alone telugu movie review

'Alone' movie review: A daring experiment that becomes a tiring experience

The pandemic and the subsequent lockdown continue to be a source of never-ending stories that range from romance to supernatural thrillers. It has also proven to be a fertile setting for novel experiments. Alone is one such attempt—a single-actor film set largely in one location. It’s in stark contrast to the Mohanlal-Shaji Kailas duo’s usual larger-than-life mass entertainers that celebrate the superstar, his mundu swag, and the iconic meesha piri. In Alone, not once does Mohanlal wear a mundu nor does he twirl his moustache, but that doesn’t mean this film is short of gimmicks. In fact, it has a lot...

The narrative begins with Mohanlal’s character Kalidasan reaching an apartment complex in Kochi during the lockdown. After encountering some strange incidents in his flat, he starts unraveling a lot of mysteries. But all of this is before the final twist, which has become a routine in most Mohanlal films of late. However, his uninspired performance worsens things. There is a shade of eccentricity to his character, and it should have been a cakewalk for someone who aced similar roles in films like Ayal Kadha Ezhuthukayanu (1998) and Thalavattom (1986), but all we get to see is a pale shadow of his old self. At times, his mannerisms reminded me of the dismal Alexander the Great (2010), which arguably had one of his weakest performances to date.

Alone also has voice-acting by popular actors like Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Annie, Rachana Narayanankutty, and Nandu among others. Among them, Prithviraj’s Hari Bhai is the best-written character and it is enhanced by the actor’s delightful rendering of the Thironthoram slang, which sounds way better than what he did recently in Kaapa. In an ordinary film without any such experiments, the Kalidasan-Hari Bhai portions would have been thoroughly enjoyable.

Alone is somewhat similar to Jayasurya’s 2021 film Sunny in terms of how they both are single-actor films set during the pandemic. However, what distinguishes Sunny from Alone is the former’s superior technical quality. The film is ruined with tacky visuals and shoddy VFX, which is probably because the film was originally planned as a direct OTT release. The strange camera angles and sound design intended to invoke jump scares and a sense of spookiness hardly create any impact. Rajesh Jayaraman’s script has a supernatural angle to it, but it seems like the makers tried too hard to make it look like one.

Right from the intro sequence Shaji Kailas has employed all his trademark gimmicks—the zigzag camera movements, flashy cuts, and the unnecessarily deafening background score—resulting in a headache-inducing experience. In a couple of scenes in Alone, Mohanlal is seen wearing a T-shirt that screams the word ‘vintage’. But sadly, this film doesn’t even have a glimpse of the good old vintage Mohanlal or Shaji Kailas. To put it bluntly, it’s an experiment gone terribly wrong.

Film: Alone Director: Shaji Kailas Cast: Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran (voice), Manju Warrier (voice) Rating: 1.5/5

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షాజీ కైలాస్

సినిమా రివ్యూ : ఎలోన్  రేటింగ్ : 1/5 నటీనటులు : మోహన్ లాల్  ఛాయాగ్రహణం : అభినందన్ రామానుజమ్, ప్రమోద్ కె. పిళ్ళై    సంగీతం : 4మ్యూజిక్స్  నిర్మాత‌ : ఆంటోనీ పెరంబూర్  రచన, ద‌ర్శ‌క‌త్వం : షాజీ కైలాస్   విడుదల తేదీ : మార్చి 3, 2023 ఓటీటీ వేదిక : డిస్నీ ప్లస్ హాట్‌స్టార్‌

మోహన్ లాల్ (Mohanlal) నటించిన మలయాళ సినిమా 'ఎలోన్' (Alone Movie Telugu). జనవరి 26న మలయాళ వెర్షన్ థియేటర్లలో విడుదలైంది. మార్చి 3న డిస్నీ ప్లస్ హాట్‌స్టార్‌ (Disney Plus Hotstar) ఓటీటీలో విడుదల చేశారు. తెలుగు, తమిళ, హిందీలో అనువదించి అందుబాటులోకి తీసుకు వచ్చారు. ఈ సినిమా ఎలా ఉంది (Alone Telugu Review)?

కథ (Alone Movie Story) : కరోనా సమయంలో కాళిదాసు (మోహన్ లాల్) కొచ్చికి షిఫ్ట్ అవుతాడు. గేటెడ్ కమ్యూనిటీ అపార్టుమెంటులో ఫ్లాట్ తీసుకుని దిగుతాడు. అందులో తల్లీకూతుళ్ళు శ్రీదేవి, అను ఆత్మలు ఉన్నాయని... వాళ్ళిద్దరి మృతిని ఆత్మహత్యలుగా నమోదు చేసి కేసు క్లోజ్ చేసినా, వాళ్ళ మరణాల వెనుక మిస్టరీని తాను కనిపెడతానని రంగంలోకి దిగుతాడు. అసలు, కాళిదాసు ఎవరు? శ్రీదేవి, అను ఎవరు? కాళిదాసు ఎవరెవరికి ఫోనులు చేసేవాడు? చివరికి ఏం చేశాడు? అనేది సినిమా.  

