Alone with Her

Ana Claudia is not only a terrific actress, but easy on the eyes as well. The film is creepy -- as a good close-in thriller should be. Colin Hanks (no relation to Colin Firth apparently) is also excellent.

I saw the film at the Tribeca Film Festival without expectations. (You sign up for a bunch of films after looking at their menu several weeks in advance and by the time you're going to the screening, you only know the name, the place and the time, having forgotten what attracted you to the film in the first place.) Once the opening credits started rolling and I saw Ana Claudia's name (I'm a bit of a fan) I remembered why I had signed up for the film -- but nothing of its plot. It's probably best to see it that way because the film is seductive. It lures you into its creepiness, but through the squirming you'll enjoy it.

Where The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity used their found footage format to enhance the scares rather than hinder them, Alone with Her utilizes its style to create a suspenseful stalker thriller, even if it hits all the familiar genre beats. Alone with Her is shown from various hidden cameras inside a young woman's house that were set up by a stalker. There are also video cameras attached to him making you the stalker. Nothing about Alone with Her should be terribly surprising to even a casual viewer, but the way the cameras are set up can lead to some really unsettling images. This is a very character- driven suspense film. It's subtle and doesn't rely on elaborate chase scenes or convoluted plot twists. Alone with Her may not

Doug, played by Colin Hanks, goes out one day with a camcorder looking for a woman to follow. He settles on Amy, played by Ana Claudia Talancon, first by following her around everywhere she goes, then by setting up her whole apartment with hidden cameras.

He watches her every move, from showering to sexually abusing her hair brush, and uses the information he gleans from his surveillance to insinuate himself into her life.

This is not an original but yet interesting premise that plays itself out as one would expect. Hanks is competent in his role, and Talancon is a standout. The problem is that not enough tension and suspense are built to have the end payoff be enough for this movie to get a really good rating from me.

This is still a decent effort, and worth a watch for fans of found footage thrillers.

One of the most terrifying things about ALONE WITH HER is that the stalker on the beautiful young women is barely seen or heard until more than half of the 90 minutes movie giving us the feeling that the real stalkers are us.

Yes, the first person narrative (mostly on the first half of the movie) positions us fully inside and not really so uncomfortable.

Don't you think that in a generation growing with BIG BROTHER, THE APPRENTICE, SURVIVOR and many more reality shows the voyeurism has become something a little more usual than it should ?. . How many "normal" people will go as far as Collins Hanks goes in this movie is a really the frightening question.

This is a movie based on pace and events. There is not much to explain about it. Let's just say that as the obsession grows events and situations get darker but never unrealistic. You can think of it as an obsessive love story where you get a lot of sympathy for the main characters and with no real chances of a happy ending.

See it; you won't regret it; but please complain as much as you can on why this independent movie never got a proper wide release while so much garbage did it.

Excellent.

The director Eric Nicholas creates a creepy atmosphere throughout this film about obsession with a very original directing film style. The audience is immersed into the role of an observer watching a very convincing Ana Claudia Talancón as a young women living alone in a small apartment who is being stalked by a very disturbed Collin Hanks. The acting is solid and the film keeps a sustained tension throughout. Also not to overlook the script written by Eric Nicholas which is well structured for this kind of film and delivers a surprising, haunting ending.

Highly recommended!