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S2:E17 - No Exit (2022 Film)
24 Plays7 days ago
In this chilling and twist-filled episode of Based on a Book, we're diving into No Exit by Taylor Adams and its nail-biting Hulu film adaptation. Trapped in a remote rest stop during a brutal snowstorm, one woman discovers a kidnapped child locked in a van outside. With no way out and no one to trust, she must figure out who the kidnapper is—and fast.
Hosted by Lindsey with co-hosts Crystal and Keri.
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
Question of the Episode:
- You’re snowed in. What game are you playing to pass the time?
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Thanks for listening to Based on a Book - see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(01:47) Ratings
(06:47) Book vs. Movie Breakdown (SPOILERS)
(50:30) Final Verdicts
(53:55) Question of the Episode
Recommended
Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:08
Speaker
back to Based on a Book, the podcast that proves once and for all that you shouldn't judge a book by its adaptation. I'm Lindsay, your caffeine-deprived host for today's episode.
Discussion on 'No Exit' Book and Movie
00:00:19
Speaker
I'm Crystal, and I never go anywhere without my phone charger and a battery pack. And I'm Carrie, and I always stay weather-aware. That's right. Today, we've got blizzards, betrayals, and more plot twists than the vending machine has snacks.
00:00:37
Speaker
We're talking No Exit by Taylor Adams and its 2022 Hulu adaptation starring Danny Ramirez, Havana Rose Liu, Dennis Haysbert, aka the Allstate guy, Dale Dickey, David Ristall, and Mila Harris.
Plot Overview and Initial Suspicions
00:00:55
Speaker
So stranded in a blizzard at a remote highway rest stop in the mountains of Colorado, college student Darby Thorne is just trying to make it home to see her dying mother.
00:01:07
Speaker
But when she steps outside for a signal and happens to glance into a van parked nearby, she makes a chilling discovery. A little girl is locked inside a dog crate. With no way to call for help and four complete strangers inside the building, Darby is faced with a terrifying reality.
00:01:25
Speaker
One of them is the kidnapper. And there's no telling who she can trust. Over the course of one long freezing night, Darby must figure out who's behind it, how to survive, and how to save the child without becoming the next victim.
Hosts' Ratings and Opinions
00:01:43
Speaker
So, we're going to jump into ratings. And I know Carrie, this is a reread and I think a rewatch for you. So, I'm going to start with you.
00:01:54
Speaker
With me? we
00:01:58
Speaker
ah just... Oh my god. i know you guys are just gonna roast me for this. I just know it. Like coffee.
00:02:11
Speaker
gave it a five. Okay? I gave it a five. gave it five... Tums. Because I needed... as many times as I could get because this gave me heartburn and and literally this is from when I read when I read it the first time I read it a year ago reread is not as good I'll admit because you're not like you know all the twists and turns it's not like the kind of book that like the kind of thriller that you can reread in my opinion because it's very like
00:02:46
Speaker
Well, once you know you know. yeah once you know, you know. It's not really like, it's not as exciting when you reread. So I'm just going to stick with my original rating. Original rating was a five.
00:02:59
Speaker
I really liked it. It's like a very cat and mouse popcorn thriller to me. I'm so gullible. like it Love it but Love to see it.
00:03:10
Speaker
it's a five for me. Okay. Crystal?
Crystal's Rating Analysis
00:03:14
Speaker
It's a three. i don't, I didn't hate reading
00:03:21
Speaker
it. It's one of those, I'm not going ever reread this. I'm probably not going to recommend it to anybody. Not because it's bad, but because it's not, don't know, it's not the type of book I would normally recommend.
00:03:34
Speaker
It's, I'm glad I read it though. I did enjoy reading it Just to me, it wasn't like anything amazing that I'm super thrilled to, to you know, go post everywhere and show everybody. it's It was a solid read. It was worth reading for sure.
00:03:51
Speaker
Okay.
Lindsay's Rating and Recommendations
00:03:52
Speaker
ah I really, really wanted to give this a five. i I even wrote it in my review in my reading journal. I was like, man, I really want to give this a five.
00:04:04
Speaker
And I just couldn't do it. Something about the whole scene with Lars farting in the van. That was like, I'm done. was But no, I gave it four and a half cups of coffee.
00:04:22
Speaker
I almost used that rating. I almost used that rating. I really liked it. i really liked the story. I thought it was really well written. I thought the plot twists were really good.
00:04:35
Speaker
There was at least one that I did not expect. So, yeah, I really enjoyed it. I'm glad we did this one. Yeah. Yeah, I definitely say that a reread is just not not it. Like, once you read it... Not for thrillers, no Yeah.
00:04:52
Speaker
yeah Once you read it, you know it. and you're good When I read Good Girl's Guide, that's a thriller mystery. and I would totally reread that. like Because it was like the kind of mystery where there were so many clues. well You would want to see if which clues you missed and which clues you might find this time. or you know yeah but This one I was just kind of like, ah no, that's not a very fun reread. But the audiobook is really good.
00:05:21
Speaker
I'd recommend the
Spoiler Warning and Sensitive Content
00:05:22
Speaker
audiobook. I used that to reread it. but First time reading it? Man, that was an experience. First time reading it?
00:05:33
Speaker
I couldn't tell you if I... I can't remember if I like predicted anything. Most likely no. if
00:05:44
Speaker
Crystal looked at me. She's like, girl, be honest. yeah wow I couldn't tell you like what I, if I predicted any clues or anything, but i was just, it was just like nonstop to me. Yeah.
00:05:57
Speaker
I was just having like the time my life. And I went in totally blind. I knew enough that I wanted to cover it for our mayhem theme. And that was it. And it was literally, there was a woman and there was a rest stop and she was trapped.
00:06:11
Speaker
Yeah. That's all I knew. And I kept telling you guys, I'm like, please do not read anything about it. Please don't read anything about it. Go in completely blind. Because that's what I did. When I first read it, i went in completely blind, didn't know anything about it.
