Review: No Exit

Image courtesy of Hulu.

"No Exit" is the type of low budget thriller that studios once used to gamble on frequently, but now only appear from time to time in theaters. Originally, the picture - a brisk thriller set primarily in one location - was headed for theatrical release, but has now landed instead on Hulu, most likely to make room for the 10 screens per theater required for any Marvel movie or other previously existing property that has been rebooted.

The film bears some resemblance to the 2003 film "Identity," in which a room full of strangers find themselves embroiled in a mystery. However, in "No Exit," there's only one character who's sleuthing - Darby (Havana Rose Liu), a drug addict whom we first meet in a recovery program. She gets a call from a sister that their mother is dying in a hospital, and when she tries to leave the program her doctor believes it is merely her latest ruse to get out of going through the recovery process.

She manages to break out, but gets caught in a blizzard that leaves her stranded with four others in a secluded visitors center in the middle of nowhere. Shortly after she arrives there, she notices a young girl tied up in a van who has seemingly been kidnapped. Darby thinks she has the kidnapper pegged, but makes a mistake that leads to a tense standoff between the kidnapper(s) and those who aren't in on the scheme.

For a single-setting scenario, "No Exit" does a decent amount with its limited resources. On the one hand, not a lot of time is spent on trying to keep the identity of the kidnapper(s) hidden, and the picture focuses more on how Darby and those who she can trust - which provides for a few twists during the course of the film - try to outwit the villains.

Dennis Haysbert and Dale Dickey (of "Winter's Bone") lend some considerable weight to the proceedings as a couple who has also found themselves stranded during the snowstorm, while Liu gives a solid performance as Darby, the typical heroine with a flaw - in these types of films, there's often a hero with a troubling past who's trying to be redeemed.

This is the type of film you'll likely enjoy more if you are willing to suspend your disbelief a fair amount and not expect much more than the standard thriller tropes. In other words, it doesn't go out of its way in terms of creativity or breaking the mold. It ends on a grim, bloody note, but it's otherwise a film that lays heavy on the suspense and buildup, which isn't a bad thing - mainstream thrillers of this old school variety come fewer and further between these days. 

"No Exit" is by no means a great movie - and, at times, it verges on being a little silly - but those seeking entertainment in which you can take off the thinking cap for a while could do far worse than this.