackmail, and man considers suicide and starts to follow through but protagonist stops him.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Frank’s choices are shaped by concern for his dying daughter. When does love call us to sacrifice, and how should love be guided by truth?
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 · Philippians 2:3–4The film includes characters who give up their lives to help fellow prisoners. What makes a sacrifice genuinely loving rather than merely dramatic?
John 15:13 · 1 John 3:16Frank’s faith is suggested but never clearly explained. How can contradictory actions obscure a person’s testimony?
Matthew 5:16 · James 2:17–18A character asks God for forgiveness while attempting an escape. What is the difference between feeling sorry and turning toward God in repentance?
2 Corinthians 7:10 · 1 John 1:9The Final Word
The Escapist is a well-acted, inventive independent drama with genuine redemptive elements. Its prison violence, language, drug use, sexual content, and implied rape make it a film for discerning adults only. For that audience, it is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. Families should choose something else.
