This review may prove divisive, as will the film itself. This is reflected in the gulf between critical and audience scores, and the division within each. Those seeking conventional scares, jumps, jolts, or roller-coaster thrill rides best look elsewhere. This is not that movie. And nobody eats a cat.
My initial assessment of this film was that it was a Gen Z adaptation of ‘No Exit’. While that is an easy comparison to make, and elements of this film certainly evoke Sartre’s existential masterpiece, this is an inaccurate comparison and this movie is an entirely different work. The more I contemplated it, the more nuance I found, and the next time I considered it, a different perspective emerged. And then I considered it again. And again. Because this movie lingers and haunts well beyond the closing credits.
The opening seems disarming and might lull one into a state of inattention. We are introduced to four characters and their personalities through banter and shared meme cultural conversations. But I cannot stress enough how exquisitely the framework for everything to come is being laid out in these opening scenes. We are learning these characters in a shorthand that is remarkable and informs every decision that follows in the subsequent 90 minutes.
Now to address the elephant in the room. This is a film where very little happens and mostly consists of 90 minutes of an endless stretch of road. There are a few scenes of sudden, violent intensity that are genuinely terrifying, but for the most part, this film is not scary, unless you are the type to stare unblinking at the ceiling in a state of perpetual insomnia contemplating mortality, mystery and meaning of existence well past sun’s rise. This is the type of terror to appeal to those whose greatest fears are the dark nights of the soul.
It is flavored with a distinctly Gen Z perspective. It is a contemplation of the unknown, framed from those transitioning into the next stages of life. Entering a world at the precipice of uncertainty. Not knowing one’s place. Not knowing one’s purpose. Knowing that what you’ve been instructed is your path, has been a steady stream of lies your entire existence. An endless stretch of road before you, the outcome is unrelenting bleak potential.
This honestly may be a film that illustrates the Lovecraftian axiom: the greatest fear is the fear of the unknown, on the greatest level I’ve ever seen. This is a masterpiece of existential cosmic dread, and executed on a miniscule budget, minimalist setting, and cast with unknowns. The execution is flawless, where the lack of budget and resources only works to its favor, and the endless road demands answers to profound questions.
And there are answers to these questions, baked into the title itself. But like most journeys in life, each answer brings only more questions. Whether it leaves you in a better place is one of them. But if one of the questions is: is this film worth my time? The answer is an unreserved: yes. As a horror film, I might rate it a C. As a film, it deserves an unreserved: