Here Alone (2016) User Reviews

Absolutely Brilliant...Until...

[nrossin81 · 6/10 · 17 April 2018]

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.

Ending sucks!

[radiqus · 5/10 · 4 October 2017]

*MIGHT CONTAIN SLIGHTLY SPOILERY STUFF!* Don't be fooled by all the 10 star reviews. This movie is average at best. Maybe slightly above average. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars, or 6 out of 10. Had the ending not contained crap about some hormonal teenager, and some misplaced sense of saving the life of someone who wanted you dead and letting the one who loved you die, I'd have given it a solid 4 out of 5 or 8 out of 10. It's still watchable but like the more discerning reviewers have expressed, the ending does suck

This is what The Walking Dead wants to be

[thejoudblitz · 7/10 · 1 April 2017]

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.

Fell Apart In The 3rd Act

[smasica-33426 · 15 July 2017]

Others have covered the film well in general, so I won't bother covering that portion.

*Spoilers Follow* The stereotypical bratty, jealous female teen is telegraphed shortly after she and her wounded step-dad appear. She develops an increasing case of the hots for him and a resentment of his attention to our heroine. She later prepares to seduce him. When step-dad and our heroine return from scavenging firewood and hook up in the car, she does a slow burn and you can see she's going to make a move to eliminate her competition. After step-dad convinces our heroine to come with them, she hatches a plan to get more food for the journey from a nearby house she'd been raiding. Step-dad will act as a decoy while she and hormonal teen sneak in and make off with the chow. While our heroine is busy grabbing the loot, snarky girl clubs her, ties her up, and screams for the zombies to come and get lunch. She then bugs out with the food with the zombies in hot pursuit. Our heroine frees herself, grabs her .22, and heads back to camp. Meanwhile Ms. Hormones gets back to camp, tells step-dad that the zombies got our heroine. At that point, about a half dozen shuffling dead show up and attack the two of them. He wades into them with a tire-iron and knife as one goes after Ms. Hormones. Our heroine shows up, picks off a few semi-dead. Both Ms. Hormones and step-dad are about to be bitten and our heroine is down to her last round. Who will she save? She flashes back to her sick baby who has come down with the 'Z' virus and she sadly has to euthanize the sick baby. Flash forward. Final scenes of dead zombies on the ground around the dead step-dad. Our heroine is now driving off with Ms. Hormones lying next to her with her head on her lap. Seriously? She chooses to let the step-dad die and she saves Ms. Hormones, who you with recall tried to feed her to the zombies. Now she drives off with her as some sort of surrogate new daughter replacement? What kind of baloney is that? *Spoilers Off* As I said, the first 2/3 of the film were quite good. But I had a feeling that like so many independent films trying to be cool and 'arty', they were going to wrap it up with some sort of twist at the end. This film could easily have been much better. I wasn't expecting the typical happy ending, but this didn't ring true either. Yes, she faced a dilemma. I didn't agree with the writer's or director's choice.

Very slow and gentle - not for everyone

[thekarmicnomad · 7/10 · 20 July 2017]

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.

hidden monsters

[weems-63-73506 · 6/10 · 22 July 2017]

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.

Mixed emotions about this one

[sfinancing · 4/10 · 16 July 2017]

This genre bender is tough to categorize. While the setting is post zombie-apocalypse(ish) this is certainly no horror or scifi film. Even drama doesn't really fit.

What it is:

A solid bit of cinematography on a low budget.

Reasonably well written with believable characters.

Well acted by all 3 of the main characters.

What it isn't:

Well paced. While the writer and/or director was obviously aiming for a slow burner this smolders briefly before going out. The plot is simplistic...survive.

Interesting. While it is(in my opinion) believably written, the biggest threat in the zombie-apocalypse seems to be death by boredom.

Engaging. While the characters are reasonably realistic, I really was hoping some zombies would show up to relieve the monotony.

Enjoyable.

All things considered, I cannot specifically state that this is a bad movie...it's just not a good one. I can't say I really regret seeing it, but I wouldn't recommend wasting your time on it either.

