18 & Over

I am a bit conflicted about "Alone at Night." It clearly has some problems, starting with the title itself. The movie was apparently originally titled "18 & over" and the movie itself still sports this title. The re-titling appears to be a last minute marketing change to try to convince people that the movie is different than it actually is, and it's never a good sign when a movie does that.

"Alone at Night" is the story of Vicky (Ashley Benson), a young woman who just broke up with her boyfriend and was kicked out of their New York home. She travels to the town she grew up in to stay at her cousin's house in an attempt to mentally recover, and she will have a week all alone at the house. She is also a cam-girl (her cam girl act involves putting on a purple wig), and so she figures she can spend the week camming and making a whole lot of money. And we spend the week with her as she cams, hangs around, and hears rumors of a killer nearby...

As I said, the movie has issues. She is supposed to be isolated, and yet there is a seemingly endless stream of men who just happen to stop by this distant house, and each one is more annoying than the previous. Pamela Anderson plays the local sheriff and sort of seems like she's supposed to be comic relief but never really fits. And there is a weird subplot about a strange "Pandemic Reality Show" starring Paris Hilton that we spend an inordinate amount of time watching (it's supposed to be Vicky's favorite show).

But for some reason I enjoyed it a bit more than I should have. I suspect some of that is due to Ashley Benson, who makes a very appealing protagonist. And I was able to figure out the killer from actual clues that were given, which is always nice.

Hard to really recommend it, but I sort of enjoyed it and there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes. I know that's faint praise, but still...

After a tumultuous break-up, a woman trying to get over her ex-boyfriend at a remote house in the countryside where she can produce her adult livestream cam-shows by herself begins to feel that an obsessed fan has followed her to the house and begun killing those around her to be with her.

There's not much to this one but it does have a few likable factors. One of the main factors here is the general setup that provides plenty of potential while still allowing for some topical storylines. Being by herself while undergoing a quarantine session and engaging in a series of webcam chats with others that alerts a deranged stalker to her location and begins killing those around her cabin serves as a decent setup for what's going on here involving the gradual reveal of the figure lurking around the cabin as she tries to entertain her career and those who constantly appear around her. The various interactions that take place here while they go through the mind-games as who's trying to talk with her as the interactions here offer up the kind of intriguing setup for the few stalking scenes featured here providing some shocking ambushes with decent enough gore. These are what manage to make it enjoyable, although there are some big issues to be had here. The main drawback is the generally lackluster pace that never builds up much steam here since so much of what goes on is far removed from the kind of content the setup offers. With so much of the film not focused on the killer appearing but instead on either her watching a lame reality TV show that makes no sense or on strange men appearing at a supposedly remote and hard-to-access cabin in the woods, very little happens to remain interesting here. Since this material isn't interesting and features a ton of plot holes as well, this would be hard-pressed already before even taking into account the low-level tempo featured here. As this also leaves the killer so obvious it's not a surprise when it's revealed or their lame motivation because it never provides a chance to build up anyone else, there's a slew of big drawbacks here holding this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Violence, and Brief Nudity.

IS IT CAMPY AND DUMB? Yes. That's the beauty of it. People don't appreciate dumb movies enough. Too many movies have to be "good" or "well-made". Those movies are fine, but bad movies are too. Treat yourself to a nice garbage movie and watch this masterpiece.

But seriously, I think that the people in the reviews saying "Pamela Anderson must be hurting for money" are missing the point. This movie is campy and fun to watch. It's silly and no, it won't win any awards. But it's a decent plot with good acting. Highly recommend.

I gave it a 6 because I mean.... It's still not a perfectly good movie....

This is a frustrating film. The horror film part is well acted, tense, and has good twists. But for whatever reason, there is an annoying reality show element that feels like it was clumsily added later.

The reality show-within-a-movie is a bunch of horrible social media folks and doesn't connect to the real movie in any additive way. Paris Hilton almost makes it win some irony points, but it never lands.

Keep your finger on FFWD and you can still get a decent experience out of this.

I'd love to see a 70-ish minute cut. Call it "18 & Over, The Good Parts Edition". I think I'll do a fanedit and come back to it in a few years.

This is a thriller about a woman who webcams isolating at a house for quarantine. So yes, it's a covid movie. While staying there, suspicious things start to happen...

If you're thinking the premise sounds intriguing but unoriginal you're right. Except the intrigue turns into boredom really quickly.

The plot is very slow and very predictable. There's a lot of random sexual content thrown in (which isn't unexpected given the premise), but many of the scenes are drawn out and necessary. Some of the cast is also terrible- it features actual influencers (gross) and Pamela Anderson's acting is some of the worst I've ever seen.

The only good part of this movie was Paris Hilton. She was actually kind of funny. Anyway, you'd be better off with a lifetime movie.