By setting the film in one location the film becomes much more suspenseful since the audience becomes familiar with the locations. Another technique often used by Hitchcock was the McGuffin. A McGuffin was a plot point in the film that really has no significance to the audience. In "Panic Room" the reasons behind the break in never becomes a dominant sub plot. Although the reason is briefly mentioned the audience is not expected to care. The movie is really about how Foster and her daughter will escape from the robbers. Another technique in the film that resembles Hitchcock style is using unique camera angles to create suspense. David Fincher the director of the film uses every trick in the book to give his film a distinctive style. In one scene that easily recalls the famous scene in "Notorious" in which the camera zoom downs to the key in Ingrid Bergman's hand, one continuous shot shows mom and daughter sleeping in separate rooms on separate floors, then drops to the main floor to show the invaders in the front of the house and then the back of the building, darts into the front-door lock as a key is inserted from outside, and then backs up to observe the nasty trio entering.
One Hitchcock film that "Panic Room" deliberately borrows from is "Rear Window." Much of the tension from "Rear Window" comes from the confined living space, the involvement of neighbors, and seeing everything from Jimmy Stewart's point of view. In "Panic Room" the suspense comes from the confined living space, a scene with a neighbor provides the most suspenseful moment, and the audience sees almost everything from Jodie Foster's perspective. Another similarity between the two films is the use of voyeurism. The house that "Panic Room" takes place in is equipped with cameras so Foster can see almost everything the burglars are doing. In both films the directors force the audience to become voyeurs since the audience gets the pleasure of seeing everything that happens.