Low Budget Dramatic Horror Film

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 31 March 2017]

After an outbreak that turned the people into zombies, Ann (Lucy Walters), her husband Jason (Shane West) and their baby daughter flee to woods in the place where Jason was raised. He teaches his wife how to survive in the wilderness but their baby and he die. One day, the lonely Ann helps the teenager Olivia (Gina Piersanti) and her stepfather Chris (Adam David Thompson) that is seriously wounded to survive. When Chris is recovered, he invites Ann to move with Olivia and he to the North. However Olivia has an unforgiving secret about the death of her baby and she decides to stay. Soon Chris and Ann have one night stand and Olivia is jealous with the situation. When Chris and Olivia are ready to go, Ann suggests that they should scavenge food in a nearby farm. She goes with Olivia to bring food from the kitchen while Chris creates a diversion to the zombies outside. However things go wrong with tragic consequences.

"Here Alone" is a low budget dramatic horror film developed at a slow pace and non-linear screenplay. Lucy Walters has a great performance in the role of a lonely woman traumatized by the loss of her husband and mainly by the death of her baby due to a mistake she made. There is a sexual tension with Olivia, who is coming of age in a place and a time where there is no available male. The conclusion is pessimist and hard to understand why Ann brings Olivia with her. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

How Hormones Spoil a Movie

[Tweetienator · 5/10 · 2 April 2017]

Another contribution to the infected genre. Here Alone is on the whole a good movie - actors are playing well, settings etc. are reduced to the absolute necessary (small budget) but are sufficient for telling the story.

But in the sum Here Alone is just an okay-movie, it could have been better but imo the drama part (which is important for the movie) is just boring, foreseeable and an unnecessary addition.

MEGA-SPOILER The jealousy drama of the young girl because she wants the stepfather for her all alone and her betrayal part and the drama and all its consequences are imo so much of a cliché that it hurts badly. I just smell (or I think so) the mediocre, never-had any real problems in life writer writing this part of the plot. Really, you lose your kid and your man and than you just f*** without any (pill, condom) with the next guy coming around, so you get a good chance of getting pregnant in such a world without a doctor and stuff!? And the girl lost her mother some months ago and just want to take part of her dead mother in the life of her stepfather!? I don't know what writers today think, that ppl in unusual, dangerous surroundings just do the daily soap drama dance no matter that every bad decision could take your life. For me at least the psychological motivation of the girl was not believable - well, maybe she had already some kind of mental illness before the outbreak, this ofc I can't rule out ;)

Anyway, don't get me wrong - I am not prude or sth but imo many of the so called post-apocalyptic movies (The 100, whatever) have one main problem - the ppl still act as if they are spoiled middle-class kids (again I smell the origin of the writers) with no common sense regarding survival. In truth such ppl would be dead within a few days or a few weeks. Everyone who did some military service knows - group work and thinking is key for survival, and not ego-figthing-drama.

So to sum it up - we get an infected post-apocalyptic drama with a flavor of Ménage-à-trois and teen-in-hormone-troubles.

All in all - because of the good acting and camera, and the dark atmosphere a one time watch for the aficionado of the genre. Without this - imo ridiculous part - this could have been a better movie. A recent movie of that kind - The Girl With All The Gifts is imo a better choice, the masterpieces of the genre are way ahead of this flick.

p.s. I would have shot the infected figthing the man, after that he could have helped the girl against the infected attacking her. the dilemma was no real dilemma at all. the man's death is imo unnecessary.

Worth It! 7.5

[anthonyturno · 7/10 · 6 August 2018]

Good acting and an outstanding third act makes the slow burn build up worth. Good movie

One of those movies that seem profound but are in fact meaningless

[Sidhetaur · 1/10 · 14 July 2017]

This movie was pretty engrossing until the very end when it suddenly descended into psycho stupid. I wish very much I had not wasted my time with it now because it went up its own behind trying to be meaningful and just succeeded in being completely ridiculous. They managed to make me in a few seconds completely stop caring what happened to the characters. Whatever it was it wasn't bad enough to suit me.

Subtle and Elegiac Horror Film

[tonya-jarrett · 8/10 · 3 April 2017]

The narrative of a horror film does not have to have Bullitt's Mustang at full throttle every second or blood and gore fogging up the movie or TV screen. Films about people, how they survive, move forward, or at least try to do that are, for me, ultimately more interesting and more moving. With spare details to go on and information during flashbacks about the female protagonist, Ann, and her family (Jason and their baby) filling in, you are left to use your imagination about how an illness not named decimated the United States. Ann has been on her own for a year when we meet her and we watch her daily routine just to stay alive and away from creatures who were once human. Eventually, she meets two other survivors who fill up some of her loneliness, but inevitably with human beings and all of their quirks and hidden emotional turmoil, events shift rapidly.

