2/25/2022 – R – 1h 35m – Hulu

Alan: ⭐⭐⭐✩✩

Michelle: ⭐⭐✩✩✩

No Exit is a thriller about a young woman, Darby, who becomes isolated and stranded with a group of strangers in a mountain visitor center during a blizzard who discovers an abducted girl in one of the vehicles. With no cell service Darby can’t contact the police, and she can’t wait for the storm to pass because the girl needs medical attention. Darby can’t ask for help from the other four people stranded with her because she doesn’t know who the kidnapper is.

The movie is a standard thriller with lots of tension and twists. It is entertaining. The twists are surprising and well done. Although there was one twist that felt a little too cooincidental for my taste and another that was telegraphed a little too strongly.

Alan: It was a solid movie, but there were a lot of plot details that didn’t connect to the main narrative very well. Darby is a recovering drug addict. She is estranged from her family. I became distracted wondering how those elements related to the story. I think there may be a lot of allegory going on but I’m don’t quite understand it. 

Michelle: The movie is based on a best selling novel of the same name by Taylor Adams. Maybe the allegories came through better in the novel; maybe the book is worth a read. The movie became interesting to me at the first twist in the visitor center. From then on, it was entertaining and I could ignore the stilted dialoge and ‘stupid people doing stupid things’ that motivated some of the earlier plot points.

Alan: I was not impressed by the antagonist who made lot of poor decisions. Reviews of the novel talk about Darby outwitting a brilliant and dangerous psychopath. I don’t feel like that translated to the big screen. 

Michelle:  The characters were not admirable or very clever. The twists and turns kept it interesting enough to finish watching the movie. Some of the acting was a bit over the top or theatrical, especially Lars, one of the weird guests at the visitor center. 

Alan: I gave it three stars. It is a solid thriller. I enjoyed it. At times, some of the characters seemed excessively dramatic. At times, some of the plot points bordered on ridiculous. For the right audience, these could add to the charm of the movie. 

Michelle: I gave it two stars. It was fun in the second half, but not something I would remember to recommend for someone to spend 95 minutes watching. Though, I always enjoy Dennis Haysbert.