Just over half an hour into Damien Power’s promising thriller No Exit, the plot shifts dramatically from what you think this film is about. Often, this is a good thing, subverting expectations and unbalancing the audience. Here there is a period of nothingness, as the writers are working out what sub-genre they want to focus on next, and while the pace does pick up again, you’re never fully back on board.
Recovering addict Darby (Havan Rose Liu) escapes from rehab to visit the bedside of her dying mother. Trapped in a storm she finds shelter at a rest-stop with several similarly stranded motorists. And one of the group has a young girl tied up in the back of their van. A mystery indeed.
Except it isn’t. As you find out who the kidnapper is far too early, No Exit then switches tone to become a grim little survival horror. There is some interest at the outset as Darby turns detective, trying to figure out who’s van the girl is trapped in, and this plays out like an early evening thriller, one for teenagers to watch with their parents.
Latterly, however, as the violence and gore take unjustifiable precedence, the filmmakers find themselves unable to stem the flow, instead creating bloody set-piece after bloody set-piece, most of which you’ve seen before. And scenes of our heroine using cocaine to gain the strength to overcome an awkward moment are, given context, grossly misjudged.
Despite the issues, No Exit remains a reasonable potboiler of a movie; just be prepared for some final act nastiness.
No Exit is available on Disney+.
