Director John Hymas’ thriller Alone is an intense tale of one woman’s fight to survive as a serial killer hunts her down.
When Jessica (Jules Willcox) backs up her belongings and heads off to start a new life in a new town she has no idea of the horrors she is about to face. A serial killer has set his sights on her and will stop at nothing to get her.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
Jessica is a complicated character. She’s still coping with the loss of her husband and her family’s opinion that she’s making a mistake leaving town to start over. When Jessica stops at a gas station she meets a stranger (Marc Menchaca) who asks a few to many questions like where is she going, where is she from, if she’s traveling alone. Of course, this automatically raises red flags. Every time she stops he pops up and it doesn’t take long for her to realize that she’s being followed.
I was both pleased and irritated during Jessica’s fight for survival. First of all, I truly appreciate that Jessica wasn’t some dumb chick we see in most horror movies/thrillers. She mostly makes good decisions. I like that the character is a normal woman, not some hyped up badass. But here’s my issue, and it’s not the fault of the actress but, I swear to god if I see one more woman tripping in a movie while running I’ll scream. Women are not that clumsy. It’s a stupid trope that needs to die. Also, Jessica is constantly either calling out or loudly moaning due to her injuries. If it were a real-life situation she would have quickly been found and killed.
Marc Menchaca does so well as the sadistic unnamed killer, but that’s what you would expect from “The Outsider” actor. In the movie, he’s cold and calculating, and completely relentless.
The Silence of the Lambs actor Anthony Heald makes a cameo in Alone as a hunter who comes across Jessica, injured and hiding in the woods. Unfortunately, upon running into the killer he is quick to believe the character’s story about Jessica being the killer’s unwell sister. Why is that this man will believe another man even with an injured, panic-stricken woman there in front of him? The character just assumes the man would be the one telling the truth. This rubbed me the wrong way. Why is it so hard for a woman’s assault and kidnapping to be taken seriously? The fact that the movie plays into this nonsense bothers me. If you came across a woman running through a remote forest, disheveled, barefoot and bleeding, in a panic and saying she’s been kidnapped and a killer’s after her would you believe her? Um, yes.
The vulnerability of women is a big theme in the film. For example how careful we have to be when traveling alone and that we have to keep our guard up when a man wouldn’t have to.
I found the characters and story interesting and I was cheering for Jessica. Alone will definitely keep you on your toes. It’s action-packed and the ending was a nice touch. But the movie’s quality was affected by old, played out, and too common tropes. It’s a bit insulting to female viewers. That’s why I’m giving it a 3 out of 5. Hunt down Alone in theaters and On Demand on September 18, 2020, from Magnet Releasing.
