Debutant director Rupert Wyatt has scored himself a Hollywood directing contract with this film, and I am not surprised. The Escapist does everything a prison thriller should do, with a minimum of fuss.

The director wields suspense with the skill and potency of Hitchcock, heightening the intensity of scenes with manipulative camera-angles and a flawless use of sound. This uncanny control of the audience may be one of the hardest boxes to tick on the filmmaker’s checklist, yet this task is accomplished with ease throughout. While suspense may be the director’s signature play, a twist ending is his victory salute. Possessing a final-scene plot twist worthy of rivaling The Sixth Sense in surprise factor, The Escapist concludes with a final triumphant punch from the filmmakers who know they have created a brilliant film.