By: Andrew Wing
No Exit is a 2022 American thriller film directed by Damien Power from a screenplay by Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Taylor Adams. It stars Havana Rose Liu as a recovering drug addict who discovers a kidnapping in progress while stranded at a rest stop during a blizzard. Danny Ramirez (On My Block, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), David Rysdahl, Dale Dickey (Winter’s Bone, Breaking Bad), and Dennis Haysbert (best known for being the deeply-voiced spokesperson for Allstate insurance, but also starred in Major League, Heat, and Jarhead) co-star as the four suspects while Mila Harris plays the kidnapping victim.
No Exit was released on February 25, 2022, on Hulu by 20th Century Studios.
THE GOOD
No Exit definitely snuck up on me. I had been catching glimpses of its commercials on cable, and it wasn’t until I actually put my phone down and watched the commercial that I realized it looked like a cool film that I might want to check out. It's somewhat of a horror/thriller whodunit tale, and while my relationship with horror is a rocky one just because of how oversaturated the genre has become the past couple of years, I am always down for a thrilling whodunit mystery tale. Add in the fact that it was from 20th Century Studios and was going straight to Hulu, and I was sold! But was its interesting premise enough to make it a solid film that is worth watching? Keep reading to find out!
There is no denying that the main selling point here for me at least was the film’s premise. It follows a recovering addict college student who discovers a kidnapped child hidden in a car. It’s much more than that though as this all takes place while she is stranded at an isolated highway rest stop in the mountains during the blizzard with four other strangers, and it just so happens that the car with the girl inside belongs to one of the people inside the building. Maybe I am missing some prior films of the past that were similar, but I would go out on a limb and say this story felt wholly original and that is quite the accomplishment when you are getting into the thriller/horror genre. And all that is a testament to the writers Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. It was not a flawless screenplay, and I will touch more on that later in the review, but it allowed us to know just the right amount of all the major players involved that made us think that they were the ones responsible, and I found that sort of guessing game to be the best part of the film if I am being completely honest.
Now the film’s premise and screenplay were good but arguably better than that were a couple of the performances we got in No Exit, particularly the lead performance from Havana Rose Liu and the supporting performance from Dennis Haysbert. First with the star of the show, Havana Rose Liu. I thought she was really good in this, and if I am not mistaken, this was her feature film debut which made her performance all the more impressive. She plays the role of a recovering addict with perfection which shows she is capable of more dramatic roles in her future, but don’t get me wrong, she was also a badass in this at times as she is constantly facing different terrifying obstacles. From taking punches to using hand tools as weapons, to even removing nails from her (hopefully not too big of a spoiler), she really does it all and I cannot wait to see what she does next. As for the Allstate man himself with the deepest voice on the face of the earth, Dennis Haysbert, I really liked him in this. You know what, maybe it is just that deep voice that I heard growing up every time I watched TV, but I would rather believe that he is just a talented actor because well, he is. He plays a former Marine and his physical appearance doesn’t make you question that for a second, but he also shows that one can be both a stand-up guy yet also be super intimidating, and I was just a fan of his in No Exit as he brought a lot to the table.
In conclusion, I just wanted to touch on the overall look of the film which I really enjoyed. First with the cinematography that was done by Simon Raby. It is one thing to shoot a feature film, but it is another thing entirely to shoot a film in a blizzard, and I thought he did a fantastic job. There aren’t any shots that will make your jaw drop, but it was just so well done from beginning to end and I appreciated that. The production design was also pretty good. I loved the look of the rest stop and just that sense of realism you get from believing this is where something like this would take place (fingers crossed it doesn’t), and that was a nice touch to the viewing experience as a whole in my eyes.
THE BAD
While I still would say that this is a film worth watching, it definitely isn’t a film I will ever rewatch. Simply put, No Exit is a popcorn movie, and while I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, there just isn’t much else to take away from it. It serves its purpose, it’s an easy watch, but it is certainly not a groundbreaking new entry into the genre despite its unique premise and it is also a little slow which hurts when the film is only 95 minutes long.
I think there were two big things that held this film back from being not just decent, but actually good. And the first is the fact that some of its “big” twists aren’t so big as you can see them from a mile away. I know I just spent the first half of this review praising the screenplay and I should because it’s unique and I’ll give credit when credit is due because one of the big twists did in fact get me. But the first big twist that’s meant to really get the ball rolling on the thriller part of the film just missed for me. I won’t say what it is obviously, but if you are locked in and paying attention at the beginning of the film, you, like me, will see it coming.
As for the second thing this film was missing, and that would be just some average to above-average performances from the rest of the cast. I highlighted two of them already, but it is not like they were awards-worthy, but the rest of the cast just fell flat. I think a big thing with movies like this is that you need to have performances that are somewhat believable. Whether it’s screaming in the face of certain death or whether it’s being truly frightening as the “bad guy”, you need the audience to believe you no matter how far-fetched what’s happening is, and I couldn’t. It was surprising too because Dale Dickey was incredible in Winter’s Bone and Danny Ramirez was awesome in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but I just wasn’t buying what they were selling here. It also had what I would call a pretty underwhelming kid performance from Mila Harris and that was unfortunate.
THE VERDICT
Damien Power’s No Exit is what it is, and that is a bloody intense thriller that serves its purpose as a popcorn movie. The impressive screenplay is full of suspense with its high stakes, and it also features quite a captivating lead performance from Havana Rose Liu that is hopefully the first of many.
I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good time with a scary movie, but I struggled to find any rewatchable elements with this film due to some uninspiring performances and some other questionable decisions from those in charge.
TED TAKES RATING - 6.1/10
No Exit is now available to watch on Hulu. Check out the latest trailer below.