Filmed in the heart of the Adirondacks in New York State, Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award Winner Here Alone utilizes its locale to great effect. Capturing its rich vivid landscapes, be it rolling hills and mountains or lush forests surrounding a still lake, screenwriter David Ebeltoft and director Rod Blackhurst juxtapose the idyllic setting with a sense of loneliness, loss and secluded dread.
Though at first glance, Here Alone may resemble your typical zombie flick, it is, at its heart, a searing character drama, while the infected flit around the periphery.
Our main character is Ann (Lucy Walters), a young woman living by herself in the middle of a leafy forest which surrounds a chilly lake. The first portion of the motion picture plays like a taut, tense silent film, as we witness her struggles to survive. Lacking food, fighting the elements and struggling with her own pained past, she is utterly alone. By way of flashbacks, we are introduced to her baby girl and her survivalist husband Jason (Shane West), the one who brought her way out into the woodsy setting to survive. We slowly learn their fates over time.
Walters, who puts everything into her pained portrayal, is put through the ringer in this one. Demonstrating what is needed to survive, she must collect faeces to throw the infected off of her scent. When she makes runs for food, she must cut herself, gathering blood to draw the creatures away, which is then followed by her having to lather herself in the excrement. The small things matter in this dreary world, with each morsel of food and water, or a car or tent that can be used for shelter, being something that most would kill for. Ann also holds a rifle with four important bullets remaining.
As the woman returns from a food excursion, she runs into a teen named Olivia (Gina Piersanti), who is panicked as her stepfather Chris (Adam David Thompson) has collapsed on the road. After checking for rashes and realizing that they are not infected, she makes the difficult decision to take them into her reclusive world. The pair slowly recuperate in the serene setting.
As the trio settle in together, we see the humanity, and lack thereof, of the threesome. They have survived, yet not without much loss. Following a near disaster, they head out for another food run that will help stabilize their dire predicament.
Here Alone is a beautifully made movie that was filmed on a shoestring budget. Shot in sixteen days in a do it yourself guerilla style format, it captures the anguish and loneliness that the post apocalyptic world brings with it. Survival drives out our more humane behaviours and attitudes, making the remaining humans almost animalistic. With only a radio broadcast in French (without any subtitles), it is hard to fathom any world outside of this minuscule one.
Adding zest to the depressing plot, the arrival of Olivia and Chris brings back more human aspects to the characters, including love, angst and jealousy. In our world, what would be coined an illicit quasi love triangle crops up between the three, but it is completely understandable in this sparse new world.
Each actor/character brings something different to the triumvirate. As we learn more about Walters’ Ann, we discover that the forest is not only a safe place to avoid the ever growing apocalypse, but is also a tree-barred prison for her past losses and failures as a wife and mother. Thompson’s Chris also has a pained back story, but he has the ability to move forward, both seeing and feeling some joy in his new environment (bringing some light into Ann’s depressive state). Piersanti’s Olivia lands between the two as she has grown attached to her stepfather. Seeing Ann as both a mother-like stand in as well as possible competition, her character encapsulates teen confusion and angst.
Blackhurst utilizes sound and silence in wholly profound ways. It is always a risky option to push a film forward with limited dialogue for an extended period of time, though in this director’s capable hands, it feels harrowing and real. We are tossed into the story, knowing only as much as our secluded characters – which means that things occurring in the outside world are only whispered about.
There are certain movies that have a moment that unites the theatrical audience in one mass movement (it is a rare feat to make your audience cry, cheer or jump in unison). This film has two of them. The first is a complete shocker, while the second harkens me back to stories I’ve heard about the collective audience jumping out of their seat back in 1975 as they sat watching Jaws. Though they knew something was coming, it was still shocking, and Here Alone has a similar special moment. We, the audience, are on our guard, yet the entire crowd that I enjoyed the film with leapt halfway out of their seats – including myself.
I think it is prudent to also discuss the horrific, virus-filled figures. Coming off like a cross between Danny Boyle’s zombies from 28 Days Later … and some sort of vampiric creature (as they are driven by the scent of blood), these sparingly used monsters bring fright with them every time they are seen.
As a part of a special gala hosted by the St. Lawrence International Film Festival, the motion picture not only helped drive the festival forward to their next big event, but it also highlighted three talented filmmakers in New York State. Director/producer Rod Blackhurst, screenwriter/producer David Ebeltoft and producer/unit production manager Noah Lang were on hand to receive the Empire State Filmmaker Award. The event, hosted by television star Mark Valley (Human Target, Fringe, Boston Legal), was a wonderful evening that consisted of the film, a question and answer period, as well as a classy catered gala.
Far left, producer Noah Lang; next, director Rod Blackhurst; middle right, Filmizon.com’s Nikolai Adams; next, screenwriter David Ebeltoft; far right, actor Mark Valley
Here Alone is a worthy and more intimate addition to the modern zombie era. Though found in the middle of The Walking Dead craze, its micro viewpoint and more human perspective makes for a thrilling and often heartbreaking movie. It features some real gut punches that wrench at your soul as a human being and ends in a fitting way that reminded me a bit of Children of Men. The film making team deserves credit for this wonderful little gem of a movie. So, take a trek to the Adirondacks to discover how even the most pastoral setting can leave you screaming in horror.