If you can't watch stillness, listen to the sounds of nature, and let yourself be immersed, you won't be able to watch this film. Just know it's the stillness and beauty of the remote area juxtaposed with some horrifying moments that brings out the intensity of trying to survive day by day in this post-apocalyptic world. The actors who bring these characters to life are strong, mostly because they seem like real people, not actors trying to "be" real people. I cared about all of them and enjoyed the ride immensely.

Post-apocalyptic three-hander with minimal thrills

[jeremy corbett UK · 6/10 · 27 January 2020]

Caught this on Netflix, so didn't really shell-out to see it.

The long opening act is a treat: Survival in the wilderness - it turns out - is 50% boredom, 50% discomfort, and Ann seems to have got the hang of it, and seems to be doing okay. The first 30-40 minutes sketches in her daily existence and fills in a few gaps in her backstory, and is particularly well done, and superbly acted.

Then she encounters two other survivors who are clearly under-prepared and out of their depth in the wilderness, and she takes them under her wing. It would have been by far the better choice to have simply crossed the open road behind them and never looked back, but this being a drama (and drama requires conflict), she bonds with them and shares her camp, food and knowledge. It would have been the work of a moment for them to eliminate Ann from the proceedings, but the film wants to be about guilt and atonement (this is even a line spoken by one of the characters in the last act), so consequently choices are made that any sane person wouldn't make, and it all unravels in the last 15 minutes, as mentioned by almost all reviewers on here.

Other reviewers have also noted the movie's realism, but I'm not so sure about that. In truth, hiding out in a forest where food is obviously scarce wouldn't be my first choice, but keeping as low a profile as possible would be, so whaddya gonna do? Ann makes for a hard protagonist to be sympathetic towards, and even with getting to know her, she makes for a bit of an introverted bore. A well-acted bore, but a bore nevertheless. She is forced to do a terrible, terrible thing, and if we'd had more sympathy for her as a character, it would have been devastatingly affecting. As it is, it is merely uncomfortably sad.

Overall the production is handsomely mounted and shot, but is often way under-lit, as is the fashion for movies shot on digital. No expense was spent on the zombie make-ups, and I guess this is forgivable, given that they are just there to provide peril at various points. Tom Savini it is not.

On the plus side: Ann going about her survival chores. The scene where she leaves her baby in the car while scavenging for food. The atmospheric shots of the wilderness. On the debit side: The gratuitous use of the f-word in every dialogue exchange. The final 15 minutes which are seemingly only there to provide an unexpected atonement for Ann.

If you have a spare 90 minutes and you want to see an alternative to hiding out in a penitentiary or farmstead a la Walking Dead, then this one might just be for you.

Overall a No!

[Patient444 · 4/10 · 6 May 2017]

Sorry to say but I don't think this one managed to bring anything new to the table. Not a different direction, approach, same acting, plot and ending.

Probably for zombie fans alone, with a slow pace, almost no screen time for the creatures, just the human condition and the boundaries that are set to be crossed over. All in all, quite a slow burner, with not much substance, but possibly, for some, a step up in the execution. I for one was not pleased with it.

Cheers!

not so bad

[kiratsuki-l · 18 November 2021]

People who call this slow paced probably have the attention span of a crumpet or didn't really feel like watching a movie like this. The movie was fine, no wonder I don't trust imdb ratings anymore. This isn't an action packed fanservice zombie movie, it's a sad story about a woman who feels guilty for surviving.

Not bad for a zombie movie

[searcoldy-83705 · 6/10 · 11 April 2017]

I was expecting another one of those typical zombie horror movies -- I watch them for kicks -- but then I found, as the director said himself at the top of the page, that this one was more about love, loss, pain, and loneliness. More like a drama. I liked it.

The image of the little grave of the baby was a hard punch into my stomach. I was outraged at the teenager's betrayal, and when later Ann had to choose between the girl and the guy I was cursing out loud because I knew exactly what Ann would do and that I knew I would've done the same.

Love, loss, guilt, and pain changes people in such a subtle way; maybe we only get it when we've been there.

You can see there's still a lot of room for improvement though. Hope they'll keep it up and maybe we'll see something even better.

Interesting Independent Movie in a post-apocalyptic world

[ak-32212 · 7/10 · 31 March 2017]

Since I hate reading novel-like reviews just to get a general idea of a certain movie, I'll cut it short.

