"205 - Zimmer der Angst" is first of all a German German-language movie from 2011, so this one had its 5th anniversary last year. There are more than just a few alternate titles for this one here, even if we are only going for those in the German or English language. These would be "Room 205", "205: Room of Fear", "Zimmer 205", "Zimmer 205 - Traust du dich rein?" and "Das erste Semester". This film that runs for slightly over 100 minutes is a remake of the more known Danish movie "Kollegiet" from 2007. And looking at the IMDb rating of that one, I am a bit surprised they chose to remake it. Anyway, I don't know if this German film here is any better, but it is certainly not good. The last title I listed shows you already that it is about a young woman who enters a university to study psychology. But something is very wrong with her dorm room and it seems to be all about the girl who lived there before her. A big part of the film's mystery and thriller component is about the audience never knowing if there are supernatural forces in here or it's just other students doing creepy stuff to the protagonist. It's just a prank bro!
This film is one of the more recent works by director Rainer Matsutani, actually his most recent big screen release before focusing mostly on small screen projects. The one who adapted the work by the original film script of Jannik Tai Mosholt is Eckhard Vollmar and it is definitely one of his most known efforts. Vollmar wrote another film one year later and since then he has not been busy in film anymore. I cannot say this is too much of a loss as I must say the script here was maybe the biggest disappointment. The film never scares or entertains unfortunately to an extent where it would have been a satisfying watch. Just one example. The scene when she talks to the hacker and we are supposed to believe he is basically the only one she can trust and she tells him all about the diary etc. and with the questions he asks it is so obvious there is not just good to him. Anyway, to end the review on a positive note, I liked the transformation from dorm room to psychiatry ward at the very end, even if it may have been one plot twist too many. This was nicely done with the effects. Also I'd have liked to see André Hennicke more often in here. Jennifer Ulrich (and the rest of the younger cast) are really more about good looks than about strong performances really, but as it is a horror film that lives (or should live) through the story, it is fine and honestly Ulrich is also better than in some other films I guess. But as a whole, it is just not enough to really work unfortunately. The atmospheric moments are not enough in terms of both quality and quantity and then the movie also goes for cheap jump scares in crucial scenes and moments. I give this film a thumbs-down. Don't watch.
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