00:06:24
Speaker
And i I feel like that like made it even better. For me, at least. For me. So that yeah, they added the little girl and I was like, where'd this come from? Yeah. yeah Was there anything else that we wanted to get into before we go into spoilers?
00:06:41
Speaker
No.
Book vs. Movie Differences
00:06:42
Speaker
Let's spoil the whole thing. Let's do it. Alright. Well, before we dive into the chaos that is No Exit, here's your official spoiler warning.
00:06:52
Speaker
We'll be talking about everything. Twists, turns, betrayals, blood, and probably more blood. you haven't read the book by Taylor Adams or watched the movie adaptation, now's the time to hit pause.
00:07:04
Speaker
Go experience the stress for yourself and come back when you're ready to be trapped in a snowstorm of spoilers. You have been warned. Get your tums. And then, of course, before we actually get into today's episode.
00:07:19
Speaker
Here we go. We want to give you a quick heads up. Here it is. Here it is. No Exit contains scenes and themes that may be unsettling to some listeners.
00:07:31
Speaker
This includes child abduction, physical violence and torture, blood and gore, graphic injuries, death, threats of sexual violence, substance abuse, mental health struggles, and claustrophobic or panic-inducing situations.
00:07:48
Speaker
As always, take care of yourself. If any of these topics are too intense or just not for you right now, feel free to skip this episode and come back when or if you're ready. Because this one is pretty intense.
00:08:00
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
Character Analysis: Darby’s Heroism
00:08:02
Speaker
Yeah, in the book, we meet college sophomore Darby Thorne. She's just received news that her mom has been diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer, and despite a snowstorm sweeping across Colorado, Darby impulsively drives through the mountains, desperate to get home to Utah.
00:08:23
Speaker
And her relationship with her mom is strained and she has guilt weighing heavy on her. So she stops at a remote rest stop when the storm becomes too dangerous to navigate.
00:08:36
Speaker
In the movie, Darby's backstory is pretty different.
00:08:42
Speaker
I was mad about it. I really... yeah I'll let Lindsay explain it first. Explain it first. Okay. So in the movie, she is a recovering drug addict addict currently in court-mandated rehab.
00:08:56
Speaker
Her sister, Devin, informs her that her mom or their mom is in the hospital with a brain aneurysm. And despite being warned not to visit, Darby breaks out of rehab and drives off in a stolen car.
00:09:10
Speaker
But she is stopped by Corporal Ron Hill, who sends her to ah visitor center due to the blizzard. I want to get into a little bit why... I don't understand... Why they made her addict?
00:09:27
Speaker
Yeah, why are we making this difference? Yeah... Between the book and the movie. I really enjoyed the character in the book. i don't know in the In the book, this is something that I really loved in the book, was that Darby was
Darby's Discoveries and Interactions
00:09:42
Speaker
a very typical average college student.
00:09:46
Speaker
Yes. Yes, she had some family issues. Like, you know, some some tension with her mom and her sister. But like, so does the vast majority of the population have weird family issues, right?
00:10:03
Speaker
And she tried to go away to college because that's what you do when you have weird family issues. You try to go away for college. And now that her mom is in the hospital, she's trying to do the right thing and go back.
00:10:16
Speaker
Right. There was no... i mean, like there was an indication that she may have done some crappy things as a teenager. Which, again, the vast majority of the population does. like She was super identifiable.
00:10:29
Speaker
And I hate that they made her an addict. And I think the only thing I can come up with is that in the movie they were trying to like make her the least of us so that her redemption arc was that much bigger.
00:10:43
Speaker
And I don't think there needed to be a redemption arc. I think... knowing that she was your average person faced with this impossible scenario and then still decided to try and do the right thing was the beauty of the story. Mm-hmm.
00:11:00
Speaker
Yeah. I completely agree with that. like that It was almost like, to me, like my interpretation of making this difference was like,
00:11:11
Speaker
Whenever they so read her or saw her character in the book, it was almost like they were like, there's no way this girl would be...
00:11:23
Speaker
doing all these like heroic acts at this rest stop, this average girl, we'd be doing all these heroic acts at this rest stop. So we need to like bring in more depth to this character and like make this girl like an addict where she's like been through like the trenches, basically, of life, to where that was the only possible way That this person could do like these heroic things.
00:11:53
Speaker
Right. That's how I interpreted it too. Yeah. And I was like. But that feels so weird to me. It really cheapened it a way. Like, I don't know. And it made it less identifiable. Like the whole idea, I think, of Darby in the book was that she was everyone.
00:12:11
Speaker
could easily put yourself in her shoes. And it's like what would you do in this situation? Exactly. What would you do here?
00:12:22
Speaker
yeah and Because, I mean, ah seeing witnessing...
Plot Twists and Foreshadowing
00:12:27
Speaker
a little girl be kidnapped at a rest stop, what would you do? You know?
00:12:34
Speaker
i mean, I just, i I didn't love bringing in this whole backstory of her character. And I thought that was...
00:12:46
Speaker
Very strange. I think the actress did an excellent job. Yes. Yeah. As a character for the storyline. But i really I really enjoyed her in the book much more. Even though there were aspects of her that weren't necessarily likable but were relatable. Yep.
00:13:05
Speaker
Yep.
00:13:07
Speaker
ah But in both versions, Darby finds herself stranded with four strangers, Lars, Ash, or Ashley, Ed, and Sandy.
00:13:18
Speaker
But the movie adds a layer of tension by letting us know from the start that one of these people is definitely bad news, thanks to like ominous glances and foreshadowing, which is a lot easier to do visually. Yeah.
00:13:33
Speaker
And in the book, we get a slower build. The rest stop is cold, claustrophobic, has no cell signal. Darby heads outside trying to find signal, and that's when she sees it.
00:13:45
Speaker
A tiny hand pressed against the window of a van because someone has kidnapped a child. And Darby sneaks back outside, breaks into the van, using a shoelace to unlock the door.