The movie is about a woman, who is struggling to survive in a world where a viral infection turns humans to aggressive beings, only led by their low instincts, attacking everything. Though the plot may led one to believe that this movie is mainly about the ''apocalypse'' itself, it is not. The main focus in this movie is the emotional aspect and the struggle to survive in a horrible situation with Ann, the main character in middle of it. As someone who is in love with this type of movies I always hated the term ''Zombie'' because it usually implied some sort of unnecessary gore/splatter. Although this movie has blood and one would say mild gore/splatter-moments, these are not distracting and don't appear misplaced in any manner, which makes the movie itself surprisingly realistic. The plot of the movie evolves slowly, but not too slow to lose any attention and making the viewer getting bored. The flashbacks of the main heroine add a worthwhile narrative structure and additional information. There are some intense moments, with minimal horror elements combined with mainly running and very rarely gunning here and there. The mixture of this genres & sub-genres make this movie pretty unique. At this point I got to admit the acting of Lucy Walters alias Ann pleasantly surprised me, almost made me feel a little embarrassed, I didn't know who that lady is.

Great actress, bad movie

[patrikbk26732 · 5/10 · 1 April 2017]

The lead actress was really good. She did a great job. This movie was really good until the last ten minutes or so. What was the meaning of the last part. what was the purpose ? If you have a good actress and a good setting, why not do the whole thing ? Make a great movie, it is all there, just do it ! Why mess it up ?

Not bad at all

[matt-sickle · 7/10 · 10 April 2018]

It is well filmed and acted. Overall I like the direction and pacing. It is a slow one so not for everyone. The one thing that held me back is that I thought The Survivalist did the survival side of things a lot better.

However this is still very nicely done and I would recommend.

No ending

[rdalessio-34769 · 2/10 · 14 June 2021]

Whatever one could say about this film, it doesn't mean much, because the movie is fatally ruined by the horrible non-ending ending. It is as if they were shooting the movie and their budget ran out half way through and they just stopped filming.

Here Alone review

[JoeytheBrit · 6/10 · 22 April 2020]

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.

Boring movie with an impressively stupid ending

[seamus-rae · 2/10 · 1 April 2018]

I have no problem with dumb movies, especially dumb zombie movies. But these movies have to be aware of their flaws and limitations, and embrace them. Movies like Re-Animator, Zombieland, and Return of the Living Dead all work despite being silly because they embrace their silliness through a comedic tone. This movie was made by inexperienced actors and filmmakers under the impression that what they were making was actually going to be intelligent, and it makes the film both extremely stupid and completely miserable. The characters are very simplistic and their arcs and interactions are all predictable. Most of the movie focuses on these boring interactions in an attempt to build character, but it is to no avail. The zombie rules make absolutely no sense and are very inconsistent, with the zombies acting on different impulses depending on the scene. Without spoiling anything, the ending is completely terrible. The amount of stupid decisions characters make in the climax is simply mind boggling. Every time anyone did anything in the last 15 minutes I was left dumbfounded. Of course the movie chooses a bleak ending, making it even less enjoyable since everything could have easily been avoided. All in all, this film is not worth anyone's time.

Not your ordinary post-apocalyptic movie

[IliescuVictor · 8/10 · 18 April 2017]

This movie is the perfect example of how a post-apocalyptic scenario would look like if it were to happen today. Or any other day nevertheless. I waited quite some time to see this movie and I can say it sort of brought me the joy I expected to deliver. The actors were really good, more than good, especially the one that portrayed Ann. Regarding the plot, it's not an action packed feature film but it has it's moments where it shines. The zombies were actually pretty decent looking and though you might expect to see them everywhere, it's not like that. But they are there, when you don't expect them to appear. One thing I didn't enjoyed was the ending scenes. I think that it could have been something different but it still added to the emotion. All in all, this movie is worth watching for it's idea behind it. It's different from all the other crap zombie movies and approaches this theme in a very unique way.

Slow burn that leaves you cold

[euphobic · 7/10 · 17 May 2020]

Well written, well acted. Very slow, with a dread that gets worse with every flashback. Very, very bleak. Good movie that I will never, ever watch again.

Introspective and very BORIIIING

[lucifuge2001 · 1/10 · 19 October 2017]

In a half hour the movie stops action goes so slow and things get bored to tears. I force myself to watch till the end and annotate the name of the director just to avoid his works from now on. Thanks for wasting my time Rod Blackhurst. There is no empathy with the characters their acts diverge from "real behavior" in an zombie apocalypse.