No Exit

No Exit has nothing new to see, but it's still entertaining. The scenario of being stranded at a rest stop overnight with a kidnapper is suspenseful. Not knowing at first who the kidnapper is creates a nice element of mystery and let's us play detective for a little while. The story is pretty predictable as it tries to be unpredictable with some twists. It's full of clichés and the stereotypical characters are not extremely interesting but they serve their purpose. Though this horror/thriller contains some blood and violence, it shouldn't be more than the average thriller fan can handle. While nothing feels fresh here, it's not a hard movie to sit through. It's a simple, low budget thriller that moves fast enough to keep us entertained. It holds an obvious low opinion of white people which doesn't do it any favors.

As "No Exit" (2022 release; 95 min.) opens, we are introduced to Darby, a young woman who is in rehab. When Darby learns that her mother has gone to the hospital, Darby makes her escape and steals a car. Alas, there is a blizzard coming and Darby must shelter in a remote visitors center with 4 other stranded people... At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is directed by Damien Power (in just his 2nd feature length). Here he brings Taylor Adams' novel of the same name onto the screen. I can't tell for sure, but this has all the feelings of a COVID-19 production: almost the entire movie plays out in a single location (the Visitors Center), and with a small cast. The initial 30 minutes are a bit slow, but then the movie finds a second gear, so to speak, and really kicks in. This movie is super plot-heavy so the less said, the better. All but one of the cast were no-names to me. The only one I recognized was Dennis Haysbert. Bottom line: this isn't going to get any awards nominations, but I quite enjoyed my time with this.

"No Exit" was originally intended to be released in theaters, but resulting from the COVID mess, it got delayed and delayed and then finally pulled from the schedule altogether. It recently started airing on Hulu, where I caught it the other night. If you are in the mood for a scary kidnapping drama/thriller, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Had no expectations or knowledge of this film and didn't know of the novel it is based on. Solely based on the film, it is a decent enough thriller with some thrills but nothing too memorable. A lot of what occurs is vastly predictable including the criminals actions and the entire setup.

In the end what occurred is what we saw coming. Overall it was solid enough for a one time watch, didn't drag on too much and had some thrills. The leading actress stands out and her character is given enough depth and backstory giving the audience a reason to care.

What was supposed to be a horror movie turned into a crime scene pretty quick. The typical "don't judge a book by it's cover" is the theme of the movie.

With a 1.5 hour runtime, the movie doesn't beat around the bush and gets to the point pretty quick - another pro.

I hadn't heard about the 2022 mystery thriller "No Exit" prior to getting to sit down and watch it. So I didn't have any expectations from writers Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, nor did I know what the movie was about. So yeah, I entered "No Exit" with a totally blank page, ready to be entertained and impressed.

I liked the movie's cover and it was what initially lured me to give the movie a glance. And I am actually glad that I did, because director Damien Power really put together a wholesome movie here. It was definitely a movie that surprised me and turned out to be rather enjoyable and entertaining.

The storyline told in "No Exit", as written by Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, was a rather nicely written one. The construction of the narrative was compelling and gripping, and I quickly got swept up and submerged into the narrative. And that was one of the movie's strongest aspects.

But the movie also had a strong aspect in its cast ensemble. Talk about having a group of skilled performers together for a movie. Sure, the cast list is relatively small for "No Exit", but the actors and actresses hired for the movie definitely put on great performances and carried the movie quite well. I was not familiar with lead actress Havana Rose Liu prior to this movie, but she really carried "No Exit" phenomenally with her spot on performance. It was, of course, a treat to have Dennis Haysbert in the movie, because he is usually always one to put on a great performance, and "No Exit" was no different. I wasn't familiar with Danny Ramirez and David Rysdahl either, and they also were quite gifted.

I didn't find the storyline to be predictable, as other reviewers have done. I guess I just didn't speculate too much about who had done it and such, and instead just leaned back and enjoyed the movie for what it was and let the mystery unravel before me on the screen.

I genuinely enjoyed director Damien Power's 2022 mystery thriller "No Exit", and it is a movie that I will warmly recommend you sit down to watch if you enjoy mystery thrillers.

My rating of "No Exit" lands on a solid seven out of ten stars.