Ever get off a plane and think, “Hell! I’m out of here”? No, well, that’s exactly what happens when the Dwyer family uplift their lives to a life abroad. Much to Annie (Lake Bell) and their children's (Claire Geare and Sterling Jerins) dismay, Jack (Owen Wilson) has a new job with a government water company but soon comes to realise that the locals are not too keen on US intervention in the area. It isn’t long until the unrest in the country comes to an explosive eruption with Wilson stuck firmly in the middle of the riots.

 

From the outset there is a feeling of unease captured in the films soundtrack that refuses to let go until the very end. And even then you’ll need to watch the Minions movie to calm down.

 

‘No Escape’ is hands down the tensest film of the year and will keep you on the edge of your seat from the very beginning. Director John Erick Dowdle manages to bottle shear tension and like a molotov cocktail, throws it at the screen to watch it explode in 103 minutes of heart pounding terror.

 

Wilson and Bell are cast well in the family unit, with Geare Jerins the shining stars, but the leads run the motions in this hollywood vehicle that falls short of being the dangerous thriller it should be. Even with the addition of a rougher and older James Bond in Pierce Brosnan, the addition of his revelation becomes an unrequired Hollywood tick box. It’s safe to say that while bullets fly and the hunt is on, the family remain as one with no terrible, albeit one scene, activity directly affecting them. But let’s be honest, what was expected from a Hollywood blockbuster that crosses enough lines as it is.

 

That's not to say that the action scenes are not hard hitting. In fact many of the scenes do become harrowing to watch as Dowdle doesn't dilute the ruthlessness of the rebels.

 

British Airway’s won’t be showing this as a holiday video but as holiday season comes to an end, now is the perfect time to catch this high octane thriller. No masks, no spirits, no cabin in the woods. What we have here is a white knuckle ride of terror that is contender for scariest film of the year, why? Because this is real world horror, and it could happen to you the moment you step off the plane.