No Escape Room – Netflix Review (3/5)

NO ESCAPE ROOM is a new horror movie on Netflix (originally released on SyFy). This is actually a surprisingly good horror-mystery that keeps you guessing. Definitely worth watching for entertainment on a movie night. Read our full No Escape Room movie review here!

NO ESCAPE ROOM is a new horror movie on Netflix in the US and yes, the title does sound like a spoof of other horror movies. I mean, we’ve had No Escape and two movies with the title Escape Room within the past few years and now we get this.

However, it is worth noting that this Netflix addition was actually released on SyFy back in October of 2018. That alone makes it seem more original than the title indicates. Also, the title is ultimately very fitting for several reasons.

Continue reading our full No Escape Room movie review below and find it on Netflix (US) now.

From No Escape and Escape Room to No Escape Room

As already mentioned, the title did make me think that I shouldn’t expect too much from this movie. However, from the beginning of this movie, it was obvious that both the production quality and acting style had all the making of an entertaining horror-mystery.

To me, this one is better than Will Wernick’s Escape Room from 2017 and on par with his No Escape from 2020. It’s not as good as Adam Robitel’s Escape Room from 2019 (which has a sequel coming). Then again, I’m sure this SyFy production had nowhere near the budget that Robitel did and that also counts for something.

You might like: Our review of Will Wernick’s Escape Room here >

And yes, No Escape Room turned out to be a surprisingly good horror-mystery that keeps you guessing. Whether you’ll love or hate the ending is another thing. Along the way, you’ll keep wondering whether the contestants have been drugged (they’re served tea, to begin with) or if something supernatural is going on.

Also, it could just be a really good escape room. You won’t know for sure until the final scene – which I loved!

Faces that look familiar

I wasn’t particularly familiar with most of the cast members in this new SyFy horror movie on Netflix. However, they did look very familiar to me. The father and daughter main protagonists each reminded me of other actors. Not in any bad way, so I’m not trying to speak ill of anyone.

Jeni Ross plays Karen and she looks quite a lot like Madelaine Petsch, who we’ve seen in the horror movies Polaroid and Sightless. Mark Ghanimé plays the father of Karen and he looks eerily like Steve Carrell. Especially in profile – albeit Mark Ghanimé is quite a bit younger.

Again, I like the people they reminded me of, so it’s all good. Just a bit strange to me.

Also, it’s not like Jeni Ross or Mark Ghanimé are newcomers. Jeni Ross was in the horror-comedy Stage Fright (2014) and several episodes of Titans. Mark Ghanimé has been in TV series such as Wynonna Earp, iZombie, and several episodes of Slasher.

For the record, I also think they both give really good performances in No Escape Room. Much of the movie works as well as it does thanks to them!

Watch No Escape Room on Netflix now!

No Escape Room was directed by Alex Merkin. He previously directed the movie House of the Witch (2017), so he’s not new to us. However, despite both movies being produced as TV movies, this newer movie was much better in many ways.  You will also notice that scenes are built up towards commercial breaks, but that’s just part of the game with TV movies.

The script was written by Jesse Mittelstadt who also wrote the script for Alex Merkin’s Across the Hall from 2009. Maybe the two of them should continue working together because it clearly works much better than other combinations. Then again, the two also did Altitude (2017) which currently holds an IMDb rating of 4.0, so I guess you can’t win them all.

Whatever either of them has done in the past, the formula used for their latest movie was certainly one that worked. I felt entertained and kept guessing until the very end. Also, the acting and the production quality were definitely at an impressive level – both for a TV movie and a film production in general. Do check out this one for a fun movie night at home.

No Escape Room (2018) is out on Netflix in the US on February 18, 2021.

Details

Director: Alex Merkin
Writer: Jesse Mittelstadt
Stars: Jeni Ross, Mark Ghanimé, Hamza Haq, Kathryn Davis, Dennis Andres, Brianna Barnes