Review
No Escape (Horror, Thriller) (2020)
Director: Will Wernick
Writer: Will Wernick
Stars: Keegan Allen, Holland Roden, Denzel Whitaker, George Janko
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Always in search of new and entertaining content for his vlogs, Cole (Keegan Allen) is travelling to Moscow where his friends have found a unique experience for him and his viewers. However, there’s a catch, as in it’s an escape room that is custom-tailored to an individual and you’re only allowed to do it once in your lifetime.
No Escape takes a familiar concept that was first initialized by the SAW franchise. Still, with the surge of real-life Escape Room experiences these kinds of films have seen a burst of popularity and are being made non-stop, from classics like SAW and Cube to the more modern takes in Escape Room and Exam. There is no easier option for a horror movie than putting a group of friends or strangers into a room or several, and confront them with a series of traps, riddles or death-defying moments.
As you’d be able to guess No Escape certainly isn’t looking to re-invent the wheel, it tries to be somewhat creative with the vlogger angle, but in the end, it’s just a group of friends trying to cheat death in an escape room experience turned brutal. Although as mentioned it isn’t doing anything revolutionary it is reminiscent to The Game, a highly recommendable classic that is not necessarily about escape rooms but certainly a similar experience to this film.
The budget is visibly lower than other films in what could be called this sub-genre, but it does exactly what it needs to, even though it was highly predictable to someone like me and not very creative the storyline, no matter how straight-forward is entertaining. There are some forgivable goofs and wonky special effects, but I mostly started noticing those near the end of the movie. What surprised me most was the accurate Russian dialogue by actors supposedly from Moscow, even though once they started speaking English it was somewhat stereotypical but the actual Russian was on-point (As far as I know with my limited knowledge on the subject).
There’s not much more to say about No Escape other than it being an entertaining watch if you’re looking for an accessible Horror film that isn’t too gory or scary. No Escape does precisely what it’s meant to, it could’ve been more creative and would’ve improved from a little more excitement but is nonetheless a good pick for a lazy afternoon or if you are looking for something that is a bit more campy than significant.
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Verdict
Luckily I didn’t feel like I had to escape the responsibility of watching and reviewing this film.
6,2
