No Exit Director Talks About Adapting the Source Material For the Film

No Exit director, Damien Power, talks about using the source material for the upcoming Hulu thriller/

No Exit is an upcoming suspense thriller from 20th Century Studios and Hulu. It is based on the 2017 novel of the same name.

Some of the cast and crew were recently involved in a press junket where they were able to discuss the movie in detail and talk about how the film was made.

Damien Power Talks About Adapting the No Exit Book Into A Movie

Director, Damien Power, was asked about taking inspiration from the novel that No Exit was based on:

“Well, I think, the script that I read was already quite faithful to the novel. There are a few elements that I thought we could take from the novel though. As a novel, it had a great character-driven plot, it’s got high stakes, it’s got these surprising twists and turns this incredible, hostile setting, and, you know, this great ticking clock with the girl in the van. And all that was already in the script that I read. But yes, I can see why people read it and thought this would make a great movie. So did I.”

Power was also asked if there were elements from the novel that he wished could have made it into the film but were cut:

There was nothing that I wished I could have fit in. The plot is pretty faithful to the novel. We made some tweaks to the characters, and their backstories, and their backgrounds, and how they came to be there. Which I think were good. So I don’t think there are any elements from the novel that I wish we had done.

The panel’s moderator, Brandon Davis, jokingly stated “So we don’t have to start the Release the Power Cut.” Power laughed and replied, “No, you got the Power cut.”

Havana Rose Liu as Darby in 20th Century Studios’ NO EXIT, exclusively on Hulu. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Finally, Power was asked how he was able to develop each character in No Exit, and give them reasons to do the things that they end up doing in the film, without going into spoilers:

“Yeah, I think, you know, this is not a film about a character or characters who go on a journey, and grow and change. It’s really a film about how true character is revealed under pressure. And that applies to every single character in that room. And the film asks the audience, you know, the audience is trying to work out who is the kidnapper. So, Darby’s trying to ask, “Who are you?”, and the film asks that question of the characters all the time. Who are you when this happens? Who are you now? Who are you when the pressure’s really on?

I think that that’s a very human, uh, experience. And also, for me, I think the film is in some ways about how desperate people sometimes do terrible things. How desperation pushes people to do terrible things. And I think all of those characters are in their own way desperate. And I think that that’s what brings a level of light and shade to all of the characters.”

No Exit Synopsis

A college student, on her way home from visiting her mother, gets stuck with a group of people at a mountain rest stop during a blizzard. Things take a turn for the worse when the young woman discovers a kidnapped child in a car belonging to one of the people inside, putting the group in a terrifying life-or-death situation as they struggle to escape while trying to discover who among them is the kidnapper.

No Exit logo

No Exit premieres on Hulu on February 25th. The film is directed by Damien Power and stars Danny Ramirez, Dennis Haysbert, Havana Rose Liu, Mila Harris, David Rysdahl, Dale Dickey, and Kirsty Hamilton.

What are your thoughts on No Exit? Do you plan to check it out when it premieres on Hulu? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow The Illuminerdi on social media to be notified of more news and updates like this in the future!

KEEP READING: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: TMNT’S ERNIE REYES JR. PAVES WAY FOR FILIPINO AMERICANS IN HOLLYWOOD

Source: 20th Century Studios

Share

Picture of Bryce West

Bryce West

Bryce West is a writer/producer and a grad student at the University of Southern Indiana. West created his first television program at the age of 18 titled, The Film Reel. The Film Reel is a movie and TV talk show that has ran from 2019-present on News Channel 15 in Mt. Carmel, IL.