One viewing of “No More Time, “the debut from director Dalila Droege, is more than enough to pose a question: Can a strange, atmospheric film exist simply for the sake of being, say, strange and atmospheric? It’s a cinematic experience akin to the days of attempting to find one’s way around a video game back before online walkthroughs and hints existed with the touch of a button; without a synopsis, trying to understand this particular narrative as it unfolds is as much a struggle as that our two main characters also seem to be experiencing. At least, that’s the best guess at their plight. For all we know, that assumption could be incorrect.
READ MORE: The 150 Most Anticipated Films Of 2026
Steve (Mark Reeb) and Hilaire (Jennifer Harlow) have hit the road. An announcer on the radio makes allusions to the mysterious disappearance of numerous people, while the mention of sport immediately brings to mind the still-recent days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, some manner of pandemic has in fact descended upon society, and as they arrive in a small mountain town, their first act as they attempt to find shelter within a presumed abandoned house results in the homeowner holding both at gunpoint, where, despite reassurances that everything will be fine, the house soon becomes theirs following a brief scuffle. Phone calls to an unknown individual and encounters with local children, the latter of whom cryptically comment on the whereabouts of their mother as “she’s flying, “only add to the unclear path upon which the film seems intent to travel.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your level of investment), additional townsfolk do arrive from time to time, making mention to Steve of the town’s emptiness “since they were last here.” At the same time, another can be seen near Hilaire’s car pleading for help, only to aggressively chase her into the nearby woods moments later. By now, the nature of “the infected,” another plot point mentioned once or twice, begins to show signs of clarity as our viral outbreak appears to cause the recipient to demonstrate severe aggression, though even as Hilaire herself may very well have contracted said illness, her only symptoms seem to involve watching someone operate a backhoe, or blankly staring off into space. Her quick glimpse of a humanoid prowling about the forest? It’s as perplexing as those increasingly tense encounters with neighbors, where they ask if the couple is “good people” while insisting they’re here to help, and the importance of sticking together. All this time, a score lifted from the likes of “Annihilation” does its best to keep the mood uneasy, and in this one area, it manages to work, if only slightly.
Apparently, the COVID-19 pandemic did figure heavily into the film’s inspiration; those masks are somewhat of a giveaway, but in the case of “No More Time,” the atmosphere and soundtrack do the entirety of the heavy lifting, both helping to give the film a passing mark or two while somehow also rendering it unclear as to what exactly may be happening at any given moment. In acting as a commentary on the fear our planet felt during such a time, one still fresh as we continue to emerge years later, there are better examples in, for example, Bo Burnham’s acclaimed “Inside,” with “No More Time” nothing more than an effort still feeling unfinished as the baffling final act wraps up. It leaves almost nothing but questions as the credits roll, but from which it’s also just as easy to move on, a film with a title one may be thankful to say aloud as the realization that the runtime has concluded sets in. [C-]
