No One Gets Out Alive
Some horror films work best when they seem to be telling one story and, little by little, reveal they were actually setting up another. That's exactly why I liked No One Gets Out Alive. It starts with a very concrete sense of human threat, almost like a thriller, and then gradually shifts toward increasingly strange supernatural territory. That change of register gives it a personality I wasn't expecting, and it allows the film to grow instead of running out of steam on its first idea.
Santiago Menghini handles the building as a space very well. It isn't simply a dark set where things happen, but a place that seems to hold layers of stories, presences and secrets. The hallways, the rooms, the sounds and the sense of isolation build an effective atmosphere. The film understands that horror doesn't need to be running constantly: it's enough to make an everyday space start to feel wrong.
I also liked that it doesn't rely solely on the jump scare. There's a clear progression from fear of other people toward something harder to explain. That transition is well paced because for quite a while we don't know exactly what kind of film we're watching. It can look like a thriller about a vulnerable woman trapped in a dangerous situation, but little by little the story opens other doors and the horror becomes broader.
Cristina Rodlo is essential to making it all work. She has a very approachable presence and a sweet, expressive face that conveys vulnerability without turning the character into someone passive. It's easy to connect with her from the start, and her performance carries much of the emotional weight. The camera relies heavily on her face, and she responds with fear, exhaustion, confusion and resistance in a very natural way.
The fact that she's a Mexican immigrant also isn't just a decorative detail. Her financial situation, her precariousness and her difficulty trusting others deepen her isolation. The film uses that social vulnerability as part of the horror without reducing it to a lecture. There's a constant sense of being in a place where asking for help isn't easy, and that reinforces the anguish.
The supernatural side worked better for me than I expected. Not because every element is especially original, but because the film keeps combining haunted house, trauma, superstition and ritual horror until it builds into something stranger than it seemed at the start. That mutation is one of its biggest achievements. When a horror film manages to keep its threat changing shape without losing coherence, it gains a lot.
I also appreciate that it has its own imagery. There are visions, sounds and shapes that aren't limited to the conventional ghost appearing behind a door. The aesthetic is dirty, damp and oppressive, and it fits very well with that deteriorated building. Even when some effects are more explicit, it keeps an unpleasant feeling that suits it well.
Not everything works equally well. There are some slower stretches and a few ideas could have been developed more clearly. At certain points the script piles on elements, and not all of them carry the same weight. There are also supporting characters that are more functional than complex. But unlike other, much simpler horror films, here I felt there was an intention to build its own universe rather than just stringing together scares.
The horror works especially well when it leaves doubts. The film offers information, but it doesn't completely kill the mystery. There are enough pieces to understand the general nature of what's happening, but there's still a sense of something ancient, dark and impossible to fully grasp. I like that balance more than when a film ends up explaining absolutely everything.
I also found the mix of social and supernatural horror interesting. The protagonist is already trapped before any fantastical element appears: trapped by money, by lack of options and by a precarious life situation. The supernatural doesn't replace that reality, it amplifies it. That gives the fear a more solid foundation.
That's why I liked it quite a bit more than I expected. I don't think it's a masterpiece or a revolutionary film, but it is a proposal with atmosphere, a protagonist who works very well and an evolution that manages to surprise. It starts out looking like one thing and ends up being something else, stranger and more ambitious.
No One Gets Out Alive has flaws, but it also has personality. Cristina Rodlo carries the film very naturally, and the building ends up becoming something more than just a setting. A dark, sad and fairly effective horror film that left me with a much better impression than many recent genre releases.
Santiago Menghini handles the building as a space very well. It isn't simply a dark set where things happen, but a place that seems to hold layers of stories, presences and secrets. The hallways, the rooms, the sounds and the sense of isolation build an effective atmosphere. The film understands that horror doesn't need to be running constantly: it's enough to make an everyday space start to feel wrong.
I also liked that it doesn't rely solely on the jump scare. There's a clear progression from fear of other people toward something harder to explain. That transition is well paced because for quite a while we don't know exactly what kind of film we're watching. It can look like a thriller about a vulnerable woman trapped in a dangerous situation, but little by little the story opens other doors and the horror becomes broader.
Cristina Rodlo is essential to making it all work. She has a very approachable presence and a sweet, expressive face that conveys vulnerability without turning the character into someone passive. It's easy to connect with her from the start, and her performance carries much of the emotional weight. The camera relies heavily on her face, and she responds with fear, exhaustion, confusion and resistance in a very natural way.
The fact that she's a Mexican immigrant also isn't just a decorative detail. Her financial situation, her precariousness and her difficulty trusting others deepen her isolation. The film uses that social vulnerability as part of the horror without reducing it to a lecture. There's a constant sense of being in a place where asking for help isn't easy, and that reinforces the anguish.
The supernatural side worked better for me than I expected. Not because every element is especially original, but because the film keeps combining haunted house, trauma, superstition and ritual horror until it builds into something stranger than it seemed at the start. That mutation is one of its biggest achievements. When a horror film manages to keep its threat changing shape without losing coherence, it gains a lot.
I also appreciate that it has its own imagery. There are visions, sounds and shapes that aren't limited to the conventional ghost appearing behind a door. The aesthetic is dirty, damp and oppressive, and it fits very well with that deteriorated building. Even when some effects are more explicit, it keeps an unpleasant feeling that suits it well.
Not everything works equally well. There are some slower stretches and a few ideas could have been developed more clearly. At certain points the script piles on elements, and not all of them carry the same weight. There are also supporting characters that are more functional than complex. But unlike other, much simpler horror films, here I felt there was an intention to build its own universe rather than just stringing together scares.
The horror works especially well when it leaves doubts. The film offers information, but it doesn't completely kill the mystery. There are enough pieces to understand the general nature of what's happening, but there's still a sense of something ancient, dark and impossible to fully grasp. I like that balance more than when a film ends up explaining absolutely everything.
I also found the mix of social and supernatural horror interesting. The protagonist is already trapped before any fantastical element appears: trapped by money, by lack of options and by a precarious life situation. The supernatural doesn't replace that reality, it amplifies it. That gives the fear a more solid foundation.
That's why I liked it quite a bit more than I expected. I don't think it's a masterpiece or a revolutionary film, but it is a proposal with atmosphere, a protagonist who works very well and an evolution that manages to surprise. It starts out looking like one thing and ends up being something else, stranger and more ambitious.
No One Gets Out Alive has flaws, but it also has personality. Cristina Rodlo carries the film very naturally, and the building ends up becoming something more than just a setting. A dark, sad and fairly effective horror film that left me with a much better impression than many recent genre releases.
Mini Review: Some horror films work best when they seem to be telling one story and, little by little, reveal they were actually setting up another. That's exactly why I liked No One Gets Out Alive. It starts with a very concrete sense of human threat, almost like a thriller, and then gradually shifts toward increasingly strange supernatural territory. That change of register gives it a personality I wasn't expecting, and it allows the film to grow instead...