There's familiarity to the road trip and odd couple tropes, which follow a fairly safe structure. But there's no denying the originality and overall impact that make this a strong debut from a director to watch.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 5, 2023

Elfman ultimately leaves us with a message of hope, (...) but she also misses the opportunity to do something more daring.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 31, 2023

An undercurrent of horror runs through Next Exit, and it’s mostly shown through a few jump scares that weaken the strengths of the film, and the over-reliance on romance at the end is disappointing. The journey is more interesting than the destination.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 25, 2023

By the end, Next Exit transforms from a dark comedy into a powerful sci-fi drama to show the pros and cons of living without forcing us to take sides.

| Jul 19, 2023

Mali Elfman delivers one hell of a debut feature. Remember her name, you’ll be hearing it again and again.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 24, 2023

Next Exit is a road trip movie that can be as erratic and irritating as the would-be couple at the center of the story. The movie would've been better with a less predictable ending, but there are enough compelling moments to make this dramedy watchable.

| Feb 16, 2023

A fairly average road-trip movie about redemption with love as the answer to life’s meaninglessness.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 13, 2023

[Mali] Elfman's script is so witty and sensitive, and the performances so heartfelt, you won't want the journey to end.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 9, 2023

The riveting performances by Parker and Kohli capture fully what the film is all about, and in the end save it from its misery.

| Original Score: B- | Dec 28, 2022

An interesting conceit, and I sort of enjoyed it.

| Nov 30, 2022

The ending is rather predictable, skirting toward the saccharine.

| Nov 11, 2022

Parker and Kohli do amazing work in Next Exit, and it is their affecting intimacy that manages to overcome the more saccharine aspects of the script.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 8, 2022

Once we know them a bit, Rose and Teddy are decent company. The dilemmas that brought them to where they are at present are credible and the acting is good.

| Original Score: B | Nov 8, 2022

Rising star Rahul Kohli is the only – the ONLY – good thing about this cheesy, ill-conceived black comedy, an inauspicious feature debut for director Mali Elfman.

| Nov 8, 2022

... funnels into a conventional road-trip framework, yet even if this is a road we haven’t traveled before, the film’s ambition surpasses its realization.

| Nov 4, 2022

Viewers who can endure the at-times tediously dour first hour of “Next Exit” are rewarded with a tense and emotional final stretch, with a lot to say about what gives life meaning.

| Nov 4, 2022

There’s intimacy to Elfman's filmmaking that invites the audience to care for Rose and Teddy even when they’re at their most acerbic, which just makes their sweeter moments all the better.

| Original Score: 7.9/10 | Nov 4, 2022

Next Exit aims high, and while it hovers perilously close to overindulgence at times, Elfman’s hugely accomplished first-time feature largely succeeds at every box it attempts to tick off.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 4, 2022

Although it doesn’t really come together, Next Exit is reasonably ambitious and made with just enough skill to make curious to see what Elfman does for a follow-up.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 4, 2022

Elfman’s script is... engaging throughout. It’s perceptive, in low-key ways, about how sometimes the only person who can reach or connect with us is someone hurt or adrift in the same manner.

| Original Score: B | Nov 4, 2022