Here Alone

Ann is surviving alone in the woods during the zombie apocalypse. She's no Ripley, but she's not a scream queen either. Holing up in the woods of upstate NY was the idea of her survivalist husband in an effort to save them and their infant child (ominous tone). But Ann isn't a strict adherent to her husband's survivalist tutoring, shown especially when two uninfected strangers show up and present an immediate tension in the rationing of the already meager supplies. But also the tensions of three people living alone in the woods. The Road meets No Exit.

A nice touch to this movie, besides the slow reveal of the outcomes of the rest of Ann's family, is how there doesn't need to be a clear sign of zombie for the first half hour or so, merely suggestion and peripheral sightings. But the movie doesn't hold off from seeing the monsters for too long to make their absence distracting. The film doesn't quite cash in on its interpersonal tensions by the end, but overall an intriguing effort.

I have no trouble with low budget films. No trouble either with off the formula stories. Some the most creative work is done with low budgets, and breaking formula is often good.

Obsessions with character arcs, closure, etc make for poor story writing , but some aspects of story telling formula are in fact necessary. Those aspects include some level of credible or believable climax and anti climax and some level of characters being consistent absent anything in the story showing why they would change.

This film is just outright terrible throughout and the climax is just, well complete BS.

This film is low budget combined with every lowbrow cliché imaginable.

Do you need to be a survivalist to write in the Zombie genre? No. But you certainly need to think out your story, and do a bit of research not to make yourself a laughing stock. That people would go to the woods in a post apocalyptic scenario is credible, but not because it would be a good place to survive, but because that is where idiots would go. To be making unneeded campfires (ie showing every threat exactly where you are) , handling and using firearms with no basic skills or common sense, to foraging in places with no likely forage completes the idiocy.

That leaves the interplay between characters. Frankly it is terrible and juvenile. Without getting into spoilers here, the interactions throughout are childish, and the ending is simply a cheat on the audience.

Lastly a whole lot of the positive reviews of this film , virtually all of them are from single review posters. This is the problem with IMDb removing its comment boards, as there is no place to quickly leave an note that the reviews are clearly shilled. They are. Frankly, there is more imagination and creativity in those positive reviews than in the film. The creative team for this film should have had their buddies write the film instead of trying to upshill it here!

The narrative of a horror film does not have to have Bullitt's Mustang at full throttle every second or blood and gore fogging up the movie or TV screen. Films about people, how they survive, move forward, or at least try to do that are, for me, ultimately more interesting and more moving. With spare details to go on and information during flashbacks about the female protagonist, Ann, and her family (Jason and their baby) filling in, you are left to use your imagination about how an illness not named decimated the United States. Ann has been on her own for a year when we meet her and we watch her daily routine just to stay alive and away from creatures who were once human. Eventually, she meets two other survivors who fill up some of her loneliness, but inevitably with human beings and all of their quirks and hidden emotional turmoil, events shift rapidly.

If you can't watch stillness, listen to the sounds of nature, and let yourself be immersed, you won't be able to watch this film. Just know it's the stillness and beauty of the remote area juxtaposed with some horrifying moments that brings out the intensity of trying to survive day by day in this post-apocalyptic world. The actors who bring these characters to life are strong, mostly because they seem like real people, not actors trying to "be" real people. I cared about all of them and enjoyed the ride immensely.

Believable characters, realistic action and an interesting story, all delivered in the right pace. Very well directed in all, barely any of the dreaded shaky cam low budget productions seem to like so much, the shots of nothing to set the mood are kept in check and the audience is spared any cheap jump scares.

Even the score supports the images, which is something a lot of filmmakers struggle with. Dialogue is relatable, use of profanity appropriate.

Here Alone is definitely worth a watch.

People who call this slow paced probably have the attention span of a crumpet or didn't really feel like watching a movie like this. The movie was fine, no wonder I don't trust imdb ratings anymore. This isn't an action packed fanservice zombie movie, it's a sad story about a woman who feels guilty for surviving.