As an elder millennial it’s strange to see the 90s be so en vogue at the moment. Having grown up during that decade, I recall that it was always looked at as a joke. If the 80s ushered in excess in all its forms, the 90s brought the audacity to that excess to take it over the top. Thinking about how much changed in the 90s can help explain the kinds of horror films we were getting. The 80s essentially ushered in and then escorted out the slasher genre, many of the biggest horror franchises were losing steam as sequels stopped performing at the box office, technology was changing rapidly for consumers and the industry alike, and for a brief moment, the slasher genre is revived with Wes Craven’s meta masterpiece, SCREAM. Alongside horror, the action star spectacle films of the 80s were slowly changing from muscle-bound bodybuilders to everyday guys taking care of business. The dystopian Mad Max visions that dominated were making way for more technology-focused visions of the future as enhancements in technology were happening seemingly on a daily basis. One such film that got lost in the shuffle is NO ESCAPE, which up until recently has been OOP on DVD and unavailable in any other format in North America. The folks at UNEARTHED FILMS have lovingly brought this dystopian jungle sci-fi action film to a new loaded blu ray release, and the question remains as to if this early 90s entry is worthy of space on your shelf or should it be jettisoned into the ethers of physical media?

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A soldier convicted for murdering his commanding officer is dumped and left to die on a prison island inhabited by two camps of convicts.

HOW IS IT?

I never saw NO ESCAPE when it was released despite passing it over countless times at the local video store. The blandness of the cover didn’t draw my attention, and foolishly I neglected it until this release from UNEARTHED FILMS. While it’s more akin to sci-fi than it is horror, NO ESCAPE is a smorgasbord of familiar dystopian sci-fi tropes blended together to create something wholly entertaining, even if it is a little derivative.

The plot is basically ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK meets WATERWORLD (which would come out a year after this) in the jungle. RAY LIOTTA (RIP) plays our hero and physicality wise is the farthest from the muscled-up protagonists of the prior decade. While his character, Robbins, is certainly a skilled dealer of deadly arts he is also very unassuming in his stature. The decision to have Liotta in this role is an interesting one and he plays the role with little to no charisma or personality. He’s kind of like John Wick, minus the martial arts choreography. Robbins is not a character that needs to be fully developed and the same could be said for many of the supporting roles as well. There is a story about the two factions on this island, their differences, and their leaders that is forgettable but necessary. The real star of the show is the action which comes fast and furious over the almost two-hour runtime. The big bad, Walter Marek, is slightly more entertaining but doesn’t veer into complete lunatic territory like Dennis Hopper would in WATERWORLD or the effortlessly cool arena occupied by ISSAC HAYES as The Duke in EFNY. Still, Marek is as good a heavy as you could ask for here and serves as a worthy counter-point to Robbins throughout

While there is a lot of action in NO ESCAPE, it is one of the tamer releases from UNEARTHED FILMS. There are a few scenes of brutality, but the gore is kept to a minimum for the most part even though heaps of bodies end up scattered across the landscape. The action keeps the pace going nicely in the first act making way for a somewhat slower second act where we get more context around the two camps (Insiders and Outsiders) as well as some philosophical discussions on freedom. The attempt to make the story more grandiose doesn’t completely work, but it’s serviceable enough to keep your attention and keep the action moving along despite a soggy middle. The last act of NO ESCAPE is a bombastic battle between opposing forces that ends in a satisfying way, especially for the Warden. For the most part, NO ESCAPE is a solid sci-fi action film that keeps the viewer’s attention even if it isn’t doing anything new or exciting with the formula laid down by prior post-apocalyptic peers. The most interesting aspect of the film is that it takes place in 2022 and eerily predicts the privatization of the penal system that we have in place today in the US. It’s not a direct comparison, but the sentiment around turning prisons into profit centers is certainly there and sadly not something that is dug into any deeper than some scrolling text at the start. If you like your sci-fi films with lots of action and doused in post-apocalyptic garb you are sure to get a lot from NO ESCAPE.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

UNEARTHED FILMS have done a great job with the HD transfer for NO ESCAPE. The original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is maintained here, and despite some noticeable film grain, the overall presentation is crisp throughout. You can see screenshots from this release throughout the review and used below:

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

There are a couple of audio options here, a 5.1 DTS-HD surround soundtrack as well as a 2.0 PCM Stereo track. For this review, I had the 5.1 track on and the sound is clean and loud. The surround sound does get a bit of workout in parts but isn’t used as much as it probably could be to capture some of the more ambient sounds during non-action scenes. Still, both options are solid and for the hard of hearing, there are subtitles in English and French.

ANYTHING SPECIAL?

NO ESCAPE is certainly one of the more packed releases with respect to special features, so if you’re a fan of the film there is a lot to unpack here beyond the film itself. While I was not able to watch all the special features for this review, I was able to catch a couple to report on. The first is Welcome to the Future: The Sci-Fi Worlds of Gale Ann Hurd. This 17-minute interview features Gale Ann Hurd talking over various clips from films she has been a part of throughout her career. While her name may not be instantly recognizable to all, she talks about how she got started in the industry as Roger Corman’s assistant at New World which led to her being James Cameron’s boss at one point! Gale talks about working with Cameron and all the success they had from the Terminator franchise and Aliens, both of which she was a producer. It’s a delightful, albeit short interview with someone who should be much more of a household name to film fans.

The other feature I watched was Survival of the Fittest: Directing No Escape which is a 13-minute interview with Director Martin Campbell. Much like the previous interview, this is him speaking through voice-over as clips from the film play in relation to what he is speaking about. The most interesting takeaways were that he originally turned down the film because the source material was too violent, and that he initially wanted Russel Crowe for the role of Robbins. The producer didn’t want to put Crowe, a no-name at the time, in the role and so they ended up with Liotta. The connections to the Mad Max films are more than just in spirit since they did most of the filming in Australia and were able to get the costume designer who worked on Mad Max to lend their talents to NO ESCAPE. You can see the influence pretty clearly, although it is ironic that they are essentially riffing on their own aesthetic. A full list of special features included with this release can be seen below:

BONUS MATERIALS

'WELCOME TO THE FUTURE: THE SCI-FI WORLDS OF GALE ANNE HURD' - A new interview with producer Gale Anne Hurd
'SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: DIRECTING NO ESCAPE' - A new interview with filmmaker Martin Campbell
'PENAL COLONY: WRITING NO ESCAPE' - A new interview with co-writer Joel Gross
Vintage Making of Featurettes
Alternate Intro
Original Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Photo Gallery

LAST RITES

NO ESCAPE is mindless sci-fi action fun from the early 90s that takes familiar post-apocalyptic themes and bundles them all together to create something different and recognizable. UNEARTHED FILMS have put together a stellar release that is packed with special features that go far beyond filler, and NO ESCAPE is a high recommend for those who like their action dirty and dystopian.

THE GORY DETAILS

Thank you to the fine fiends at MVD ENTERTAINMENT for providing a review copy for the crypt, and you can purchase NO ESCAPE now via MVD DIRECT!

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Nov 4, 2020

Matthew Orozco