A young couple sets out on a weekend getaway in hopes of mending their failing relationship. However, a seemingly innocent weekend turns dark when the man discovers a videotape chronicling the events of a murder in his very own hotel room from years before.
“Exit 0” pushes the boundary between creepy hotel and absolute terror as Billy and Lisa (Gabe Fazio and Augie Duke) just need a weekend retreat. They decide on a quaint old bed and breakfast that Billy remembers staying in as a child. What they get is quite the contrary as they find themselves wrapped up in a 30-year-old rape and murder investigation that occurred in the very room they had just checked into.
As the couple nears their 145-year-old destination, things just kept getting more and more peculiar. Billy and Lisa pull over at a rest stop along the way and Billy encounters a man who slams the stall next to him and acts in an aggressive, disturbing manner. This event has Billy on edge before the couple even checks in. Once they arrive at the B&B, they are greeted by the odd, yet friendly innkeeper, Frederick (Kenneth McGregor). Once they begin to settle into their room Billy notices a drawer that seemingly opens by itself. Lisa, however, does not see this strange occurrence but says they should probably get dinner. She sort of indicates Billy is just imagining things since he is probably worn out and hungry after their road trip. He then realizes the clock in the lobby says a different time than his treasured Rolex watch. As he ventures down the hallway, he meets “The Writer,” played by Peter Greene who 30 years ago wrote an award-winning novel while staying in that very room. He eerily believes he can eventually capture the same magic just by making the hotel his residence until his new novel is finished. When they get back from dinner, Billy ends up finding an old VHS tape under the bed. This is where the creepy hotel turns terrifying. Billy decides to watch the mysterious tape and what he sees is deeply disturbing. The tape depicts a rape and murder that took place in that very room. Throughout their stay, they meet a host of unusual characters. While the supporting actors had abbreviated performances, to say the least, I felt they were compelling and made the storyline much more intense but the lack of expanding on this trove of talented supporting cast members is lost upon me.
The best part of the film, in my opinion, was that Billy and Lisa seemed much closer in the end. “Exit 0” was no different than the end of pretty much every horror/suspense film in that they generally result in the main characters sort of clinging to each other after surviving tremendous psychological trauma. Make no mistake, while this thriller was a bit anti-climatic, it still delivers on so many levels as a great date night film. Don’t pass this one by if you love a good hotel suspense thriller, you won’t be disappointed.
Available on DVD March 10th
