Here Alone

Short review here as most other reviewers have covered the film in detail. I will just say that the entire film was gripping and brilliant. The performances by all involved were some of the best I've seen in this type of film: completely organic and believable.

That is, until, the final 15-20 minutes of the film. The ending, and the events directly leading up to it, are so obviously an attempt by the filmmakers to subvert the audience's expectations, that the whole plot takes a drastic turn toward the impossible. The final actions of all 3 of the main characters are completely out-of-character with everything we had seen up until that point.

Therefore, all of the goodwill the filmmakers built until then is completely lost. As such, a film that could have easily been a 9 to me has now become a very low 6.

For those considering watching this, don't bother. The emotional investment you'll gladly share in the first 2 acts does NOT have a payoff and you'll end the film completely disappointed. What a shame and what a waste.

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.

Not so much a zombie movie as a movie in which zombies provide a backdrop to the developing relationship between a pair of survivors and the man's step-daughter. It's sombre and slow, and dialogue is at a premium for the opening half, but it's worth sticking with.

A highly infectious pandemic has turned most of the population into mindless, violent plague bearers. A woman survives alone in the woods, consumed by thoughts of her family, until some strangers appear.

This film is monumentally slow and a bit artsy. There are no set piece battles, but do expect lingering shots of people staring wistfully through car windows as rain drops thread their way down the misty glass.

There is very little action, the story is very simple and not a whole lot goes on.

I really enjoyed it though. I was in a patient mood when I watched this and it paid off. The characters are great, as is the acting and production. I enjoyed the way the back story was drip fed. Because the pace of the movie was so tentative, when the action did come it felt a lot more tense.

This film will not be for everyone, and I understand why other reviewers have said they found this boring. But I didn't. I would recommend this if you have the time to sit and enjoy it.

Hardly any violence, some nudity but it is all very innocent.

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.