No One Lives
 | This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (February 2018) |
| No One Lives | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ryuhei Kitamura |
| Written by | David Cohen |
| Produced by | Harry Knapp Kami Naghdi |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Daniel Pearl |
| Edited by | Toby Yates |
| Music by | Jerome Dillon |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Anchor Bay Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 86 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.6 million |
| Box office | $974,918[2] |
No One Lives is a 2012 American horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. It stars Luke Evans and Adelaide Clemens. The film premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2012, and had a limited release on May 10, 2013.
Plot
[edit]While traveling cross country, a couple (Betty and an unidentified man referred to as "Driver") encounter a gang of robbers. The group, led by dedicated criminal Hoag, consists of Hoag's brother Ethan, his daughter Amber, girlfriend Tamara, Amber's boyfriend Denny, and the violent Flynn. Suspecting the couple to be wealthy and wanting to redeem himself for a robbery he botched earlier, Flynn kidnaps them and has Ethan interrogate them about accessing their money. However, Betty commits suicide by cutting her throat on a knife Ethan held against her neck, which leads to the Driver breaking out of his handcuffs and killing Ethan.
Meanwhile, Flynn, having brought the Driver's car to the group's hideout, finds a girl in the trunk of the vehicle. Amber, after watching a true crime show, realizes the girl is Emma Ward, a wealthy heiress who disappeared after 14 of her friends were murdered at a party, and the kidnapped man is the one responsible for the massacre. Following Hoag's orders, Denny and Tamara head to the gas station to contact Ethan, only to find his and Betty's bodies and the Driver missing. They bring Ethan's corpse back to their hideout and inadvertently bring along the Driver, who has hidden himself inside of the cadaver.
The Driver begins his assault on the robbers by capturing Hoag, while Denny is injured by booby traps the Driver has set up around the house. The Driver tortures Hoag, cutting off his ear as a trophy, and finally killing him by dropping him into a meat grinder. With the group's van blown up by the Driver, Denny volunteers to get their old Jeep working, as he is bleeding out. Although he succeeds, the Driver shoves him into the open car engine, badly mangling his face and spraying Amber with blood. She flees, and the Driver pursues her. The others hear the noise and head to the barn to take the Jeep. The Driver throws a scythe through Amber, piercing her lung. He leaves her to die when he realizes the rest of the gang is escaping. Nevertheless, Flynn accidentally hits Amber with the Jeep when she stumbles onto the road.
After dropping Denny off at the hospital, Flynn, Tamara, and Emma head to a motel to stay the night. When Flynn uses the Driver's credit card to pay for a room, he inadvertently causes motel owner Harris to call the police, as the Driver had previously checked himself into the same motel. The Driver himself also arrives at the motel and nearly strangles Tamara to death in the shower, but stops when he hears Flynn shoot the sheriff responding to Harris' call. Flynn discovers Tamara, and when she startles him, he kills Tamara, which leads to Emma attempting to escape. Though Flynn manages to stop her, he is run over by the Driver in a police car. Emma flees into a nearby junkyard.
When the Driver confronts Emma, she beats him with a metal pipe. Flynn shows up with a shotgun, and the Driver pushes Emma out of the way, getting shot in the chest with a shotgun by Flynn. The Driver survives due to his Kevlar vest, leading to a fight between the two. Ultimately, Flynn manages to grab his weapon, but is knocked out by Emma before he can fire it. Emma, explaining she wants to be the one who kills the Driver, attempts to shoot him, but the firearm fails to operate because a new shell had not been pumped into the chamber. Impressed, the Driver cuts out a tracking device he placed inside her stomach and frees her. He then finishes Flynn off with a shotgun blast to the face and also shoots Harris for knowing his real name.
The next day, the Driver murders Denny in his hospital bed while disguised as a doctor. As he leaves, he notices Emma being wheeled into the hospital on a stretcher. He touches her arm before departing while being careful to avoid the gaze of the news crew cameras focused on Emma.
Cast
[edit]- Luke Evans as Driver
- Adelaide Clemens as Emma Ward
- Lee Tergesen as Hoag
- Derek Magyar as Flynn
- America Olivo as Tamara
- Beau Knapp as Denny
- Lindsey Shaw as Amber
- Brodus Clay as Ethan
- Laura Ramsey as Betty
- Gary Grubbs as Harris
Andrea Frankle, Rob Steinberg, Jake Austin Walker, and Dalton E. Gray portray the family who are killed by Flynn.
Release
[edit]Following the film's Toronto premiere, Anchor Bay Films picked up distribution rights to release the film theatrically in North America, the U.K, and Australia and to handle the home video release across various platforms.[3] The film is Rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing images, pervasive language, and some sexuality/nudity.[4] On April 13, 2013, a red band trailer for the film was released.[5] In the United States, the film was released in select cities (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Philadelphia, Miami, Boston, Detroit, Houston and Baltimore).[6]
Reception
[edit]Critical response
[edit]Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes holds a 48% approval rating based on 41 reviews with an average score of 4.9/10.[7] The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2012 and received early mixed reviews. Reviewer William Brownridge wrote, "Completely pointless and full of strange dialogue, No One Lives still manages to be one of the most entertaining films around. This is a film that is best enjoyed among a crowd of genre fans. Extremely violent and bloody, audiences will cheer as Driver eliminates the gang one after another. The title isn’t just a suggestion, it’s a rule, and watching the madness that explodes from the screen is sure to please crowds looking for non-stop action and bloody violence."[8] The Toronto Star said, "While parts of it are deliberately campy, the low-budget production veers onto the amateurish and some of the jump cuts make it look like it was edited with a switchblade. Or make that a butter knife."[9] A reviewer from Shocktillyoudrop.com wrote, "Even if it’s nothing to write home about, at 78 minutes sans credits and with plenty of over-the-top carnage that will have you squirming, this is mindless entertainment done right. It gets the job done quickly and effectively before calling it a day. Sometimes that’s all one can ask for", and it gives the shock score a 6.[10]
Box office
[edit]No One Lives opened on May 10, 2013 in 53 theatres and in its opening weekend grossed $149,800, for an average of $1902 per theatre. As of May 19, 2013, the film had grossed $974,998. The budget for the film was an estimated $1,600,000. It performed better than some other WWE Studios' limited releases, such as The Day, Legendary, The Reunion and The Chaperone.[2][11]
Home media
[edit]The film was released on DVD/Blu-ray on April 20, 2013.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ ad. "No One Lives". tiff.net. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
- ^ a b "No One Lives (2012) - Box Office Mojo". Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ Marc Graser,Jeff Sneider. "Anchor Bay acquires WWE's 'No One Lives'". Variety. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "No One Lives (2012) Movie". Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ jacobhall (13 April 2013). "'No One Lives' Red Band Trailer Lives Up to Its Title". ScreenCrush. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "No One Lives". Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "No One Lives". 10 May 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "TIFF Review: No One Lives - Toronto Film Scene". Toronto Film Scene. 10 September 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "TIFF 2012: No One Lives, Midnight Madness diary Day 3". thestar.com. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Review: No One Lives". Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ lerrika89 (10 May 2013). "No One Lives (2012)". IMDb. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "WWE Studios". Retrieved 24 February 2016.
