No One Lives (2013)

one of my absolute favorites!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The film opens with 3 subplots. Emma (Adelaide Clemens), an heiress is kidnapped by a psychopath. Meanwhile our unnamed star (Luke Evans) and Betty (Laura Ramsey) are relocating. He is somewhat of a sociopath, an idea role for someone who can't act. The third subplot concerns a group of criminals who are robbing a mansion when the owners come home and surprises them with deadly results.About 20 minutes into the film the subplots come together and we find ourselves rooting for a sociopath killer.The film contains gallons of blood and gore. It is smartly done for a low budget. It has a decent script along with good characters, dialogue, and some decent acting. Luke Evans has a cold delivery that is darkly comical,"You people never heard of zip ties?" Adelaide Clemens as Emma was equally cold and darkly comical.Not for everyone, but one I liked.Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity (Laura Ramsey-brief, America Olivo-thank you.)

This film tells the story of a gang of ruthless criminals who will kill at the blink of an eye to rob people on the highway. When they set their next target on a couple in a pub, they have made a big mistake as they are messing with someone they should not have.The title "No One Lives" gives an indication that characters in the film are probably going to die. Indeed, "No One Lives" is a slasher film in which people die in a variety of bloody ways. Luke Evans, who have yet to make it famous at that time, is great in his portrayal of a spine chilling character. The actress playing Emma Ward has this strange calmness in her, which makes her character mysterious and captivating. The bad guy thug is convincing too.

The title of the movie already says it: No one lives. So already you can spoil your movie experience by not even looking at the trailer.No one lives is an average gory thriller flick, with Luke Evans. He's probably the only reason you're watching this movie, but boy oh boy how it fails.First off, the dialogue. Every second word is a f-word and some things the characters say sounds so dumb, I couldn't help myself but to just grin. Unnecessary things were said a couple of times and didn't make any sense.The second is acting. Jesus Christ its bad. Okay, not that bad, but would've been better if the characters were introduced and not just killed off by the welsh pretty boy. And since no one cares what happens to them, you just wanna see how the Driver is gonna kill them.Last thing is horror. There is none. Oh if you count a few small jump scares that barely even make you flinch. I do not know what Ryūhei Kitamura classifies as horror, but this is not. It doesn't have any creepy atmosphere or subtlety. Its just random people getting picked off.The only thing the movie does right, is its soundtrack and the concept. The soundtrack is fresh and gives the movie a sense of tension. Especially the main theme (or the one that plays at the end) tells, that this movie is a thriller.The concept of a madman, who goes on to kill people in a violent manner sounds great. And this movie could've proved to be deadly game of hide and seek. But nope. It has to be a boring mess of f-bombs, guns and executions. Did I mention this movie has firearms? They play a too big role and made my experience dull. And the bad-ass crossbow you see in the poster is nowhere to be found. Its used only once and off-screen. If the Driver would sneak around, pick off people with it for at least ten minutes of the movies runtime, it would've made the movie intense. Definitely.Overall No one lives is a combination of gore, bad acting and weird ideology of the Driver. It shines with its unique idea for a thriller style and soundtrack, but nevertheless its an average movie. If you just wanna kill time or you just love Luke Evans and his always perfect hair, go ahead. Watch it.And remember, no one lives.

Instead of this movie, another film covers the same kind of territory that this one does, and in a much more interesting and compelling fashion. "You're Next" is the movie I would recommend to watch instead.This horror movie has both pretty bad acting combined with dumb and dull characters, and just feels cheap. The budget must have been low, and it shows. Compared to the far superior film, "You're Next", this movie pales in comparison. If you like routine slasher horror films with a lot of gore, then this will fit the bill. The one bright spot is the leading actor is pretty good. But if you are looking for something more interesting and with much higher quality across the board, then look elsewhere, such as my recommendation.