No One Gets Out Alive: Movie Review
It's the month of spooks and pumpkins! I hope you've been thinking about your prompts for me! My week-long writing challenge is coming up!
I think it will be good for me. Because I've been focusing on my novel, I've been missing the immediate gratification you get when you write short fiction!
So keep an eye out, Oct 25th is when it will start!
The Movie
Desperate and without documentation, a woman from Mexico moves into a rundown Cleveland boardinghouse. Then the unsettling cries and eerie visions begin.
- No One Gets Out Alive Netflix page
Based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Adam Nevill, No One Gets Out Alive is a horror film directed by Santiago Menghini, starring Cristina Rodlo and Marc Menchaca. Released September of 2021, the film follows Ambar who has moved the Cleveland and is haunted by the death of her mother. She's hoping for a fresh start, but without documentation, she's trapped in a horrible job and a strange boardinghouse. Then she begins to have dreams of a ominous crate, of buzzing insects, and ghosts. Will she solve the boardinghouse's mysteries? Or join the ranks of the specters that haunt the place?
The Review
I liked the juxtaposition of themes surrounding the real life horrors an undocumented immigrant might face versus the supernatural horror of the house. The movie builds a great sense of claustrophobia as Ambar's options quickly dwindle away as she is taken advantage of by a sweatshop worker, by other people in a tough spot, and left without help by a distant cousin who doesn't want to get in trouble with the law.
I can't say there was anything novel about this film, it's a pretty average horror flick in the end -- though I appreciated the subtle overlay of real life issues. No One Gets Out Alive follows a standard formula of jump scares, ominous nightly appearances, and a sense of isolation for the protagonist as well as a nice ending that ties everything up in a spooky bow. Overall, I think this is a good October movie to watch with a big bowl of popcorn and a nice cozy blanket. It might not blow you away, but it's a decent film!
I have a few more points but they are a bit spoilery so they are at the end of this post.
6/10
x PLM
BEWARE, THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD
Overall, 90% of this movie was about as standard as you get but the ending was quite fun! I liked that it ties in with the immigrant theme, since these white guys' dad stole the artefact from another country. I also really loved the monster design -- part insect and part woman looking like she is veiled in a shroud.
I was also pleased by the ending when it seemed like Ambar chooses to stay, when she receives the blessing of whatever demoness lives in the crate.
What did you think of the movie in general and the ending?