00:13:58
Speaker
Just a little leftover skill from her wild high school days. um And she finds Jay, nine-year-old girl locked inside a dog crate. And our Darby promises to come back for her. And in the movie, this moment is it's pretty close, but it is a lot shorter.
00:14:17
Speaker
Darby finds the girl, learns her name is Jay, goes back inside. She tries to figure out who the kidnapper is. And... The tension kind of ramps up when Darby decides to tell one of the strangers about the girl.
00:14:34
Speaker
Okay. In the book, something is said on page 41. And I knew from this moment on exactly where the problem was. Okay. Can I read the quote?
00:14:47
Speaker
Yes. Because I think I know which one it is.
00:14:51
Speaker
Sandy, the woman in there, is reading a book. Ashley comes over her shoulder and says, what are you reading? And she says, it's a murder mystery. And he says, you know, how far are you or whatever? Has the murder happened? And she said, yeah.
00:15:04
Speaker
And he says, always the nice guy Ashley said. Again, I don't really read, but I've seen a lot of movies. And that's even better. Whoever seems like the nicest character at first will always turn out to be the asshole in the end.
00:15:16
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. Yep. And now we know. Thanks for telling us. Yeah. There's your confession, folks. I was like, either this is exactly what he's trying to hint at, that he's the bad one, or this is way too obvious and it's not going to be And that's what, so part of me was like, is this too obvious?
00:15:36
Speaker
<unk> Because then the other guy that that Darby's looking at is this, like... Very stereotypical, looks creepy, acts kind of dumb, creepy.
00:15:50
Speaker
Like there might be some at one point they mentioned fetal alcohol syndrome. So there might be some developmental delay or, you know, mental disability going on.
00:16:01
Speaker
He's creepy. he like She calls him rat face. like He kind of has that like icky look to him. And so part of me was like, okay, well, that's also obvious.
00:16:12
Speaker
Is it too obvious? And that was about the only part of this book that had me questioning. Because it was like, is it too obvious? Is it too obvious? No, it's not.
00:16:23
Speaker
It's just the right amount. It's actually... ah exactly what it is yeah exactly ah this is also where the plot takes a sharp turn and in both versions darby trusts ash and in both things in terribly So in the book, Ashley pretends to help her set a trap for Lars, who Darby thinks is the kidnapper. Rat face.
00:16:54
Speaker
But surprise, Ash is in on it. He's Lars's brother. They're working together. but whenever she first comes in, you know, at the rest stop.
00:17:05
Speaker
She talks about how that there are multiple cars in the parking lot, right? Whatever she's heard in the book. she Yeah, she lists the cars and how many people. and Yeah, she's like observant of the fact of how many people there are and how many cars are in the parking lot.
00:17:26
Speaker
aligning with the amount
Revelations and Betrayals
00:17:27
Speaker
of people in there assuming that they're strangers are whether who knows who and who's like strangers right and then she realizes later that one of the cars was actually not a car and like uh it was the dumpster like a dumpster and it's all covered in snow so yeah yeah yeah i wish that was in the movie yeah That would have been like an extra little like tie in. Like if you were just watching the movie and hadn't read the book, that would have been like an extra little thing in there that would have helped you not realize who who was related to who.
00:18:06
Speaker
Right. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and there was even a quote in the beginning of the book where she says something about not being able to find the dumpster because of the snow. Mm-hmm.
00:18:17
Speaker
And then it ended up being, it was one of the cars, technically. Yeah. Cars. Yep.
00:18:23
Speaker
And let's see. In the movie, the betrayal basically comes faster. Yeah. Yeah. Darby is confining in Ash in the bathroom and he modifies a nail gun to help.
00:18:39
Speaker
But when she goes back out to the van, Jay tells her that there are two kidnappers. And that's when she finds out that both Ash and Lars are the bad guys.
00:18:52
Speaker
And in the book, Ashley threatens to kill everyone in the rest stop if Darby talks. So he slams her face into a table and then later tries to suffocate her with a plastic bag.
00:19:08
Speaker
And she barely escapes and steals his keys. And then she goes back outside to help try to rescue Jay. In the movie, Ash knocks Darby out after confronting her.
00:19:23
Speaker
And then later, Lars returns and helps restrain Darby. And Jay escapes. On her own into the woods. and So before you go further. I want to point something out. Because this is where I really started.
00:19:37
Speaker
First of all. The movie goes fast. It goes fast. The book is so slow. And like the headings of the chapters. Are like the time.
00:19:49
Speaker
So that you know it's only been an hour. It's only been 20 minutes. It's only been whatever. And it really builds. And I did like that.
00:20:00
Speaker
In the movie, there they're in the mountains. They're in, like, up in the mountains. And it is snowing. Okay?
00:20:11
Speaker
And not a single one of these fools is wearing a
Darby's Escape Attempts
00:20:14
Speaker
hat. Or gloves. Or a scarf. Okay. Sometimes not even a jacket when they go outside. Yeah. So when Jay escapes out of this van, my first thought is she's been in the van. The van has not been on.
00:20:27
Speaker
It doesn't matter how many blankets you are wrapped up in That's not a good situation to be in. Right. And then she goes. Even though Lars is like going out, like randomly turning it on, turning the heat on. Right. Even then. Yeah. Going out without a hat on.
00:20:44
Speaker
And sitting in the van to turn the van on, like, ah hated that. As someone who grew up in a very cold climate, like, you don't leave the – you just don't do that. But then, like in the book, Jay's been in the back of this van for a long time. she has soaked in urine.
00:21:01
Speaker
So she's wet and cold. And she she escapes the van and is, like, running through the woods and they don't know where she is. And my first thought is she's not, and she's already sick. She's already, they they you know, like what's her face knows that Darby knows that Jay is sick, but doesn't really know what's going on, but we know she's sick.
