The second half of 2013 was clearly a frantic time for writing/producing/directing brothers John Erick and Drew Dowdle. Mere weeks after shooting the Paris catacombs horror As Above, So Below, they were in Thailand putting Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan and Lake Bell through their paces for No Escape. The latter film's first trailer has just made its debut, courtesy of the Weinsteins.
Back when No Escape was first announced in 2010, it went by the name 'The Coup', and reports specified that its unlucky American family would be enduring a holiday in Cambodia. That set-up now seems to have been fudged a bit; while Thailand provided the locations, this promo is at pains not to tell us exactly where the story's set at all. "Welcome to Asia," says Brosnan, suggesting that he doesn't quite know where he is either. Maybe it's the Far Eastern equivalent of Val Verde.
So on the evidence of the trailer this is a tricky one to call. On the one hand you can't (ahem) escape the suspicion that the newly-monikered No Escape might be yet another crass tale of Americans having a terrible time in the horrifying wider world.
But on the other hand, context aside, it looks suitably intense and possibly exciting. And it's interesting to see Wilson in a straight thriller: something he hasn't attempted since 2001's Behind Enemy Lines.
No Escape is out in the UK on September 4.