.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=480&h=270&dpr=1.5)
A brand-new film from 20th Century Studios is making its way to streaming platforms later this month, and audiences are officially getting a glimpse of the spine-chiller and the chaotic journey at its core. No Exit, an adaptation of Taylor Adams' 2017 novel of the same name, will be making its way to Hulu in February in the United States and the Disney Plus and Star platforms internationally.
Hulu's No Exit stars Havana Rose Liu as the leading protagonist, Darby, a young woman stranded in a blizzard while attempting to attend to a family emergency involving her mother. Impeded by the weather, Darby finds shelter at a highway rest stop with a group of strangers derailed by the fierce storm. Things seem simple enough until Darby encounters a kidnaped girl in the parking lot, locked in a van. The unsettling discovery prompts Darby to embark on a mission to unmask the kidnaper and map out their escape before time peters out.
The No Exit trailer sets the stage perfectly and ratchets the intensity once the kidnaped girl surfaces. The strangers, played by Danny Ramirez, David Rysdahl, Dale Dickey, and Dennis Haysbert, all appear to have a unique part to play, but the game of spotlighting the culprit is one filled with mystery, violence, and fear. Darby can trust no one in this adrenaline-pumped thriller, and the trailer does a great job keeping the secrets at bay. "Everybody's got a tell, what's yours?" States Rysdahl's character during a card game, but as Haysbert points out, figuring that out won't be easy.
The conflict present in the No Exit trailer doesn't solely center around the characters on stage. The winter environment also plays a significant role in the events and presents itself as an additional central character in the plot. The blizzard is the force that sets the board and pushes the action into motion. The elements prevent the protagonist from escaping and keep the threat of danger uncomfortably close for the characters and audience. The No Exit trailer displays the chaos that ensues once the truth begins to surface for Darby and the others, but it will be interesting to see the weather's role in their escape from the threat that looms menacingly around them.
Damien Power directed the film, adapted from screenwriters Andrea Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari, who previously worked on the script for Ant-Man and the Wasp. Power made his directing debut with Killing Ground in 2017, which centered around two campers discovering an afflicted child wandering in the woods. The discovery leads to a horrific sequence of events for the characters, which somewhat resembles the projected path for Darby in No Exit. Power has familiarity with the genre, igniting optimism in his ability to tell the story properly. Adaptations can be difficult because of the source materials richness, but if focused, the Power-directed film can check off the boxes that made Adams' novel a best-selling treasure.
As stated, the 20th Century Studios film will make its debut exclusively on Hulu in the United States, skipping a theatrical release. The topic of streaming is debatable for some, but the option allows No Exit to reach more audiences, especially during a time of hesitation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the availability of the film internationally on Disney Plus and Star opens the door for even more audiences to experience the film, thus generating more awareness for what might have been an otherwise quiet release.
No Exit will land on Hulu in the United States and internationally on Disney Plus and Star on February 25, 2022.
Source: 20th Century Studios/YouTube