00:21:22
Speaker
She's thrown up and she's peed on herself and she's out in the cold without any sort of cold weather gear. And I just started, this is when I started going, Oh, this is not right. And then even in the movie, they're not wearing any cold weather gear or anything.
00:21:39
Speaker
And I just, nobody talked about frostbite or hypothermia at any point in this story. They did talk about it once Jay escapes from the van and she's wandering through the cold on her own. All she's wearing, I think, is a parka.
00:21:57
Speaker
Yeah. They do mention that she could freeze to death in, well, minutes, basically. Yeah. so I was even freaking out about the fact that the bathroom was like under construction, yeah partially open to the outside, where I was like, I know it's cold even inside that rest stop. yeah so And no one everyone no one has like their jackets on inside either.
00:22:27
Speaker
yeah no there was There was just a few things that like growing up in a cold climate and I just was like, this doesn't feel right. This doesn't seem right. Yeah.
00:22:38
Speaker
who Definitely. So Ash and Lars take Darby with them to look for Jay after she escapes. Yeah. And the movie compresses the timeline.
00:22:50
Speaker
The suffocation scene from the book is replaced with a hammer fight. And Darby's escape is less drawn out Did you ever think that was a line you were ever going to say in your life?
00:23:02
Speaker
this no so The grocery bag suffocation scene was replaced with a hammer fight. How cool is that? Yeah. like I love it. Just stop.
00:23:15
Speaker
Hammer fight.
00:23:18
Speaker
Oh, oh, oh. Oh my gosh. And in the book, Ashley, Lars, and Darby are also searching for Jay. And they believe that she's already dead from exposure. Yeah.
00:23:32
Speaker
Darby realizes that she's now expendable, and she causes some confusion in the dark by turning off the flashlight and heads back down to the rest stop.
00:23:44
Speaker
And let me tell you, when
Character Motivations and Agendas
00:23:45
Speaker
she throws herself down this hill in the movie... Oh my god. Yeah. Well, before before that, in the movie, they're like, call out to Jay. And like, Jay...
00:23:58
Speaker
I was dying laughing. I was like, why did she say it? Jay. Like, I know she doesn't actually want to call her name, but why does she sound like that? Yeah, like, she's, like, being, like, annoyed that she has to say it.
00:24:11
Speaker
And she's, like, trying to, like, be like, see, I'm saying it, but, like, not trying that hard. She actually doesn't want Jay to come to her because she's got psychopaths with her. And the way she was saying it was just cracking me up. I'm like, why is she talking like that?
00:24:27
Speaker
judge and ash is still trying to he's like a master manipulator and he's yeah still trying to convince her that like if you help us everything's gonna be fine but you know darby's like no i can't believe anything this guy says he's gonna kill me no matter what like he's been obsessed with that make out session since the beginning like in the very beginning whenever she thinks that ash is like gonna be on her side and that he doesn't know lars lars like walks in and then she randomly starts like making out with ash in the bathroom to make it seem like they're not planning something he's been thinking about that ever since and if i was her i lily would just die on the spot knowing that that happened ash in the book was so creepy oh weird he was he tried to be like that smooth kind of guy right and he kind of had it right until the point she realized i can't trust this guy and then it was just creepy
00:25:22
Speaker
Yeah. Like so creepy. And I don't think they played that off well in the movie. It, you know, they, didn they didn't get into his backstory. They didn't get into how he felt like he was untouchable and like something's looking out for him and everything I do works. And you didn't have, yeah, the magic man, you didn't have any of that.
00:25:45
Speaker
it was no It was just aggressive in the movie. Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
00:25:51
Speaker
But Darby makes it back to the rest stop. And this is where she finds Jay. She's inside with Ed and Sandy. Jay made it back from hiding outside, basically.
00:26:03
Speaker
Basically. And in the movie, Ash and Lars drag Darby around in the woods. They're trying to find Jay. Darby fakes them out and runs. but She sees the footprints in the snow and she sees that they go to the left, but she darts to the right.
00:26:20
Speaker
She still throws herself down the hill. So that, I was glad that was in there. Yeah. like I want to see it. She just yeets right off the yeah side of this hill.
00:26:32
Speaker
Any type of thing that's like somebody like rolling down the hill a hill like that. like I'm like, oh my gosh. like I just know that hurts. That hurts bad. They also had the gun, so I was like, how is she going to get away from them?
00:26:45
Speaker
If they have the gun and they're going to be shooting at her. And he's just like shooting anywhere because she's, it's like she, well, what she says in the book, she's like closing one eye the entire time so that she can like get used to like looking in the dark or like, or whatever. And then she turns off the, or she flashes the flashlight like in their eyes and then turns it off and then throws or yeets herself down the hill basically.
00:27:11
Speaker
yep um And while she's doing this, Ed and Sandy find Jay unconscious and they bring her inside. And in the book, Jay's survival is ah surprise to Darby.
00:27:26
Speaker
In the movie, the audience kind of sees it unfold in real time, so it's not as suspenseful. hu um But then in the book, Jay slips Darby a note warning her not to trust Ed and Sandy.
00:27:38
Speaker
Wait, did you guys see that coming, though? That's
Pacing and Character Depth
00:27:41
Speaker
the one I didn't see coming. I did because they're playing that circle time game or whatever. Uh-huh.
00:27:50
Speaker
And so, like before we know that it's officially know that it's Ash. And ed and Sandy, like, kind of say that, like, oh, they're they're cousins in the book.
00:28:01
Speaker
Mm-hmm. I guess married in the movie. They're married in the movie. But in the book, they're cousins and Ed is a veterinarian in the movie. He's a retired Marine.
00:28:12
Speaker
And, um, and Ed in the, in the book is an alcoholic drug addicted, um former veterinarian who's basically just kind of a jerk and his family's kind of kicked him out and he's estranged from his family or whatever.