విశ్లేషణ : 'ఎలోన్' స్టార్టింగ్ సీన్స్ చూస్తే ఇదొక హారర్ సినిమా ఏమో అనిపిస్తుంది. ఆ తర్వాత కాసేపటికి మర్డర్ మిస్టరీగా మారుతున్నట్టు ఉంటుంది. ఎట్ లాస్ట్, ఎండ్ క్రెడిట్స్ దగ్గరకు వచ్చేసరికి సైకలాజికల్ థ్రిల్లర్ సినిమాగా ముగుస్తుంది. 'ఎలోన్' ఒక్క జానర్ సినిమా కాదన్నట్టు... జానర్ షిఫ్ట్ కలరింగ్ ఇచ్చారు. అన్నిటి కంటే పెద్ద ప్రయోగం ఏమిటంటే... ఒక్క నటుడితో సినిమా అంతా నడిపించడం!   సినిమాలో ఒక్కరంటే ఒక్కరే యాక్టర్ ఉన్నప్పుడు సన్నివేశాలు గానీ, స్క్రీన్ ప్లే గానీ ఎంత పకడ్బందీగా రాసుకోవాలి? ఎలా రాసుకోకూడదనేది చెప్పడానికి ఎగ్జాంపుల్ అన్నట్టు 'ఎలోన్' తీశారు. మోహన్ లాల్ స్టార్‌డమ్ మీద విపరీతంగా రైటర్ రాజేష్ జయరామన్, డైరెక్టర్ షాజీ కైలాస్ విపరీతంగా ఆధారపడ్డారు. రంగురంగుల టీ షర్టుల్లో మోహన్ లాల్ కనబడుతూ డైలాగ్స్ చెబితే సరిపోతుందని అనుకున్నట్టు ఉన్నారు. సన్నివేశంలో కంటెంట్ ఉండాలనేది మర్చిపోయారు. 'నిజాయితీపరుల రక్తం ఈ భూమిపై చిందితే భూకంపాలు వస్తాయని తెలియదా? ఆ భూకంపాల శబ్దమే నిజాయితీని బయటపడుతుంది' అని ఓ సన్నివేశంలో మోహన్ లాల్ చెబుతారు. సన్నివేశంతో సంబంధం లేని ఆ డైలాగ్ ఎందుకు వచ్చిందని ఎంత ఆలోచించినా సమాధానం దొరకదు.   స్టార్టింగ్ టు ఎండింగ్ ఏ దశలోనూ ఎగ్జైట్ చేసే సన్నివేశాలు సినిమాలో లేవు. ఒక్క క్లైమాక్స్ ట్విస్ట్ తప్ప! అప్పటికి సినిమా చూసే ఓపిక నశిస్తుంది. కెమెరా వర్క్ బాగుంది. ఉన్నంతలో ఫ్లాట్ అంతటినీ బాగా చూపించారు. రీ రికార్డింగ్ ఏం చేశారని ఎంత గుర్తు చేసుకున్నా అర్థం కాదు.     నటీనటులు ఎలా చేశారంటే? : మోహన్ లాల్ (Mohanlal Complete Actor) ను కేరళ ప్రేక్షకులు, ఫ్యాన్స్ 'కంప్లీట్ యాక్టర్' అంటుంటారు. సినిమాలో ఆయన తప్ప మరో యాక్టర్ లేరు. రెండు గంటలు కేవలం ఆయన్ను మాత్రమే చూసిన తర్వాత ఏదో 'ఇన్ కంప్లీట్' ఫీలింగ్ కలుగుతుంది. కంప్లీట్ యాక్టర్ కూడా కంటెంట్ లేకపోతే కొన్నిసార్లు బోర్ కొట్టిస్తారని చెప్పడానికి 'ఎలోన్' ఒక ఉదాహరణ. నటుడిగా మోహన్ లాల్ మెరిసిన సన్నివేశాలు కొన్ని ఉన్నాయి. అయితే, వాటిని వేళ్ళ మీద లెక్క పెట్టవచ్చు. మిగతా నటీనటులు ఎవరూ కనిపించరు. కాకపోతే, గొంతులు మాత్రం వినిపిస్తాయి.

Also Read : 'బలగం' రివ్యూ : చావు చుట్టూ అల్లిన కథ - 'దిల్' రాజు ప్రొడక్షన్స్ సినిమా ఎలా ఉందంటే?

