Spoilers are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

We’re not big on seasonal content. I do go through trends of themes, to the point that it may look I’m only reviewing one particular genre at a time. I’m aware that I’ve been doing horror for quite a long stretch. Given that we’re entering the dead zone that is December there’s a chance that’s all you’re getting. With all the cutesy and tacky films surfacing, horror is my safe haven.

(Credit: Netflix)

No One Gets Out Alive (2021) is directed by Santiago Menghini. The screenplay was written by Jon Croker and Fernanda Coppel, based on the novel by Adam Nevill. Ambar (Cristina Rodio) is an undocumented immigrant trying to make ends meet. Desperate and unable to find a place to stay, she moves into rundown building that’s hiding a lot more behind its walls. All too real nightmares and strange phenomena abound.

Adding a reality check to the horror genre, we’re introduced to the last person that we want to see hurt. Ambar is quite the opposite from any bland protagonist, she’s got a hard life in which her safety and livelihood are already in a constant state of risk. This grounds the film so much that once the horror element kicks in, it truly feels like the end of the rope for her. At the same time, the film does not force an agenda. There’s no hallmark moment, no knight in shining armour. There’s a moment in the movie in which Ambar visits someone who’s managed to make it. You can see the film palette having vibrant colours for once, instead of the darkened blueish-green of Amber’s world that seems extra creepier whenever she returns to the rundown building.

It works better on some instances than others. The horror angle itself feels promising but it doesn’t deliver a strong enough reveal and execution. The paranormal premise doesn’t feel as threatening as the other hardships that Ambar faces in her life, or at least enough to be interesting. The duo of the landlord, Red (Marc Menchaca) and his secretive brother Becker (David Figlioli), shows some potential. Once the reveals begin, it feels topical and foreign to our protagonist at the same time. There’s a few things to be said about that ending, but I’m not doing a deep dive.

Lightly recommended with reservations. Our protagonist lives a life of strife only to be met with further hardship. The setting and the background story are rather grounded, so I feel the movie would deserve a lot more work on the horror angle. Worth a watch to just see something potentially different, but I feel it deserve more time to do the reveal and ending justice.

That will do for now.