00:28:30
Speaker
And out of the blue, his cousin Sandy calls him up and says, come with me to family Christmas. Out of nowhere. she she and And that's when I went, you don't randomly invite someone to family Christmas, like, after you haven't spoken to them for a couple of years.
00:28:50
Speaker
And you definitely don't do that and then head into the mountains during a snowstorm. Crystal's like... 18 steps ahead. Me, I'm like, what? Well, at this point, I didn't know if it if if it was Ed lying or if Sandy was bad, like, I didn't know what, but I knew that they weren't there by accident.
00:29:13
Speaker
I knew it was suspicious, but I thought Ed was going to be in on it. her And then I felt really bad. I and was so glad that he, he really isn't because, because he, in the book, he is the addict and he knows that he's screwed up his whole life and he wants to do better at this point that he's, he kind of mentions that like, he's going to check himself into rehab after this. This is his, this is his redemption art being able to go see his family and then do better.
00:29:44
Speaker
and then he gets thrown into this situation. and i's like it, I don't know. like I have a soft spot in my heart for at addicts anyways, because I know it's not a choice. Nobody chooses to do that.
00:29:59
Speaker
And so he was trying to be a better person. And that that kind of, I'm so glad that he wasn't the bad guy. You know what i mean? Because I needed him to be a good person. i needed i needed the addict to be the good person.
00:30:12
Speaker
I needed that. Which is why this isn't a two and a half. yeah I wonder why they changed his backstory. Well, maybe they changed his backstory because they wanted to have... I think they needed to have a more...
00:30:34
Speaker
I think they purposely made him a combat veteran because they wanted for there to be someone in there with like a combat experience, you know? So like to be the voice of reason of making the plan, you know, when they needed to make a plan.
00:30:55
Speaker
That's my only theory is that they just needed someone in there with a little bit more experience. Yeah. i but I just feel like that even made it and I don't want to say less realistic but All I know is their casting for Ed was perfect because I felt like I was in good hands.
00:31:19
Speaker
i Yeah. True. Pretty sure I made that joke while I was watching it. True. True. Well, it turns
Plot and Character Developments
00:31:31
Speaker
out Sandy is Jay's school bus driver and she is in on the kidnapping and she pepper sprays Darby and then lets Lars and Ashley back in and Ed ends up getting shot with a nail gun.
00:31:48
Speaker
i My worst nightmare ever since I've seen Final Destination. I hate a nail gun. um Any type of a nail gun in a scary movie ever since I saw Final Destination. I don't know what number it is.
00:32:02
Speaker
Hate it. Hate a nail gun. Hate a death by nail gun. Oh my gosh. Yeah, that one was rough. Even seeing a nail gun in person, I'm kind of just like, ooh. I get little scared.
00:32:14
Speaker
They're scary. Careful with that thing. They are scary. In the movie, Jay identifies Sandy as her housekeeper. And we get a flashback revealing that Sandy helped kidnap Jay for ransom.
00:32:31
Speaker
Can we talk about this? Please. Can we please freaking talk about this in this movie? Why in the hell? First of all, they made j like seem like this bratty little kid in the movie okay where she has a housemaid making like funny little tiktok videos of her yep making fun of her almost like making it seem like like almost like victim blaming like she deserved this like she deserved to be kidnapped yep and i was like okay so what was the purpose of that also how was sandy a nurse
00:33:10
Speaker
And also their housekeeper. and She was a nurse in the movie too. She had said ex-nurse. So she was an ex-nurse and she gave up nursing to be a housekeeper. and i don't know.
00:33:24
Speaker
it know I was so distracted by the TikToking and making this little girl who was just kidnapped. like kind of insufferable to the point of like, this is why she was kidnapped. And this is why, you know, Sandy kind of made, put was pushed to, i mean, she was pushed to the decision, not be, well, her reasoning was because like they needed money and they were going to give her money for this. Also blamed Ed.
00:33:52
Speaker
Yeah. Ed gambled away their life savings. And so they needed the money. Like yeah didn't like that they were blaming The TikTok pushed her over the edge. It was like, what? Yeah.
00:34:04
Speaker
I hated that. In the book, it like, Jay was like very sweet. Like she was talking about like her dinosaurs and like, you know, and yeah, Sandy was her bus driver, which like, I feel like- She rode a bus.
00:34:18
Speaker
Which was even more, I don't want to say relatable, but- kind she was supposed to be some rich kid yeah it's kind of realistic and kind of scarier because like a bus driver you know snatching up your kid like that's scary and i don't know it was just like weird i was like why did they do that i hated that change yeah but yeah sandy helps uh Jay get kidnapped.
00:34:50
Speaker
she She's the one that opened the door and let Lars and Ash in.
00:34:58
Speaker
i guess she left it unlocked in the movie and they just kind of break in. Yeah. yeah And there's a scene where she's like standing there and just like listening to like her screaming. Yeah.
00:35:09
Speaker
Them taking her and she's just like standing there and like just staring off in like the distance like waiting for it to be done. who and I was like. damn girl like this is crazy she tells the cops that she couldn't hear it because she had headphones on and she was vacuuming huh but she was she was just listening to the whole thing yep
Key Scenes and Thematic Elements
00:35:30
Speaker
but ash ash ends up killing ed and sandy when darby won't cooperate And their deaths in the book are so brutal.
00:35:46
Speaker
Both of them. They're drawn out. They are tortured. They are, it is not, it it's pretty it's pretty rough. Yeah. In the movie, they're just like, boom, boom, done.
00:35:59
Speaker
Yeah. really yeah They're like, we got to wrap this up. Yep. And in the book, Darby's hand is crushed in a door hinge. o I don't like a door hinge either.
00:36:12
Speaker
ah door hinge? Fingers in the door hinge? Like that part? Freaks me out. Yeah, that was rough. I've had my hands shut indoors so many times when I was a kid because we were wild.
