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No One Gets Out Alive begins with archive footage in Mexico, 1963, where a mysterious box is found…
Fast-forward to the present day, and a young woman is staying in a poorly-maintained, enormous house overseen by tall landlord Red (Marc Menchaca – Ozark Season 1), a middle-aged, gruff man with an unkempt beard, and an even more unkempt, taller and weirder brother, Becker (David Figlioli). After strange footprints start appearing out of nowhere, and then the electricity cut out along with the mobile phone line, needless to say, things don’t work out too well for her – although it doesn’t give much away at that point.
Before long, illegal Mexican immigrant Ambar (Cristina Rodlo) takes her room, which leads to jump scares and things that go going bump in the night, plus strange noises heard as if someone’s screaming yet can’t be seen, which made me think there were people living there who were in a different dimension. That’s the only way I could describe it.
In terms of other occupants, despite the size of the place, there’s just one girl, Freja, staying, but after a while, two Romanian women also move in. Given how Ambar’s struggling to get an illegal Visa to ‘prove’ she was born there – in order to stay in the US without paying through the nose – you get the impression Red preys on the vulnerable who don’t have too many options.
It’s safe to say that due to events going on there, as soon as Ambar arrives, she pretty much wants to leave ASAP… even more so when she realises exactly what’s going on in that house. But even when we do see that, it feels rather half-arsed.
There’s nothing we’ve not really seen before. Sure, there’s one thing weird I’ve not seen, but one horror film’s “weird” often doesn’t feel too different to what’s gone before; and when we get these sort of horror films with freaky stuff coming out of nowhere, these days, it just makes me laugh more than scares me.
Certain elements are predictable, whereas others less so, but it’s rather silly overall. I guess as an early Halloween movie, it’s an easy way to pass 90 minutes. You certainly don’t watch a horror movie expecting a labyrinthine plot like The Usual Suspects.
No One Gets Out Alive is mostly in English, but with some Spanish dialogue, given Ambar’s origins.
No One Gets Out Alive is on Netflix from today, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
Check out the trailer below:
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 87 minutes
Release date: September 29th 2021
Studio: Netflix
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Rating: 3.5/10
Director: Santiago Menghini
Producers: Jonathan Cavendish, Will Tennant
Screenplay: Jon Croker, Fernanda Coppel
Novel: Adam Nevill
Music: Mark Korven
Cast:
Ambar: Cristina Rodlo
Red: Marc Menchaca
Becker: David Figlioli
Freja: Vala Noren
Petra: Cosmina Stratan
Maria: Ilinca Neacsu
Kinsi: Moronke Akinola
Rilles: Mitchell ullen
Mama: Claudia Coulter
Mary: Victoria Alcock
Beto: David Barrera
Simona: Joana Borja
Carlos: Alejandro Akara
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.