directed by:
Adam Berardi written by: Adam Berardi, Clay Moffatt genre: Horror |
The only thing more stressful than being alone in an out of the way place - is not being alone in an out of the way place. Especially when the only other person just happens to be hunting you. Being alone is an emotion so often played upon, it's become a cliche in itself. Even without a killer on the prowl, loneliness can be brutal on a person. But not quite as much as being alone and in danger. That's why so many slasher movies set their locations in secluded places. There's no help, and no help on the way. What a brutal feeling. What a terrifying situation to be in.
Especially for Lexi, who is babysitting to earn some extra cash for a trip. It should be an easy gig, the baby is asleep and she won't be babysitting for all that long. The downside? It's out of town in the middle of nowhere. Everything is going good and Lexi gets the usual warnings. No parties, no friends and no boys. Obviously she breaks the rules - we all know the story here right? So after creeping herself out watching a scary movie, she invites a friend over. It's not long after that Lexi's life becomes a living hell. Hellooo Mr. Cletus! Now this, is the horror/slasher film we all know and have been waiting for - and we all know exactly what comes next. Will Lexi survive and get out with the baby? You'll just have to watch to find out. Clocking in at under the forty minute mark, this is a film you can enjoy even when strapped for time. If you're into this genre, all I can write is welcome to "Almost Alone" from writers Adam Berardi and Clay Moffatt. Props where props is due, and for this film that is definitely the sound design. "Almost Alone" just oozes with those slippery jump scare stingers. They're probably my favorite thing about this production. Them, and that weirdly happy and hellish mask. Sure - maybe that sub-bass tone is used more often than needed, but that's alright. Generally speaking, if you're looking to get the adrenaline pumping - "Almost Alone" will surely do the trick. And yet there are other things that just didn't quite do it for me.
First off, this feels like a tribute to older slasher movies. Movies that hit their stride in the B movie eighties and nineties. For the really low budget romps of that era, "Almost Alone" feels almost speilbergian - but for the higher budgeted ones, even now, it doesn't quite meet that mark. "Almost Alone" is stuck somewhere in the middle. Not quite sure exactly what it's aiming for. There are also some really strange script flaws, that could be eased by saying, this is how these movies go. But that just doesn't explain everything you'll see. Questions like why Cletus, the movies baddie, seems to walk around and around in circles a lot? Especially at the end, just before the baby starts crying. Or why he doesn't just kill Lexi straight away, like he did with everyone else? Literally. I kept waiting for this to be explained before the credits, but it never was. There's also strange scenes, that are strange because of how they were filmed, or put together. Right at the start as Lexi was receiving instructions from her uncle, it didn't even seem like the three people were in the same room. Save for a slightly angled look, they could have been talking to us viewers - only the dialog didn't allow for that. "Almost Alone" slightly suffers from this kind of weird editing, and awkward dialog and reactions. But if you're ready to hit that play button - you don't care about any of that. You care about the blood right? There is some blood effects here, and they're actually done pretty well. "Almost Alone" has a good atmosphere, some shaky camera work, a creepy mask and a touch of cheese. You probably won't buy into a lot of actions and reactions, but that won't matter. It's not going to bother you one iota - you'll be here for the jumps. Adam Berardi and Clay Moffatt's film won't redefine any genre or style - but that doesn't mean it isn't fun to watch. A decent film earning a three out of five stars. |
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