"So then I said to Buffalo Bill, I said, 'Freeze!'"

Panic Room is a slick, new thriller from David Fincher, director of Fight Club and Seven, and David Koepp, the writer of Jurassic Park and Stir of Echoes. And while it is neither man’s best work, it is a reasonably compelling and suspenseful entertainment.

Jodie Foster stars as Meg Altman, recently dumped by a wealthy husband for another woman. Meg and her daughter, Sarah, move into a Manhattan townhouse that comes equipped with a panic room, a steel-reinforced fortress designed to protect its inhabitants from intruders. They’re going to need that fortress sooner than they think.

On their first night in the house, three men break in. There’s Burnham, the competent, principled one (Forrest Whitaker); Junior, the twitchy one (Jared Leto); and Raoul, the wild card, played by Dwight Yoakam. (Remember the character Dwight played in Sling Blade? Yeah, Raoul is like that guy, only mean.)

Meg and Sarah end up in the panic room, which, unfortunately, is the very room the burglars want to burgle. Let the games begin.

I enjoyed Panic Room, though not as much as I expected to. Let’s start with the good news.

"Hey, guys, be quiet. Jodie Foster's about to tell Fincher who the father of her children is."

Jodie Foster is among my favorite actresses, and she turns in a strong performance here in a role that’s more challenging than it may seem, not only because it’s a much more physically demanding part than many she’s played, but because the character is underwritten by Koepp. Meg’s transformation from an ineffectual mother to a fierce fighter with MacGyver-like resourcefulness is only believable because Foster makes it so.

I also liked Kristen Stewart as the pre-teen Sarah. She’s a different, more realistic child than we normally see on the screen, with a look that hovers close to but not quite at tomboy. The movie lets Sarah be more than a passive victim; she’s definitely vulnerable, but she’s also a quick-thinking participant in her own rescue.

Forest Whitaker rounds out a trio of good performances. He brings a depth and sadness to Burnham, a guy who signed on for a robbery but isn’t comfortable with the idea of hurting people.

The script mostly works for me. Koepp keeps the suspense high in what could have been a somewhat episodic series of attacks on the panic room. I also liked the way alliances were constantly and subtly shifting among the three intruders; just a look between two of the characters could indicate that a new dynamic might be at work.

"Don't worry, honey, they can't make us do a remake of Freaky Friday. I promise."

As for Fincher’s direction, it’s pretty tight. This is probably his most conventional work yet, after his dizzying The Game, the over-rated Seven and the mind-blowing Fight Club. Here, his camera moves impossibly and imaginatively through rooms, windows and walls, drawing us into the story and keeping us as trapped in the house as Meg and Sarah are. I could have done without quite so much slow-mo but, hey, that’s just me.

So, what’s the downside? There are a few too many plot holes for my taste. I won’t get into them here because I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but I will say there were plot points that just don’t make sense in the real world. Jared Leto, as Junior, also worked my nerves a bit. His wild-eyed wannabe bad-guy kind of screamed “acting school.” Loved the cornrows, though.

But you know, that’s really all I can come up with for criticism so I have to say, go see it. It’s fun, it’s gripping and, let’s face it, there’s nothing else out worth seeing.

Gorilla Pants rating: 3 out of 4 bananas