Being stranded in a tourist center with an attractive stranger during a blizzard may
make for a sweet romantic comedy...
It may also be the beginning of a terrible thriller.
It's the latter in the case of No Exit, a new film that debuted on Hulu today.
No Exit was directed by Damien Power from a screenplay by Andrew Barrer and Gabriel
Ferrari, and is based on Taylor Adams' compelling 2017 novel of the same name.
The plot revolves around a young woman who is on her way to visit her mother in the hospital
when she becomes stuck in the mountains with four strangers during a severe snowfall.
She realizes she can't trust any of the strangers when she discovers an abducted child in one
of their trucks.
However, while this appears to be the ideal setup for a "who dunit," No Exit takes a different
path than you might imagine.
Despite this, it manages to maintain the tension throughout, with lots of twists and turns.
You can miss anything if you don't pay attention, so keep reading for a story overview and explanation
of the No Exit finale.
SUMMARY OF THE PLOT:
Darby (played by actress Havana Rose Liu) is a drug addict at a rehab clinic who has
been clean for 11 days.
We hear that she has attempted treatment seven times and has given up hope.
Then she receives a call notifying her that her mother is in critical condition in the
hospital.
She phones her sister, Devon, on a covert mobile phone and begs her to help her get
out of rehab so she may visit their mother.
Darby chooses to leave treatment and go to Salt Lake City to meet her mother after her
sister refuses.
Darby hotwires a car in the rehab parking lot using a screwdriver, which contains a
phone and a little dime bag of an unknown white powder narcotic.
She drives for a while before being stranded in a bad snowfall.
The freeway is blocked, and she can wait out the storm in a nearby tourist center, according
to an officer.
There are four other people at the visitor center when Darby arrives: Ed (Dennis Haysbert)
and Sandi (Dale Dickey), a married couple headed to Reno for gambling; Ash (Danny Ramirez),
a young, charismatic guy who says he's headed home; and Lars (David Rysdahl), a nervous
oddball who is vague about his plans.
Darby hears a muffled crying sounds coming from a parked vehicle as she steps outside
to look for a cell signal.
She comes across a little girl who is bound and gagged.
WHERE DOES THE KIDNAPPER COME FROM?
Darby's main suspect is Lars the freak, and she is quickly proven true.
Darby is forced to hide beneath a blanket as Lars enters the vehicle unexpectedly when
she is sneaking inside the van with a razor to cut the girl loose.
The girl's name is Jay (played by Mila Harris), she is unwell, and Lars is taking her to "Uncle
Kenny."
Darby exits the van as soon as Lars exits, but she leaves the razor behind for Jay to
use to cut herself free.
Darby informs Ash of her observations and requests his assistance in stopping Lars.
Ash accepts and finds a nail gun in a construction zone of the tourist center to use as a weapon.
Darby walks back to the van and removes the tape off Jay's lips.
Darby discovers that two guys took her when Jay informs her that two men kidnapped her.
Darby agrees not to inform Ed and Sandi what's going on after some threats to murder everyone.
However, Jay exits the van and rushes into the woods, thanks to the razor Darby left
behind.
Darby is forced to go seek for Jay by Ash, who knows that Jay would never come out for
her kidnappers but would come out for Darby.
While searching for Jay, Lars informs Darby that "Uncle Kenny" provides "better homes"
for the children they abduct.
Darby suspects Lars and Ash of being involved in a child trafficking ring.
Meanwhile, Ed and Sandi discover Jay still alive outside the tourist center and bring
her inside.
When Darby returns to the tourist center, he informs Ed and Sandi of the issue.
They barricade the door, and Darby confesses that she took the van's keys, preventing the
kidnappers from fleeing.
Outside the center, Ash and Lars come, and Ed bluffs that he has a pistol, although he
doesn't.
Darby is instructed by Ed to bury the keys to the van someplace, which she does.
TWIST IN THE PLOT
Are you prepared for what's about to happen?
Sandi is also in on it!
Jay wakes up, looks at Sandi, and identifies her as her family's housekeeper, "Mrs. Lowery,"
while Ed and Ash are attempting to out-bluff each other.
Sandi had been abused by Jay, and Sandi assisted the kidnappers in capturing Jay, believing
it was for a ransom and that she would get a portion of the money.
Back in the present, Sandi maces Darby after turning on Ed and shouting to Ash that he
doesn't have a gun.
Sandi admits she met the kidnappers online and decided to assist them since she was in
financial distress.
She allows Ash and Lars to access the tourist center in order to provide Jay's medication.
Darby informs Sandi that the kidnappers are involved in a child trafficking plan, not
a ransom scam.
Sandi informs Ash that Darby buried the keys someplace, and Ash demands to know where they
are.
Ash shoots Ed and Sandi, killing them both, after realizing that Darby is the only one
he needs.
Sandi manages to spray Lars in the face with mace before he does.
Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun
EXPLAINED ENDING
With the nail gun, Ash secures Darby's arm to the wall, then departs to assist Lars in
cleaning his eyes.
Darby persuades Jay to give her a hammer that's sitting around.
The kidnappers return to the room, and Ash receives a text on Darby's phone informing
her that her mother has died—but he also receives a text informing him that the cops
are on their way.
Darby's communication to the cops apparently went through, despite Ash's deletion.
Darby informs Ash that the keys are in the snow outside the bathroom after Ash threatens
to shoot Jay with the nail gun.
Darby uses the time bag of drugs (cocaine?) to numb herself before prying the nail out
of her arm with the hammer while Ash goes to get them.
When Ash rushes in to assist her with the hammer, he accidently shoots Lars in the head
with the nail gun, killing him.
Darby nearly flees with Jay in her car when Ash is distracted by this.
Ash, on the other hand, blows out her tires, leading her to crash.
The visitor center, as well as the three bodies within, are set ablaze by Ash.
This is, of course, when the cop vehicle arrives.
While discreetly approaching Darby in the car, Ash tries to persuade the officer that
he's a fine person.
Darby shoots Ash in the shoulder with the rifle she stole from Lars.
Darby is shot in the stomach by the officer.
When Ash notices this, he grabs the revolver and shoots the officer.
He's also planning to murder Darby...
Darby then murders Ash by stabbing him in the neck with a screwdriver.
Darby crawls to the officer, snatches his radio, and murmurs, "I need assistance," into
the device, bleeding out in the snow.
Finally, she sinks back into the snow, looking up at the snow in the sky, while a dispatcher
on the radio inquires if she requires assistance.
Darby is back in recovery and has been sober for 48 days.
While we don't know how it happened, we presume that aid arrived, and Darby was undoubtedly
saved.
Darby is shown in her room at the institution in the closing shot, with a drawing from a
little girl on her wall that we may guess is from Jay—she, too, made it out alive.
Darby's door is knocked on by a nurse who informs her that she has a visitor.
Devon, Devon, Devon, Devon, Devon, Devon, Devon, Devon, Devon, Devon, Devon, Devon The
film finishes with the sisters staring at each other.
Phew!
What a crazy journey it's been.
Except Dennis Haysbert, who is the epitome of "trust no one."
You're in excellent hands while he's around.