No One Lives

Pretty decent flick. Although I wish this movie would have reached into the background of the sociopath. Still worth the watch. Even with a few unanswered questions.

No One Lives is the type of movie that starts as many others and suddenly becomes something unexpected.

It is difficult to tell what happens without spoiling; but as in others Ryûhei Kitamura movies, there is no Good vs Evil but Evil vs Evil. If you never see any of his movies; get VERSUS before looking at this one.

Performances varies; Luke Evans is perfect; totally charismatic and captivating. Derek Magyar is terrifying as a psycho meeting his match. Laura Ramsey is pretty good as the other female characters; but Adelaide Clemens disappoints in a complex character far above her acting skills.

There is strong violence and gore but it never gets too disgusting (or at least too realistic) and are lots of dark funny moments.

One of those modern-day 'grindhouse' style movies, full of unpleasant violence meted out to innocent people and even more unpleasant violence meted out to those who deserve it. This one is a fast-paced, action packed tale of small-time gangsters, kidnappers and serial killers, and the title is an apt one; it's the kind of nihilistic fare where nobody is likely to make it out alive and gruesome death is just around the corner.

It's also an incredibly gory movie, where the bloodshed is taken to a gratuitous level. People are fed into meat chippers and tortured and murdered in increasingly nasty ways, and it's all handled with a certain level of skill and professionalism by Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura, who brings the same level to insanity to this as he did to VERSUS and AZUMI back in the day.

British star Luke Evans is very good in the main role while the bad guys are all suitably sleazy and the victims all suitably victimised. Those looking for depth or a profound exploration on the nature of death and violence will be disappointed; this is superficial stuff through and through, packed with incident and plot twist after plot twist and little else. It's a perfect piece of popcorn entertainment for those who can handle the copious bloodshed.

When I am in the mood for a horror movie I usually want something with a non confusing plot, decent acting , and good pacing. Thankfully this had all 3. Yes there are some little small nit picks here and there but as a whole this is a good end of the working week Friday night movie. The story is pretty good but cannot be fully explained without spoiling it which I do not want to do. I will start with the gore level, this movie has gore but it is never over used to the point it is laughable unlike so many recent horror movies. The performances are pretty good I was only disappointed with a few line deliveries but I let them blow over my head. The pace was perfect in my opinion it sets up a good steady start, gets you asking questions and then the middle flows perfectly into the end you are never left sitting tempted to forward it onto the next death scene. All in all I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to be entertained for an hour an a half it is a movie you can switch your brain off and relax, If anyone has any trouble following the basic story then perhaps there at the age they shouldn't be watching it. Give it a try put your feet up and prepare to be entertained and satisfied as No One Lives does not disappoint!!

"This little piggy went to market,This little piggy stayed home"....just Another hack 'n' slash Movie? No, not quite.

Plot: man and woman are relocating to a knew home in a car and a trailer. Not so law abiding Citizens see an opportunity for fast cash. But neither man nor woman are what they seem...

Slashers are often quite boring, especially the old school style like Halloween and Friday the 13th which in my view have ruined the genre by too many sequels, unimaginative scripting, lack of good acting and directing. A Nightmare on Elmstreet is forgiven due to Robert Englund's priceless comments. Lately though, we have seen a couple of pretty good ones, well, relatively speaking anyway. Belonging to them are Midnight Movie, The Collector, the Collection and Laid to Rest 1 & 2 which all have high production values which make you not just waiting for the victims to get picked off. No One Lives belongs to the latter category.

Another "problem" with slashers is that you almost Always root for the killer. Not because he holds great moral values or is good looking etc etc, but because the victims are impossible to like and because of silly looks and daft acting. Due to that fact most slasher Movies serve only as pre-bedtime Entertainment. No One Lives is different. It has a nice package of a suspenseful first act, perfect pacing and good acting from both star (Evans) and the unknowns.

Though a simple story it is well executed (no pun intended) and Luke Evans has grown on me to become one of my new favorites. I undoubtedly see him as the new action/thriller star. He has the charm, the looks and a badass attitude which works both for heroes and villains.

Downsides? well, it is nonetheless a slasher and as such it is difficult praise all the way. Despite of Luke Evans' performance you still, on the basis of the Movie being a slasher, wait for the killings. Negative is also the obvious plot holes. No One Lives screams for sequel and prequel which is not entirely a good thing I Think.

I give it 6 out of 10 which is quite high for a slasher, but, as mentioned above, it's got relatively high production values and nicely executed.