00:36:26
Speaker
um and like I had for my kids, we have hard, fast rules. Doors are not toys. They will never be slammed. If it's open, you will close it gently. If it's closed, you will open it slowly. Like,
00:36:40
Speaker
My daughter could tell you that word for word to this day. My son knows it too. I am terrified of getting a hand shutting door. this part like...
00:36:52
Speaker
Not cool. I can't tell you how many doors I've just like busted through and hit people with doors. Oh my god. Like that fish from Spongebob just walks the Krusty Krab throws the doors open. It's like that Big Bird meme. It's like...
00:37:09
Speaker
Down the door? Just standing there? Literally, that's me. yeah you No. Doors are not toys. No, they're not. They're scary.
00:37:25
Speaker
So yeah, Darby has her hand crushed in the door hinge when she refuses to give up the location of the truck keys or the van keys. She gives in when she realizes that she accidentally texted the police the wrong address.
00:37:44
Speaker
And that's the point in the book when Ed is murdered.
00:37:48
Speaker
In the movie, Ash nails Darby's wrist to a wall. That was rough. Yeah. That's when her phone.
00:37:59
Speaker
Her wrist. Yeah. Not her hand, which I was expecting. Yeah. her Like in the in in her wrist. Like right between the the bones, the ulna and the whatever that other one is.
00:38:12
Speaker
Yeah. oh I was grabbing it as I was saying that. can't. I can't. My wrist was like pulsing. Yep. As I was watching. Yeah. Yeah. But as she's nailed to the wall, her phone buzzes and she finds out that her mom has passed.
00:38:31
Speaker
But it also confirms that her SOS text has gone through, even though Ash attempted to delete it. Mm-hmm. So Ash learns that the police are en route.
00:38:44
Speaker
He demands the van keys.
00:38:48
Speaker
he I think this is actually where he shoots Ed and Sandy. And in the book, Darby escapes after she pulls her hand free from the door hinge.
00:39:03
Speaker
and She loses her pinky.
00:39:06
Speaker
Jay's like, it's going to grow back, right? She's like, yeah, yeah, yeah sure. going to be fine. That poor girl. Like, literally, I'm sorry, a little kid asking me a million questions while I'm fighting for my life to not pass away literally actually sent me to orbit.
00:39:24
Speaker
hu She had way more patience than I would have. Yeah, I'm like, i and know I'd be like, I'm gonna need you to shut the fuck up right now. i'm Pretty much. Shut the fuck Pretty much.
00:39:35
Speaker
Well, she's also trying to keep her calm so she doesn't go into some shock or cold. Right, yeah. Because of her... her condition her adrenal medicines yeah yeah but darby manages to turn the lights off it's dark she kills lars jay and darby attempt to flee and ashley returns where he then sets the rest stop on fire lars death in the movie man
00:40:09
Speaker
Oh, that death was crazy. Yeah. That death was crazy. Yeah. Yeah. I knew it was going happen, too. I knew was going to happen.
00:40:21
Speaker
yeah Yeah. I'm not going to go into detail about it. No, no, no. This is going to be on YouTube. Who knows what will happen, but...
00:40:33
Speaker
It's a nail gun death. We're just gonna... Yeah, we'll stay there, but... Damn. That was crazy. Actually, I did not like that at all. Also, Lars in the movie is much more childlike.
00:40:46
Speaker
He is much more innocent. like He doesn't want to be doing this. You can tell, yeah. he doesn't Yeah, he doesn't want to be doing this. ah You know, his brother's making him. He's been lied to. He thinks that they're gonna...
00:41:01
Speaker
like taking these kids to find them better homes. who In the book, Lars knows exactly what they're doing. um He, he might be slow, but he's not stupid and he knows exactly what's up.
00:41:16
Speaker
And he also knows that his brother is ah jerk. And is that like the alpha in the situation is the one that he's going to look to, to make the decisions and he will be obeyed without question. Like that's it.
00:41:29
Speaker
yeah It's, He's a lot more creepy in the book, in the movie. I felt sorry
Climactic Scenes and Conclusions
00:41:35
Speaker
for him. Absolutely. Yeah. I thought the actor, i thought the actor they picked did a really good job too.
00:41:42
Speaker
hmm. absolutely i was watching some interviews with the actor that played lars and it was so interesting like seeing him talk about his character and like a completely like his own self and like oh my gosh like i just watched him being like such like a strange person in this movie and now he's just like yeah this was like kind of like a character study and blah blah blah and i was like oh my god i don't know if can handle that
00:42:14
Speaker
Yeah, he was totally different. Mm-hmm.
00:42:18
Speaker
But yeah, in the book, Darby fights Ashley outside. And that's when the cop arrives. And he misreads the situation.
00:42:28
Speaker
And he shoots Darby. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And then Ashley kills the cop. Mm-hmm. Turns him into a human porcupine with the nail gun.
00:42:40
Speaker
In the movie, yes. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But in the book, at this point, so the cop arrives, the snowplow is coming.
00:42:53
Speaker
The cop shoots Darby, Ashley kills the cop, and then Ashley goes to kill the snowplow driver, and then Jay kills him.
00:43:06
Speaker
Yes. And that whole scene in the book... Magic Man thinking he's getting away. missed. that That was really well written.
00:43:19
Speaker
liked that. Yes, it was. i I really have chills right now. I love that scene. It's so messed up. I love that scene so bad.
00:43:32
Speaker
i forgot. Like, I knew the sequence of events, but I forgot how it was written. and i was It's so well written. Oh, my God. That was sick. That was so freaking sick.
00:43:44
Speaker
hmm. Like you like you're at it for a second. You're just like, wait, what is going on? And you're like, oh, my God, that was a amazing. thing You really believe that she missed and that Ashley's just going to get away.
00:43:57
Speaker
Yeah. I remember reading it I was like, hey, that sucks. What's going to happen now? hmm. Mm hmm. I really liked the whole ending, like the whole sequence of events at the end.
