Review

Jo joins the dots and notes a string of disappearances of young blonde women in a Philadelphia apartment building. The incidents are over a prolonged period, hence local law enforcement haven't made the connections. Jo wants to make this a personal “hunt” but her mother Ellen is dead set against it, believing the family have suffered enough in the pursuit of the occult. Dean and Sam decide to take up the case and head to Philadelphia.

At the haunted apartment building Sam pretty quickly discovers ectoplasm of such a robust consistency that he believes they are dealing with one mofo of an angry spirit. Dean decides they are dealing with the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man, everyone gets the Ghostbusters reference right? To complicate matters, Jo turns up and wants in on the hunt. Slight issue here for Dean as Jo is a young blonde woman, who will clearly end up being a target for our wayward revenant. Ellen, not having been born yesterday, works out just where Jo is and tells Dean she'll be arriving in the next three hours via plane. Just when things can't get any worse, Sam discovers the revenant's identity. Hold onto your linen kids, it's H. H. Holmes, America's first recorded serial killer. A gripping and tense episode ensues. Ready to dig behind the walls?

Well tie me up and force me to listen to a Michael Jackson album, finally in episode six we get a slam dunk from Supernatural season two. Kim Manners, on his third attempt this season, knocks them over with a heck of a good episode in No Exit. We get enough chills and spills to be going on with, heightened drama between the Winchester bros, Ellen, and Jo, and some background details on why Ellen has a strange relationship going down. Can't ask for more, though Manners does his best to provide it. Outstanding episode that has really revived the season. Big breath, into the review.

No Exit opens with the by now traditional prologue piece to set things up. A young blonde chick arrives home to her apartment to find the lights flickering like a Hollywood scriptwriter’s vision of a rave party. Anyone else think Boredwood scriptwriters have never actually been to a rave? She phones the Superintendent and launches into a bitchkreig of biblical proportions and we learn she has only recently acquired the apartment. Hanging up the phone, she notices this sort of black gloop dripping on her from the ceiling. When it starts gushing out of, I guess, a light fitting, she decides it's time to get out of Dodge. Smart move, only slightly late. She checks an air vent, and we get a pair of yellowish eyes suddenly appearing in the vent. Chick screams and we cut to the next scene. Now that really got this episode out of the barn and stampeding down desolation boulevard. I was immediately hooked and just knew director Manners was going to deliver the whole theme park ride missing thus far from the season. Dude, you are hereby forgiven for Dead Things – sorry to have doubted your abilities, bro!

What is really working for No Exit is the ability of the Director and Writer to not only give us the chills, but also to add a slice of character drama, and the topping on this sundae a good exposure to why Ellen is slightly cold towards the Winchesters. Dean's relationship to Jo is also intriguing, and one wonders where that might go later in the season.

Director Manners in No Exit ups the tempo on the chill factor that's been a tad lacking to date in the new season. We get plenty of jump scenes, provided courtesy of our spirit, and if you are claustrophobic this episode will have you gripping the armrests through out. When things really hit the fan, down in the abandoned sewer, Manners shoves on that good stuff by the truck load. Outstanding achievement in a confined location. Manners helpfully ladles on some fly angles and a good use of overhead crane cam.

New writer Matt Witten is on the ball here and presents the Winchesters with one hell of a tough one to resolve. Our standard salt the bones then burn them isn't going to work as Holmes body was encased in one large amount of cement at the demented killer’s request. Whether or not this is factual I have no idea but the final resolution, see the episode title, had me grinning from ear to ear. Dean is one resourceful dude when the chips are down. Full marks to Witten for fleshing out the character of Jo as well; the season needed some extra meat on the bone and the writer is up to the task.

The first outstanding episode of season two, fingers crossed the Produces have woken up to the requirements finally

Notably, and this is something I only picked up on after re-watching the episode – yes, it's that good – Sam has somewhere along the way picked up a new laptop. The Winchesters may need that as for sure things are going to be slightly cold down “The Roadhouse” for the next few episodes. Sorry, can't spill the beans there as it’s going to be a major plot point in the future, one feels.

The relationship between Dean and Jo (wonderfully played by Alona Tal) continues to simmer away, which is driving the teen chick fans of Supernatural crazy. Apparently they don't like the character of Jo for various reasons. Well-needed character in my opinion, but what the hey, everyone is entitled to an opinion as long as we remember I'm right in all cases.

Where was I, oh yes, nods to other horror genre movies and shows. The clear one here is a big reference to Tobe Hooper's remake of the Toolbox Murders. We pretty much have the same characters going down: Jo fulfils the role of Nell Barrows (Angela Bettis don't you know), and Dean does Steven Barrows, though reversal of focus in No Exit. As well as a pretty close approximation to the major plot turns of Hooper's supposed career restarter. For this Reviewer, Manners kicks Hooper's butt in comparison terms, which unfortunately doesn't appear to be hard to do given the latter Directors' appalling track record recently.

You ready to rock! Well you might need to go elsewhere unfortunately. Cheap Trick blasts out “Surrender” and there's a wonderfully good snippet of Foreigner's “Cold As Ice” used to perfection. “It's going to be a long trip”.

Just when we thought it was safe to maybe skip a few episodes of season two, director Manners lays down the best episode of the season thus far. I was high fiving all my imaginary friends as the end credits rolled on No Exit. A gripping and compelling episode that matches the chills with the drama and doesn't put a step wrong in doing so. Finally season two delivers the classic episode I had been waiting on. No Exit matches the best of season one, and I immediately hit a second screening before the end credits finished.

A quick bit of research on the character of H. H. Holmes turned up the fact that about everything covered in No Exit was factual, including the cement-enclosed coffin plot point. Nice work by writer Matt Witten to nail that in terms of Supernatural's mythology. For anyone wanting a full rundown on the life and times of the serial killer, do a search; truth is stranger than fiction, as the saying goes.

Full recommendation on No Exit as the episode hits all the right notes and really has got season two of Supernatural purring along finally. Hopefully this is a sign of good times to come and things are going to pick up during the next six or so episodes. The series is back on track with this killer from beyond the grave episode, check out the cellar for a penthouse outing.