Next Exit
Next Exit
Two unhappy strangers travel from New York to San Francisco in a rental car to partake in a scientist's radical experiment with the afterlife, but they meet people along the way who force them to confront why they are suicidal.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 6, 2025
With proof positive of an afterlife, the Life Beyond Institute in California, headed by Dr. Stevenson (Karen Gillan) has pioneered an elective procedure to send and track patients into the great beyond. In New York, Rose (Katie Parker) and Teddy (Rahul Kohli), strangers who have both signed up for this experimental venture, are brought together by happenstance and unwittingly left to make the trek from New York to California together. As Rose and Teddy barrel towards the afterlife, their journey sees them instead exploring their beforelives—how they got to this place, what brought them to this decision, and what do they leave behind. Seen at the North Bend Film Festival, though the sci-fi/ghost elements are kind of inconsequential, this moving character drama - slash - dark comedy is elevated by Parker and Kohli’s emotionally resonant performances as they dig through their personal grief and traumas of their pasts. Though I don’t think that everything quite coalesces in the end, Next Exit suggests a promising career for director Mali Elfman, so keep an eye out.