#willwernick

Anyone who’s seen their fair share of thrillers will figure out all of No Escape (also known as Follow Me in some territories) within minutes and the movie suffers by coming out after 2019’s Escape Room. I enjoyed it nonetheless. I saw the areas where it could’ve stumbled and was pleased when they didn’t. Although I knew where it was headed, I was happy to see it go there.

Social media personality Cole (Keegan Allen) is celebrating his channel’s 10th anniversary by traveling to Russia with his girlfriend Erin (Holland Roden) and three best friends Thomas (Denzel Whitaker), Dash (George Janko), and Sam (Siya). They’re meeting Alexei (Ronen Rubinstein) for an escape room that’s unlike anything they’ve ever experienced.

From the beginning, I was ready to hate the film (or like it for all the wrong reasons). If I hear we’re following a Jake Paul-like protagonist through a series of Saw-inspired traps, I’m cheering for his dismemberment. Aware of this, Writer/director Will Wernick does a good job making Cole sympathetic. While he is a bit slow to figure out the seriousness of his situation (though that’s debatable) and he proves himself self-absorbed a few times, when he sees his friends in danger, he proves himself capable and even brave. There’s decent tension generated from the time-sensitive torture devices/traps and the picture successfully ups the stakes from there.

It’s hard to talk about No Escape without discussing the ending you know is coming. After rescuing his friends from the initial traps, everything appears to have gone wrong. Alexei’s girlfriend Viktoria (Emilia Ares) has been executed by gangsters the buds encountered earlier. Now they’ve been captured and are about to be tortured live, on-camera “Hostel” style. It’s a perverse version of Cole’s VLOG fame. That’s fun in a “yuck!” kind of way. Then, the big twist. Turns out this whole thing was an elaborate ruse orchestrated by everyone else; a way to scare Cole like he’s never been scared before. Too bad he didn’t know that and has made someone pay for their “crimes”. I saw it coming. You probably did too but it feels timely. We’ve seen prank-centered YouTube channels go wrong but never like this. I wouldn't have minded the film take it even further. Have Cole barricade the doors to the exit after setting it on fire, have him kill ALL of his friends for extra cathartic satisfaction I say.

If you slam this movie, I can’t blame you but I saw something good in it. I won’t be the only one. Whether you’re someone younger that hasn’t seen this before, the clues just fly over your head and you wind up surprised, or you see what’s coming next from a mile away and embrace it, you can have a good time with No Escape. (December 28, 2020)