No Escape-- My take on the movie with spoilers!
PLOT SUMMARY: A popular Vlogger wants to celebrate his ten year anniversary as a star by travelling to Moscow with his friends. Once there, the friends engage in an Escape Room game where the dangers are real.
With friends like these, who needs enemies?
You must have heard of that saying but thought, who would ever use that? Who would make friends that behave worse than enemies?
Well, there’s another saying to explain that. We never really know who our friends really are, do we?
Yes, all Cole, a popular Vlogger, wanted was to celebrate his 10 year anniversary of starting his vlog. He wanted to share this special moment with his friends. His friends on the other hand thought it was...spoiler alert, a perfect time to play a horrible prank on him.
Oh haha, let our friend think that his little adventure in a foreign country cost his friends’ lives. So hilarious. Nothing the audience loves more than seeing fake deaths and being filled with shock and terror.
Did the friends for one moment not think that their little plan would backfire? That the viewers would hate being tricked like that? Were they also on it?
And if they were, if the friends were posting videos of all the "behind the scenes" of the prank, how is it that Cole didn’t know at all? Does he not follow his friends’ social media? That would be the only explanation why Cole never saw the videos.
NO ESCAPE/ FOLLOW ME Movie Plot
The story begins with Cole bragging about how famous he is and how he started off making videos as a kid and doing stupid stunts. He pretty much insults his audience by telling them, “hey look at me, I’m going on insane adventures that you can never go to but you are paying for by watching me do it.”
Nevertheless, Cole has his fan base and is quite a celebrity. For his tenth anniversary, he is convinced by his friend Dash to head to Moscow. They travel first class and Cole keeps on recording pretty much everything about his life. His girlfriend Erin is content to simply relax with a book. Cole is given a surprise onboard.
His childhood friend Thomas is also here.
They could have just stopped at that surprise, but nope. They think Cole is going to love what they have in store for him.
Dash tells him that Cole’s fan Alexei has prepared an Escape Room for him especially for him. Cole isn’t too thrilled and thinks Escape Rooms are lame. He still gives in because he’s a good friend, unlike his friends.
When they arrive Alexei introduced them to his girlfriend Viktoria and takes them to a party. While Cole is busy recording everything, Erin is being harassed by two goons. Cole intervenes and is told by Alexei that he made a big mistake. The goons too warn that they will take their revenge.
The next day, a driver takes Cole and Erin around. They have lunch at a restaurant and are told by the waiter that their meal has been paid for. Cole has borrowed a few roubles from the driver in which there is a rolled red paper with some digits.
When Cole tries to return the notes, the driver refuses, saying Cole might need it later.
As soon as they arrive back at the hotel, Alexei is already there, ready to take them all to the Escape Room. He and his girlfriend try to make it sound like the Escape Room is the most exciting place ever and they wish they could return to it but supposedly you can only visit it once.
The Escape Room turns out to be an abandoned prison. Cole is assured that the live feed is on so his audience can view his shenanigans. There are also cameras placed everywhere and if they run into trouble, they will be bailed out. They have one hour to complete all puzzles. Bags are put over their heads and they all awaken in separate cells.
Cole finds himself near a cremation machine with a naked body of a man laid out. There’s a cross in his torso. Tools indicate what he must do to escape the cell. Cole isn’t too wary about cutting people open and digs right in, literally. A cut later, he’s squeezing organs like they’re play-doh.
He finds the key and escapes. He passes by the other cells and sees Erin in a glass cage with a key in her hand. He isn’t too bothered with what puzzle must be completed to get her out.
Friends before girlfriends.
He sees his friend Sam strapped to a chair and gives her a casual wave. He’ll save her later. First, he wants to see what his childhood friend Thomas is up to.
He finds him in a cell beside Dash’s. Thomas is tied to a torture device that wants to lengthen his arms. Dash faces the risk of a spiky door closing on his face.
Cole finds a cell opposite then and realizes he must solve the gears puzzle in order to save them.
