You Are Not Alone

Director - Derek Mungor (Desolation Wilderness)
Starring - Krista Dzialoszynski (The Key), David O'Brien, and Mary Mikva
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror/Thriller
Tagline - "A first person thriller"
Format - Streaming (Online screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Watching the found footage serial killer film Agoni awoken that thirst for indie horror that I once possessed and I started searching even harder for unknown indie gems when I came across the Facebook page for You Are Not Alone.   The film is a horror thriller shot in the first person point of view.  This is slowly becoming a trend with Agoni following that same format, as well as, P.O.V. and Hotel Inferno.   I reached out to the film's Facebook page and they were kind enough to send the link to the film's online screener my way.  I knew nothing of this film before hand and ended up enjoying it.

     The film follows a college girl who visits her family and friends during July 4th.  She meets up with several friends, goes for bike rides, and then buys some weed.  They head out to a party where she becomes separated from her friends and drunkenly walks herself back to home.  The downside to this is the town is under a curfew because there is a killer on the streets.  She goes home and falls asleep.  She awakens a few hours later when she hears a noise and realizes that she left her door unlocked.  She rushes down to lock the door when she spots someone standing in her yard staring at her home.  She warns him several times to leave or she will call the police and he finally listens.  She goes back to her room but the man has found a way inside her home forcing her to flee to a friends house.  Once inside, her friend has a hard time believing her until he receives a knock at the door.  He answers it and the man rushes him with a knife.  The man kills him and gives chase to the young woman.  He is able to subdue her but she refuses to give up the fight.
     It's hard for a first person film, or P.O.V., to feel like an actual movie and not a found footage flick.  Agoni and The Cohasset Snuff Film had no other option than to make the film a found footage flick but the modern classic Hotel Inferno was able to break itself away from this and deliver a genuine movie that was in first person.   The acting in this one is great by the entire cast.  The girl portraying Natalie does nothing but speak occasionally but the remainder of the cast is great.  We get several characters with some depth and personality which is something of a rarity among indie horror flicks in recent years.  The cast is able to adapt those characters into their own and genuinely believable.  This film has a great cast and it shows.  The story for this one is a slow moving thriller that just creeps along until the end.  The story is not original but it is unique in the way that it is a first person perspective.  The story does build in suspense as the film went along which was great.  The film is able to convey some serious dread which is another rarity among indie horror.  Finally, this film lacks on screen kills that fans of horror are looking for.  The film flows more like a thriller instead of a horror film which explains the lack of gore.  The film is also void of practical effects which is one of the things that so many love indie horror.  Overall, You Are Not Alone is a fun film that has some great atmosphere that reminded me a lot of the horror films from the 60s.  The story is not that original nor does it have a body count but it is still a fun watch at night with the lights out.