It Knows You're Alone (2021) User Reviews

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[cody_perkins88 · 2/10 · 27 September 2021]

This is the closest thing I've seen to the early-to-mid 2000s style of home video filmmaking that I can recall for a very long time; I'm thinking along the lines of the films in the Fangoria Blood Drive collections and homemade short films like that.

This looks filmed on a home camera and offers that specific vibe, complete with trippy graphic effects at the end which feel like they're ripped straight out of the aforementioned era, notably from the films of Wicked Pixel Cinema.

All in all though, despite its nostalgic vibe it didn't entirely win me over because I felt like I've seen everything from this film in countless other films over the last 20+ years but I am curious to see more from the director. It was eerie (and short) enough to make it through to the end but the ending "twist" has been done to death in the early-to-mid 2000's that this film loses points from me for that long-overused "twist."

Well that's 46 minutes of my life I'll never get back!

[raymondrphoenix · 1/10 · 7 August 2022]

The best thing I can say about this film, is that Bee Dawley has great breasts! I was tempted to replay the part where I fell asleep, but then decided not to.

I recognize Bee Dawley from other things I've seen her in! I hope she gets cast in projects with a better story line and dialog! This was beneath her!!

It only ever gets worse and worse.

[I_Ailurophile · 1/10 · 3 September 2022]

That this was produced by Charles Band's Full Moon Films says much about what to expect - surely at least in terms of the level it's operating on, if not also overall quality. I'll say this much: 'It knows you're alone' is incredibly direct in terms of advancing the narrative. The cinematography and direction are both astoundingly plainspoken, almost glaring, and the (mostly absent, and mostly unnecessary) dialogue equally so. The writing actively rejects any sense of subtlety; from one moment to the next I could only voice a skeptical "what?" Meanwhile, mind the completely gratuitous nudity; I can't help but feel bad for star Brandy Dawley. It seems she was told to expose her breasts, but not her soul, as filmmaker Chris Alexander did not require any detectable acting from her at all. Indeed, if Dawley or co-star Ali Chappell have any skills, one would never know it from this title, as this is one of the most unconvincing, uninteresting movies I've ever made the mistake of watching.

All this is bad enough, but the sequence that comes just after the 20-minute mark is so outrageously garish and ill-considered that any chance of enjoying 'It knows you're alone' just totally evaporates. Would that I could say it were the only such instance, but it's not, even though it's probably the worst. The loose sense of narrative is fine in concept, yet rendered laughably sterile in its hopelessly blunt execution. Nothing of major importance meets with any success here; I suppose one could say the filming locations are nice, but that's pretty much the full extent of any possible praise. In literally every other regard, I can only pray for the sake of all those involved that they weren't really trying; if there was real effort put into this feature, that doesn't bode well for anyone.

It never ceases to amaze that every time I think I've found the worst film I've ever watched, or will watch, another competitor rears its head. 'It knows you're alone' is an agonizingly strong contender in that dubious contest. There are arguably a couple halfway decent ideas scattered somewhere in these 46 minutes, but they mean nothing in light of the overwhelming Awful that this represents. I can only offer a blanket warning: by whatever bad luck you stumble upon this title, you should not watch it, and you'll deeply regret it if you do. This is one of the most wretched, abysmal, valueless piles of rubbish that has ever been imagined, and every person to ever live should know that 'It knows you're alone' is to be left alone at the bottom of the lowest pit in hell.

Weird and wonderful

[trebilco-02243 · 7/10 · 18 September 2021]

I really think we'll look back on this era of Full Moon with fondness. It's not what we expect, but it's completely entertaining. It's filled with awkward Euro-strangeness and music that seems to set up some good old-fashioned Italian gore. It might not get to the guts, but the atmosphere and wtf moments are worth the price of admission. Looking forward to more surprises from the Delirium imprint.

Weird and cool art horror

[Whisper2Scream · 7/10 · 8 August 2022]

I'm digging these little moody groovy horror things Chris Alexander is making for Full Moon. Really unique, rough around the edges lo-fi arthouse movies. This one has some great moments and moods as well as some creepy music. The Jess Franco vibe is strong including the use of some of Daniel White's music and Alexander using a Franco pseudonym to shoot the movie himself. These are the kind of horror movies modern fans hate but are totally up my eurohorror alley.

Calling on a dead phone

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 7 June 2023]

After finding an antique phone on a beach, Natalie (Brandy Dawley) begins getting calls from the unconnected phone and sees a woman in black (Ali Chappell, Parasite Lady, Necropolis: Legion) haunting her within her home.

Seriously, since I was a kid, the idea of an unconnected phone ringing and having a voice on the other end has haunted me beyond all horrors.

The beach setting calls to mind the clock emerging vampires of Jess Rollin while the way this was filmed, like so much of director and writer Chris Alexander's work, this recalls the videotape era of Jess Franco and I mean that with all the joy and goodness that it means to my brain. And because it seems like he's shot everything around Ontario - you can see the abandoned ship La Grande Hermine in one moment - if Rollin gets the French coast and Franco hotel conference rooms in Spain, Alexander is lying claim to his own place to shoot microbudget movies that seem to exist in a shoegaze length of time, stretching themselves to just have visuals of women in and out of clothing and colors blurred together and music lulling you into the kind of mental state that I've only found while shotgunning beers through inhaled smoke and a handful of whatever pills someone found in a parking lot. Again, I say this with all the magical spark that I can bring to life with my fingers and a keyboard.