“No Exit” is the kind of thriller where the less you know the scarier it is.
Faithfully adapted from Taylor Adams’ 2017 novel, “No Exit” is set one dark and stormy night in a roadside rest stop. As a blizzard rages, a motley group of strangers huddle — until events change their safe spot into a crime scene.
“The book had great characters and plot, twists and turns and this ticking clock,” mused director Damien Power. “I can see why people thought this would be a great movie.”
Among the travelers is recovering drug addict Darby (Havana Rose Liu), desperate to see her dying mother, a slightly slow, child-like van driver and Dennis Haysbert’s Ed, an ex-Marine on the road with his wife, Sandi (Dale Dickey).
“Everyone has issues and it’s about how they redeem themselves for themselves,” Haysbert, 67, said in a Zoom interview. “B.S., the card game we play in the beginning, really sets up who these people are and how they read each other.
“It’s a really interesting game that’s kind of like the game of life.”
Darby discovers a kidnapping in progress, which means a possibly homicidal criminal is among them.
“Each character,” the director said of the suspects, “has a reason to be here. This is not a film about characters who go on a journey and change but how true character is revealed under pressure.
“For me,” he added, “it’s about how desperate people do terrible things. All these characters are desperate and this (sudden captivity) brings light and shade to all of them.”
“I played lot of military characters over the years and I’ve traveled extensively with the USO,” Haysbert said, “and one thing I noticed about all of them: No two soldiers are alike.
“Ed is looking for an opportunity,” he continued, “to show who he is. I incorporated some PTSD with him from some other traumas.
“What I learned most was he has issues and has to deal with them — and when it comes up he has that chance.”
The realistic howling wind and nonstop snow are examples of movie magic since “No Exit” filmed in a studio during Auckland’s summer.
“When we went there it was probably the perfect time to go as there were no infections at all at the time,” Haysbert said of escaping COVID shutdowns. Crew and cast were quarantined for two weeks and then tested constantly.
Being in New Zealand, was he looking to run into “Hobbit” helmer Peter Jackson?
“No. But we did see Middle-earth. That was one of the highlights and I was totally flabbergasted.”
“No Exit” streams on Hulu+ and Disney+ starting Friday.
