Alone (Fantasia Fest)
**Seen for the 2020 Fantasia International Film Festival.
John Hyams builds tension as well as anyone for a good portion of “Alone.” Working off of a screenplay by Mattias Olsson, his thriller sets up and delivers tension comparable to Spielberg’s “Duel,” as Jessica (Jules Willcox) begins a trip alone to a new place to live. We hear her talk to her dad, who’s surprised that she’s leaving so soon, as she was supposed to help him out the next day. She has to get away, though, but that need to be by herself won’t really work in her favor as she gets a run-in with another car on the road. As she is driving, she continues to come into contact with the car, and its driver (Marc Menchaca). I get her feeling uncomfortable, and eventually, he reveals his intentions.
“Alone” begins so well that it really is disappointing for how much it seems to fall into an utterly predictable manner by the end. Hyams is a skilled director when it comes to keeping things at a simmer early on. We really do feel as though we’re watching a smart, suspenseful movie looking at the female experience of being stalked by a man who seems to be well-intentioned. Willcox does a pretty good job of getting us into the fragile mindset of Jessica, and later, the determination that she shows in trying to get out of the situation she finds her in. Unfortunately, the film has deteriorated into a typical suspense thriller battle-of-wills between Jessica and her attacker by the time the film reaches its conclusion, and loses any interest in keeping the film grounded in Jessica’s experience. In the end, “Alone” isn’t as good as it starts out to be.
