Contains major spoilers. 

Based on Taylor Adam’s novel of the same name, Hulu Original “No Exit” was released on Feb. 25. The story follows Darby Thorne (Havana Rose Liu) who must drive home in the middle of a blizzard to visit her dying mother in the hospital. Unfortunately, the storm causes her to stay at a rest stop atop a mountain along with four other strangers: Ed (Dennis Haysbert), Sandi (Dale Dickey), Ash (Danny Ramirez), and Lars (David Rysdahl). While out looking for cell reception, Darby discovers a young girl bound and gagged in one of the stranger’s van. Now the group must find out who the kidnapper is before the situation gets out of hand.

“No Exit” fails to capture the viewer’s attention by starting slowly with Darby escaping from rehab and eventually meeting the group at the rest stop. The movie also revealed the kidnapper within the first 20 minutes, losing the one factor that drew viewers in — the mystery. To pass time, the group decides to play some card games together and get to know each other. This is where viewers meet Lars, a character who is meant to come off as weird and crazy –and tip off the viewer that he is the kidnapper. Not only was Lars revealed too early, but he was also the obvious choice and had no shock factor. 

The reveal would have had more impact if a character like Ed was the kidnapper, a character who was instantly trusted by Darby and the viewer because of his easy-going nature and military background. If Lars were a red herring, the reveal of the true kidnapper would’ve been a surprising twist.

In addition to predictability, the writing was not the best. I understand that they were all strangers and did not have to reveal personal stories, but the dialogue was very forgettable. It went from insulting Lars for being creepy and weird, to uncomfortable conversations between the other four characters. Not a single piece of dialogue stood out; in fact, most of it was forgotten after I finished the movie.

However, I will admit that “No Exit” wasn’t all bad and did have some twists that made some parts bearable. For example, the reveal that Ash is working with Lars and that Sandi hired them to kidnap the young girl was not expected and helped the movie fight off the predictable horror cliches. By the last act of the movie, I found myself invested because of the new threats Darby now faced as well as how she would overcome them.

The movie also did a good job of establishing an eerie atmosphere. The rest stop atop the mountain is scary enough, but add a kidnapper into the mix along with no way of alerting authorities and you find yourself feeling uneasy as you watch the movie. Personally, I prefer horror movies that are rooted in real fears like killers and kidnapping, and the fact that the main scare factor of “No Exit”  is the kidnappers is what makes it a more effective thriller compared to horror films with supernatural monsters.

Overall, “No Exit” was a generic thriller that you can watch on a slow weekend. It may not scare you much, but it will provide some moments that will have you on the edge of your seat. I give the movie  3/5  stars  for its slow plot, stale dialogue, and flat characters. 

“No Exit” is available to watch on Hulu.