00:44:09
Speaker
I thought we're so good because it was like, all right, we're wrapping up. And I was like, oh, we're not wrapping up yet. Yeah. Cause like at one point in the book, like um Darby and Jay,
00:44:20
Speaker
Have the keys and they get out to her Honda, her blue Honda, and they're going to try and get away and they barely even make it 500 yards because, you know, Ashley shot the tires with the nail gun. So they they're flat and they spin off and get stuck.
00:44:37
Speaker
so like and then of course ash comes to the car and is like come back you know so like there's so many moments of that them almost getting away them almost getting out and it just after a while you start thinking oh my gosh maybe ashley is the magic man maybe he is gonna get away with it yeah and it it so it was really kind of had me at the end there but like shit is he gonna get away with it you know and then the fact that Darby was getting got shot not even by any of the characters at this rest stop no yeah that had me that thought was so crazy and just like
00:45:20
Speaker
um It was just like really good storytelling at the end. my I just really loved it this is a well-w writtentten yeah This is a well-written thriller. like i I was in fact thrilled.
00:45:32
Speaker
I was thrilled by the thriller. I was. I was. It was super suspenseful. It was definitely not bad. I'm glad I read it. yeah The movie though, did not like how the events took place at the end the movie.
00:45:48
Speaker
Basically to compare the ending to the movie's ending, Darby ends up relapsing in order to dull the pain so that she can escape by pulling the nail out of the wall.
00:46:03
Speaker
And at this point, this is when Ash accidentally causes Lars to die. And Darby and Jay attempt to escape. this is like They crash the Honda.
00:46:18
Speaker
They don't even get very far. They crash into a light pole. And the cop arrives and is tricked by Ash. And he still ends up shooting Darby. And then Ash makes him a pincushion.
00:46:33
Speaker
hu But then Darby, ah he she ends up killing Ash. Whereas Jay did it in the book. um So the I think the book really had more of an emotional and gritty feel. Absolutely.
00:46:53
Speaker
ah Especially with and when she's confronting Ashley and she ends up writing down with the uncle's address on her arm. yeah Basically as she's dying.
00:47:07
Speaker
yeah i really liked that detail. Yeah, like that... She even has like this moment in the book whenever she finds out that her mom has died where she's like kind of like giving up.
00:47:22
Speaker
She's kind of like giving up on everything. She's like, all right, I'm done. I'm freaking done over it. This is just it for me. And then she kind of has like this last like fighting moment.
00:47:34
Speaker
To be trying to get everyone out. i' She's like, I'm going to save Jay. I'm going to get her out of here and all this stuff. And the fact that like she's still pushing, even though she's like coming to terms with like, I'm probably going to die. Let me like get as much information as I can.
00:47:49
Speaker
who and the way that that was written, it was like kind of emotional. Like it was like had like a really big impact. And I really like that. Yep. And she keeps having these flashbacks to being a kid.
00:48:02
Speaker
And she mentions the witching hour pretty often. And ah there's the story where she had a nightmare. was the witching hour. And she ran into her mother's bedroom. And her mother comforted her.
00:48:15
Speaker
And said it was okay. It was just a dream. Everything was going to be okay. So she continues to think about her mother. And how she protected her. And they have the. Inhale. you know Take a breath. Hold your breath for five seconds. Exhale. Exhale.
00:48:30
Speaker
And she really uses that throughout the story to help her and the other characters. And then there's that moment where she's bleeding out and she goes back to that moment with her mother. And she says that she's proud of her. thought that that it's all going to be okay. and it Yeah.
00:48:50
Speaker
Yeah, it was really touching. It was a really beautiful kind of full circle moment. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So in the book, they kind of make it seem like Darby dies by being really subtle.
00:49:04
Speaker
Because you you go to Jay's point of view. She's back with her parents. And they're going to the graveyard in Darby's hometown. and And you're thinking, oh, no, Darby, she died.
00:49:18
Speaker
but it turns out she survived. And they're actually there to visit her mother's grave. So I think
Final Thoughts on Themes
00:49:24
Speaker
with the end of the book, you get closure for everyone.
00:49:30
Speaker
Yes. get closure for Darby, for Jay. You even get the scene with the uncle who is in the middle of writing an email when he gets raided by the police. It's literally closure all around.
00:49:47
Speaker
In the movie... Darby is back in rehab. She has been clean for 48 days. And she gets a visit from her sister.
00:49:58
Speaker
So there's no follow-up on Jay or the uncle. It's literally just closure for Darby. huh So I think with the book, you you get more of an emotional resolution, yeah whereas Darby gets her recovery arc, and then things are tied up for her character, and that's it.
00:50:20
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. So I think with that being
Snow Day Games
00:50:24
Speaker
said, what are what are our final verdicts for this? No, for sure the book is better. Yeah. i really didn't like the movie. Definitely the book.
00:50:34
Speaker
Honestly, there were a couple of moments in the movie that were all right, I guess, but I didn't like it. Yeah. I didn't feel like.
00:50:45
Speaker
I didn't connect to a single character in the movie. Yeah. I didn't really. i liked the actress who played Darby. I think Darby was done really well for how they changed her character. Exactly. Yeah. How they wrote the character for the movie.
00:51:03
Speaker
Agreed. I don't necessarily think she's the same Darby as the book, but for what they wrote for the movie, I think she did very well. Yeah. I just, I just, I don't know.
00:51:14
Speaker
I don't think it was well written. don't, I don't think it was very exciting. No, it didn't have quite the suspense and the thriller aspect of a thriller that the book did.
00:51:25
Speaker
They took out the thriller and they replaced it with action. So it was more yeah actiony than thrilling. I totally agree with that for sure. This had a lot of potential, though.
00:51:35
Speaker
I was really hoping for more of that Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs-style slow building, because it could have been that. And I was kind of was really looking forward to watching the movie. I thought I was going to tell you how much I loved the movie compared to the book, but it just fell flat.
00:51:53
Speaker
I really would.
00:51:56
Speaker
suspense really Yeah, I really wish they kept that that scene of the cop showing up at the wrong location. Like they had in the book.
