Alone (2020)

 Score: 2 / 5

You know those movies that are just unpleasant to watch? Ones that, even if the craft is indisputable, the content or tone make it anything but entertaining? They're different for everybody, but ones that come to mind for me right away are Deliverance and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Something about the gritty violence and lack of redeeming filmmaking elements make for an unforgiving and unforgivable viewing experience.

Alone isn't quite there, but it certainly approaches my limit. It begins when Jessica packs up and leaves Portland for the rugged wilderness of, well, somewhere. She's fleeing something mysterious and traumatic, as final girls often do in these movies, but of course she must be tested yet again by our standards. Very early in the film, we notice that she's being stalked by a mysterious man in a black Jeep; after some road rage "chicken" games, he returns time and again in her periphery. When he finally approaches her, he's as creepy as you'd expect. His character's credited name is "Man," so that tells you pretty much what you need to know. He's never subtle. He's a caricature of monstrosity, decked out with predictably grotesque facial hair and thick glasses.

Then comes the inevitable -- but surprisingly early -- assault. After sabotaging her vehicle, he smashes in her window, drugs her, and takes her to his basement. Once she awakens, he materializes to taunt her and question her about her life, her trauma. Thankfully -- an unexpected grace note in this one-note flick -- we aren't forced to watch any torture or sexual assault. In fact, right around the time I was expecting it, Jessica overhears him talking to his wife and daughter on the phone, lying about his whereabouts and doings. He seems almost normal, except of course for that moustache. "Man" is just a serial killer, apparently, rather than also a rapist or terrorist or pedophile, which is almost uniquely refreshing in the genre. Almost.

The movie progresses much as we expect. She escapes and flees into the Pacific Northwest wilderness, followed by Man with a gun hunting the most dangerous game. Though she's not quite dangerous, and her foot is injured early. As the movie drags on, Man's taunts and weak attempts at psychological torment become less interesting. Some of his lines are downright laughable. Thankfully, Jules Willcox imbues Jessica with enough physical strength to keep viewers interested, even if her wide, weeping eyes becomes tiresome to behold. She is never much more than a damsel in distress, even during her climactic attempt to steal Man's phone and call -- well, not the police. And despite occassionally good depictions of survival instincts, she is no Woman Against Nature icon; hell, she's not even much of a Woman Against Man icon. Which begs the question, why did the filmmakers think this movie was a good idea?

It's not all "bad", and I found it a diverting hour and a half on a cold day in quarantine. The most interesting part to me, other than the first 20 minutes or so, was when the only other consequential character shows up. Anthony Heald pops in for a hot minute; he played Frederick Chilton in The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, and he really should be in more movies. Unfortunately for his character Robert, an extra in a movie like this isn't long for the world, he is fairly stupid and panicky. What's interesting about him is that he has a gun. Though our national conversation hasn't discussed "good men with guns" in a while, the movie's most interesting scene suggests they are incapable of stopping evil intent.