The first rule of Flight Club is to run very, very quietly; the second rule of Flight Club is — well, you get the idea. Jessica (Jules Willcox), the fleeing heroine of John Hyams’s “Alone,” manages to break that rule more than once; yet this minimalist survival thriller unfolds with such elegant simplicity and single-minded momentum that its irritations are easily excused.
Mercifully unassisted by the usual booming, screeching soundtrack, the story’s inherent menace builds naturally as Jessica packs a U-Haul trailer for the long drive to her father’s home in rural Oregon. A traumatic loss has set her on this near-deserted, forested highway, her pensiveness shifting to alarm when — shades of Steven Spielberg’s “Duel” (1971) — the driver of a mysterious black S.U.V. orchestrates a series of increasingly petrifying encounters.
Divided into five chapters whose titles could serve both literally and figuratively, “Alone” (a remake of a 2011 Swedish thriller) counters its unoriginal plotting with reminders that Jessica’s agony stems from more than her immediate ordeal. From dank basement to rain-drenched forest to roaring river, each punishing confrontation reveals a desire to survive that we sense she is only now affirming.
Scrutinizing Willcox’s changing expressions, Hyams (who directed last year’s fabulously zippy zombie series, “Black Summer”) gives her space to move and time to communicate her panic. He also gives her unnamed stalker (an effectively chilling Marc Menchaca) a creepy little whistle. And if the movies have taught us anything, it’s to never underestimate a villain who whistles.
Alone
Rated R for a knife, a needle, a tire iron and a gun. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on iTunes, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters.
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September 17, 2020 at 06:00PM
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‘Alone’ Review: Catch Her if You Can - The New York Times
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