| No Escape | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Martin Campbell |
| Produced by | Jake Eberts, Gale Anne Hurd |
| Written by | Richard Herley (novel) Michael Gaylin Joel Gross |
| Starring | Ray Liotta Lance Henriksen Stuart Wilson Kevin Dillon Kevin J. O'Connor Don Henderson Ian McNeice Jack Shepard Michael Lerner Ernie Hudson |
| Music by | Graeme Revell Tim Simonec |
| Cinematography | Phil Meheux |
| Editing by | Terry Rawlings |
| Distributed by | Home Box Office (USA, video) Savoy Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 29, 1994 |
| Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $27 million |
| Box office | $15,339,030 |
No Escape, released in some territories as Escape from Absolom is a 1994 action/science fiction film shot in Queensland starring Ray Liotta, Lance Henriksen, Stuart Wilson and Kevin Dillon.
It is the story of a former American Marine serving life imprisonment on an island inhabited by savage and cannibalistic prisoners for killing his commanding officer, the commandant of a Benghazi (Libya) military base, in 2011.
The movie was directed by Martin Campbell, and was based on 1987's The Penal Colony by Richard Herley.
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In the 21st century (film taking place in 2022), the penal system is now run by corporations, with prisoners seen as corporate assets.
An ex-marine of the Force Recon named John Robbins is imprisoned for life for the murder of his commanding officer, after a shady military operation in Benghazi (Libya) in 2011. An event that still haunts Robbins more than a decade later.
Robbins had escaped from two "level 5" maximum security prisons so he has now been imprisoned in a "level 6" facility run by the (unnamed) warden. After the Warden reviews his file and meets him face to face, Robbins is thrown in a cell, where a fellow prisoner offers him food, and hastily tells him about "Absolom" [sic], an island where they send the worst prisoners, and which is far more feared than the facility. A place where Robbins is finally sent to by the warden who quickly sees in him an untamable prisoner.
After being dropped off by gunship (a Kamov Ka-27 'Helix'), Robbins is captured by the 'Outsiders', who are led by a sociopath called Marek. The island had been previously been a private retreat as there are ramshackle structures including a dilapidated house and a swimming pool which is where the Outsiders have made their base. Marek informs Robbins that the average life expectancy of a prisoner is six months but he had been there for seven years and then insists he fight one of his men for his amusement. Robbins impresses them by killing the opponent and Marek offers Robbins a position within his gang, in response to which Robbins knocks Marek into a pool and steals a rocket launcher that Marek carries. He flees from the Outsiders and is pursued through the jungle, avoiding crude mantraps. However he ends up trapped at the edge of a high cliff and is shot in the neck by a blowgun dart. He falls into the river at the cliff's base, washes up on some rocks and retrieved by another group, the 'Insiders.'
At the Insider's camp which is on the edge of the jungle with their backs to the ocean, he meets the Insiders (including Hawkins, Stephano, Casey, Killian, King and Dysart) led by a man who calls himself 'The Father.' The Father put together a co-operative community with laws as opposed to the tyranny of the Outsiders. The Insiders total around 100 citizens while the various Outsider groups total 600. Robbins learns that he is the only person to have ever challenged and escape from Marek and that the weapon he stole has been appropriated for the good of the community. The Father notes his resourcefulness and asks if Robbins will join him. He refuses and says he wants to leave Absolom, and The Father orders to Robbins to be taken to the shore where he learns from the men that there are gunships 50 miles off the coast and that they are closely electronically monitored by satellite infrared equipment.
Nevertheless, Robbins will try to make his escape from Absolom, even if he has to fight all the gangs of Outsiders led by Marek in the process.
In 1994, Marvel Comics published a three-issue comic book limited series adaptation of the original novel and movie screenplay. The series was written by Roger Salick, penciled by Mike Harris, and inked by Chris Ivy.
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