No Way Out is an intriguing and horrifying look at one’s anxieties and the journey of trying to elude such emotions.

The film follows an unnamed man who at first seems to be running away from a malicious creature. We then discover that what he is really running from is much more terrifying than any monster could ever be. We are thrown into the film without any context. Instead the director places us into a claustrophobic atmosphere of anxiety, terror and hopelessness. What starts out as your run-of-the-mill horror film, quickly transforms into an intelligent representation of psychological horror. It delves into the mind of a man who just wants to set his mind free — literally. He wants to let the worry, the fear, and the hate fade away. Something we can all relate to.

Star A.J. Bowen embodies the fear and terror perfectly. As he runs for his life you see the yearning for something more shining through him. He’s tired of what he was. He’s at the tipping point and is ready to let it all go, to set himself free and he’ll do anything to get there.

In just under 10 minutes, No Way Out achieves it’s goal of scaring the living hell out you without ever really doing anything scary, aside from one scene that’s a bit gory — remove that scene and the film would still be just as terrifying. While, the narrative is unclear and underdeveloped it makes up for it by being a great piece filled with atmosphere and thought. It turns your everyday feelings into a surreal outing that is equal parts viscerally disturbing and emotionally distressing. This is one film that opens your mind to a new brand of horror and keeps you thinking beyond the screen. It is a grotesque and gleefully morbid display that points out that you, yourself is horror.

Isolated in a place where twisted creatures torment him from the dark, a man desperately tries to find an escape.

No Way Out