Panic

Recently divorced Meg Altman and her daughter Sarah move into a four-story brownstone on the Upper West Side of New York City. The house has been recently renovated and features a panic room, which they soon discover is central to their experience.

Around 1:30 AM, on the night they move in, Meg and Sarah's home is broken into by Junior, Burnham, and Raoul, who plan to steal $3 million in bearer bonds located in the panic room's floor safe. The intruders mistakenly believed the house to be unoccupied, leading to a dangerous confrontation.

As the intruders begin their robbery, Meg sees them on the video monitors inside the panic room. Recognizing the threat, she quickly takes Sarah and they lock themselves inside, only to find their means of communication disabled.

Burnham decides to force Meg and Sarah out of the panic room by introducing propane gas into the air vents. Tensions rise when the plan escalates dangerously, as Raoul pushes to increase the gas levels.

In a desperate move, Meg ignites the gas, resulting in a powerful explosion that vents into the room outside and injures Junior. This moment significantly alters the dynamics of the home invasion, intensifying the urgency of their situation.

Meg attempts to signal for help by flashing a flashlight through the ventilation pipe, but her neighbor ignores her pleas for rescue. Frustrated, she taps into the main telephone line to call her ex-husband Stephen.

Just as Meg explains the situation to Stephen over the phone, the intruders cut the line, leaving them isolated and in danger. This interruption underscores the hopelessness of their predicament.

During a moment of panic, Junior accidentally reveals that there is much more money in the safe than previously thought. However, shortly after, he is fatally shot by Raoul as tension among the intruders escalates.

Stephen arrives at the house, only to be taken hostage by Burnham and Raoul. The situation worsens as Sarah, who has diabetes, suffers a seizure, adding urgency to Meg’s struggle to protect her daughter.

Raoul tricks Meg into momentarily leaving the panic room under false pretenses, while Burnham enters to check on Sarah. Meg fights to retrieve Sarah’s emergency Glucagon syringe from outside the panic room.

After a struggle, Meg successfully throws the syringe into the panic room, and Burnham reacts by locking himself, Raoul, and Sarah inside. He then administers the injection, demonstrating his conflicted character as he expresses regret over the situation.

Meanwhile, police arrive at the house due to previous reports made by Stephen. However, their interaction with Meg raises their suspicions, leading to a tense standoff as they remain unaware of the hostages inside.

In a dramatic encounter, Meg attacks Raoul with a sledgehammer, trying to save her daughter. A severely injured Stephen attempts to protect them, leading to his shooting at Raoul, which draws Burnham back to the house to put an end to the violence.

With Raoul dead at the hands of Burnham, and the police closing in, Burnham abandons the bearer bonds, letting them fly away with the wind. This marks the resolution of the chaos that has unfolded in their home.

Days later, Meg and Sarah are recovering from their harrowing experience and begin searching for a smaller, more manageable home. This signifies their resilience and determination to move forward from the trauma they endured.