00:52:07
Speaker
Because that, like the moment, like I can just, I could see it in my head. The cop like opening the door to the rest stop. And like us being like just seeing the cop.
00:52:18
Speaker
It's just the cop's face. Thinking, okay, the cop is finally here. Like we're going to be rescued. And then it pans over to the rest stop and it's like empty. Just like the scene from Silence of the Lambs.
00:52:30
Speaker
Yep. Yes, yes, yes. And then it clicks in it clicks in their and our head that they're at the wrong location and they're at the other one. That would have looked so good.
00:52:43
Speaker
Missed opportunities. Yep, missed opportunity. They're like, we don't got enough money for this. Right. and just get it up Two locations? What? Yeah, two locations. Extra storyline. No, we can't do that.
00:52:55
Speaker
why... That's why Darby never even made it of the parking lot. Exactly. No. Yeah. They literally, when they got in that car, crashed immediately. Immediately. It crashed so badly.
00:53:07
Speaker
i was like, come on. Mm-hmm. yeah like And so bad to the point of like, they almost got like ejected from the vehicle. I was like, you went like two feet. knocked Knocked Jay unconscious. Yeah. Messed them up. Yeah. Like they were literally out cold. and I was like, don't even think you went that far.
00:53:26
Speaker
Like that's crazy. The five miles per hour they were going. yeah Like that was crazy. Totaled that poor Civic. I know. Yeah. The whole time was like smashed in.
00:53:37
Speaker
it wasn't a Civic in the movie though. It was... I don't know what it was, but it definitely wasn't a Civic. Well, it wasn't going from zero to 50. No. Two seconds. No. She started it with a screwdriver. That ought to tell you, this was not the world's greatest car. Yeah.
00:53:53
Speaker
It's true. But that's going to bring us to our question of the episode. You're snowed in. What game are you playing to pass the time?
00:54:05
Speaker
crickets let's start with wait is nobody like a big game player like board games or card games or anything i love all of them yeah i have a massive collection so okay i thought there was silence because like nobody likes to play games no it's because y'all told me i could only say one oh no you can you can say multiple if you want oh Say them all. was going say it's Lindsay's episode. She gets to decide. Oh, okay. Sorry. Sorry. wine Only one. Only one.
00:54:38
Speaker
no it's fine. Say them all. Go ahead. Well, I carry a deck of cards with me anyways because I feel like and wherever I am, cards work. There's a bajillion different games for kids, for grownups, for whatever.
00:54:50
Speaker
i can find something to play with somebody with a deck of cards. But... Having said that, I really do carry like four or five smaller versions of other games. Specifically card games. Because, again, they're easy to carry around. So, like, Skippo and Rook and and stuff like that. Like, Uno. Those are my go-tos.
00:55:11
Speaker
Yeah. I'll throw down it to Uno. I love card games. Like, I'm not... I'm not a huge board game player just because like i I never find people that actually like play board games.
00:55:27
Speaker
My dad's probably going to listen to this and be like, excuse me, I always want to play a board game and you never want to play. But I mean, like, yeah I like playing board games. We have like a lot of people wanting to play.
00:55:39
Speaker
Yeah. Not just like two people playing. Two people playing a board game just doesn't cut it. Yeah. and At least four. least. And like board game, like couple of drinks, you know, like that's fun.
00:55:53
Speaker
You know,
Closing Remarks and Next Episode
00:55:54
Speaker
but I always love card games. Card games are like my favorite thing. And I always love to play Rummy. That's like my favorite card game. There you go. I'm always playing that. So that's the one I would always play.
00:56:05
Speaker
I like card games. I like Cards Against Humanity. there you go. um Typical. I i like Apples to Apples. Which is the slightly cleaner version of Cards Against Humanity. Cleaner. But I like making it dirty. That's the most fun part of Apples to Apples. That's just Cards Against Humanity.
00:56:23
Speaker
Well, yeah, but with a challenge. Yeah. I used to play so much Cards Against Humanity, but then like once you play it so much, you know like all the stuff.
00:56:35
Speaker
Right. And then you're like, all right. How about word games? Do you guys do like Scrabble or Boggle or Bananagrams or anything like that? I do play Scrabble a little bit.
00:56:45
Speaker
Ugh. But a bitch can't spell, man. I was going to say, girl, I can't spell. A bitch cannot spell. love Scrabble and Bananagrams. Like, my stepmom and I have this, like, ongoing Bananagrams.
00:56:59
Speaker
Like, it's it's a very friendly competition. It really is. But whenever I go visit, I'll wake up early in the morning, we drink our coffee, and just me and her play Bananagrams before everybody else wakes up. And...
00:57:10
Speaker
And we are, like, so evenly matched, so evenly matched that whoever wins, like, wins by one tile. Like, it's always so close. Mm-hmm.
00:57:22
Speaker
But no, word games are my jam, but nobody ever wants to play with me, so...
00:57:27
Speaker
I start playing a word game and then I forget all words. Yeah. um like ah a n d I'm like, like, duh. Oh, Lord. All right.
00:57:38
Speaker
oh lord
00:57:42
Speaker
all right I'm going to say that's going to bring us to the end of our snowed in with no exit. Whether you were biting your nails through every twist, side-eyeing every character, or just wondering how Darby managed to survive that many injuries.
00:57:58
Speaker
Thanks for riding it out with us. Don't forget, we want to hear from you. Head over to our socials and let us know, what game are you playing if you're snowed in?
00:58:09
Speaker
And bonus points if it reveals something about your survival strategy. So be sure to follow, like, and subscribe on all of our social media and podcast platforms so you don't miss next week's last dose of mayhem.
00:58:24
Speaker
And until then, keep your Swiss Army nice knife close, take a deep breath, hold it for five seconds, and exhale. And we'll catch you in the next chapter of Based on a Book.
00:58:36
Speaker
Bye! Bye!