The friends are ready to have their arms ripped off and their eyes gouged out. Sure, the puzzles were designed to keep them safe, but what if Cole sucked at solving puzzles? And did the spiky door have to cut it really close to Dash’s eyes? One small move and that’s it for him ever seeing again. But it’s all for Cole and they don’t mind going the extra lengths just to bring their cherished friend to the brink of insanity.
Cole next picks Sam. His girlfriend that he loves so much can wait.
Dash plays around with a maze puzzle where one incorrect move sends Sam an electric shock. Dash goofs around for a bit causing Sam’s hair to turn even more frizzy. But he makes up for it by completing the puzzle. Sam doesn’t punch him when she is untied.
They finally decide to go to Erin. Time is almost up. Water begins to fill in the tank and Thomas is the one who thinks he’s good at physics and maths and filling the jug with water, the solution to the puzzle. They all do miserably and Cole has to use a gear from a cell to break open the door. Erin has almost drowned but Cole manages to bring her back by shedding tears and screaming her name.
The key in her hand is to the exit. They all escape and wonder why no one responded to their cries for help when they couldn’t free Erin. Their questions are answered when they open the door.
Cole doesn’t care he lost. His terrible friends are safe at least.
In the room, they don’t find cameras recording their loss at the game. They do find blood splatters.
They head out and see the goons who were harassing Erin pointing a gun at Viktoria. She’s shot point-blank. The friends realize the danger they are in and try to escape but are caught and thrown in the van. The driver is the one who loaned Cole money.
They are taken to a basement and once again separated. Turns out the gangster has a game of his own going which has won him his own audience. He kills people online and has tons of fans.
He shows Cole an example of his popularity by killing Sam on video. He’s devastated to see the screen and a flash of Erin looking at the cameras helplessly. He’s pushed around and thrown into a cell.
Cole’s handcuffs are suspiciously rusty and he breaks through them easily. He climbs up a vent to view Dash being murdered. He gasps and has the goons go after him.
He just about manages to evade them and reach outside where the driver tells him he’s trying to help him and gives him a car key. He reminds him of the code he had given him that would open the door that he escaped from.
Cole hides while the driver is dragged inside by men who look like butchers. Cole gets into the car but decides no, he would help his friends. Whoever is still alive anyway.
He creeps back in and finds Alexei is still alive and not dead like the gangster had told him before killing Viktoria. The driver is killed before Cole who is now beginning to lose it after seeing all the mindless and violent killing.
He runs around and finds Thomas. They try to escape through an elevator when a butcher arrives and jumps down the shaft while hugging Thomas. Cole breaks down again but knows his girlfriend is counting on him to come save her.
He finds her among goons who are filming her being cut open. Cole has a gun he had taken but has no bullets. There are bullets conveniently placed on the table. While he goes about doing a terrible job shooting around the place, the gangster shoots Erin in the head.
NO ESCAPE/ FOLLOW ME Ending Explained with Spoilers!
Cole has watched the love of his life die before his very eyes. He’s beyond grief. He tries to make a getaway and gets into a room where he blocks the door with a beam. He wants to give up but the will to survive is strong and he opens up a vent and drops out.
Outside, he finds Alexei filming him and is ready to say something when Cole accuses him of killing his friends and starts beating him up with the butt of the gun. Alexei isn’t given a chance to explain and has his head smashed.
Just then the lights come on and Cole’s friends appear, along with the “goons”. It was all an elaborate prank. Surprise!
Viktoria comes forward and screams when she sees her dead boyfriend. Cole’s friends are no longer laughing at getting one over him.
They’ve pushed Cole to the brink of insanity, traumatized him, made him think he lost everyone he cared about. What an amazing prank! Not.
Cole looks at his friends, but it is not the betrayal he feels. It’s the madness creeping over him and he can never feel normal again.
The credits roll in and we see Cole’s cruel friends plan the prank that has resulted in Cole either being sent to prison or a mental asylum. Great going. What a funny prank.
Hopefully, wherever Cole ends up, he finds people less horrible than his so-called friends.
Scare scale: 3.5/5
Very well said!!! Rubbish prank rubbish friends.
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