After the unexpected cult following of Trunk: Locked In, director Marc Schießer returns with a nerve-racking sequel that’s darker, tighter, and more psychological than ever: Trunk: No Way Out.
In the first film, we followed Malina, a woman trapped inside a car trunk with no memory of how she got there, gradually uncovering a terrifying conspiracy linked to trafficking and betrayal. The sequel picks up one year later—but this time, the trunk belongs to someone else.
Enter Luca, a paramedic who wakes up bound and bleeding inside a military-grade armored van's trunk with no access to his phone, no windows, and no oxygen vent. As in the original, the camera never leaves the confined space—but the stakes feel even higher. Luca must decipher cryptic recordings played over the van’s speaker system while enduring taunts, puzzles, and time-sensitive moral choices. Each decision could determine the fate of others—outside the trunk.
This time, the film isn’t just about survival—it’s about redemption. Luca, it’s revealed, once failed to act during a critical emergency. Now, he must confront that guilt in a twisted game orchestrated by someone who knows his darkest secret.
Visually, Trunk: No Way Out is impressively inventive for such a minimal set. Using dynamic lighting shifts, close-up cinematography, and ambient sound design, Schießer creates a suspenseful atmosphere that’s at once suffocating and deeply emotional. Viewers may find themselves gasping for air right alongside the protagonist.
Thematically, the film explores the weight of silence—what we fail to say, fail to do, and the lives altered in that vacuum. It's less about escaping a physical space and more about confronting internal prisons.
The film cleverly avoids repeating the first entry’s beats. While Locked In focused on memory loss and external danger, No Way Out is driven by psychological manipulation, guilt, and moral ambiguity. And just when you think the mystery is solved, a final twist reminds you that no story in the “Trunk” universe ends cleanly.
Verdict: Trunk: No Way Out is a worthy successor to its predecessor—arguably more refined and emotionally intense. It may not be for everyone—those seeking action or large-scale spectacle should look elsewhere. But for fans of minimalist thrillers like Buried or Phone Booth, this film delivers a gripping experience in the most confined of spaces.