చివరగా చెప్పేది ఏంటంటే? : మలయాళంలో కాన్సెప్ట్ ఓరియెంటెడ్ సినిమాలు, మంచి కథలు వస్తాయని పేరు ఉంది. మలయాళంలో కూడా వరస్ట్ సినిమాలు తీస్తారని చెప్పడానికి 'ఎలోన్' ఒక ఉదాహరణ. ఇరవై నిమిషాల్లో షార్ట్ ఫిలింగా తీయాల్సిన కంటెంట్ పట్టుకుని రెండు గంటల సినిమా తీశారు. మోహన్ లాల్ ఒక్కరే తెరపై కనిపించేలా... ఒక్క పాత్రతో సినిమా తీయాలనే ఆలోచన బావుంది. క్లైమాక్స్ ట్విస్ట్ కూడా ఓకే. ఆ రెండూ తప్ప సినిమాలో సరుకు ఏమీ లేదు.  

Also Read : 'ఇన్ కార్' రివ్యూ : అమ్మాయిని కిడ్నాప్ చేసి కారులో తీసుకెళ్ళి రేప్ చేయబోతే?

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Tuesday , 9 April 2024

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Alone Movie Review: ఎలోన్ మూవీ రివ్యూ - మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ సింగిల్ క్యారెక్ట‌ర్ మూవీ ఎలా ఉందంటే

Alone Movie Review: మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ హీరోగా షాజీ కైలాస్ ద‌ర్శ‌క‌త్వంలో రూపొందిన ఎలోన్ సినిమా డిస్నీ ప్ల‌స్ హాట్‌స్టార్ ద్వారా ఓటీటీ ప్రేక్ష‌కుల‌ ముందుకొచ్చింది. సింగిల్‌క్యారెక్ట‌ర్‌తో రూపొందిన ఈ సినిమా ఎలా ఉందంటే...

Alone Movie Review: ఎలాంటి ఛాలెంజింగ్‌ పాత్ర‌లోనైనా అల‌వోక‌గా ఒదిగిపోతుంటారు మ‌ల‌యాళ అగ్ర న‌టుడు మోహ‌న్‌లాల్‌(Mohanlal). సుదీర్ఘ సినీ ప్ర‌యాణంలో మోహ‌న్‌లాల్‌ చేయ‌ని క్యారెక్ట‌ర్స్ అంటూ లేవు. ఎన్నో ప్ర‌యోగాలు చేసి ప్రేక్ష‌కుల్ని మెప్పించారు. సింగిల్ క్యారెక్ట‌ర్‌తో మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ చేసిన తాజా చిత్రం ఎలోన్‌. మ‌ల‌యాళ సీనియ‌ర్ డైరెక్ట‌ర్ షాజీ కైలాస్(Shaji Kailas) ఈ సినిమాకు ద‌ర్శ‌క‌త్వం వ‌హించాడు. థియేట‌ర్ల‌లో ప్రేక్ష‌కుల్ని మెప్పించ‌లేక‌పోయిన ఎలోన్‌ శుక్ర‌వారం డిస్నీ ప్ల‌స్ హాట్‌స్టార్ (Disney Plus Hotstar) ద్వారా ఓటీటీ ప్రేక్ష‌కుల ముందుకొచ్చింది. సైక‌లాజిక‌ల్ హార‌ర్ థ్రిల్ల‌ర్ క‌థాంశంతో రూపొందిన ఈ సినిమా ఎలా ఉందంటే...

Alone Movie - కాళిదాస్ క‌థ‌

కాళిదాస్ (మోహ‌న్‌లాల్‌) కొచ్చి సిటీలోని ఓ ఖ‌రీదైన‌ ఫ్లాట్‌లో ఒంట‌రిగా కొన్నాళ్లు గ‌డ‌పాల‌ని నిర్ణ‌యించుకుంటాడు. కొవిడ్ కార‌ణంగా న‌గ‌రం మొత్తం లాక్‌డౌన్ విధించ‌బ‌డుతుంది. మ‌రోవైపు కాళిదాస్ ఉండే అపార్ట్‌మెంట్‌లో కొవిడ్ ప్ర‌భావం ఎక్కువ‌గా ఉండ‌టంతో ఒక‌రినొక‌రు క‌లుసుకోకూడ‌ద‌ని రూల్ విధిస్తారు. కాళిదాస్ ఉంటోన్న‌ ఫ్లాట్‌లో ఓ మ‌హిళ‌తో పాటు చిన్నారి వాయిస్‌లు వినిపిస్తుంటాయి. . ఈ ఇల్లు మాది అంటూ అద్దాల‌పై రాత‌లు క‌నిపిస్తాయి.

వాటిని ఎన్నిసార్లు చెరిపివేసినా మ‌ళ్లీ మ‌ళ్లీ క‌నిపిస్తూనే ఉంటాయి. ఆ ఇంట్లో ద‌య్యాలు ఉన్నాయ‌ని కాళిదాస్ న‌మ్ముతుంటాడు. ఆత్మ‌ల రూపంలో ఆ ఇంట్లో ఉన్న‌ది ఎవ‌రో తెలుసుకునే ప్ర‌య‌త్నం చేస్తాడు. అందులో శ్రీదేవి అనే మ‌హిళ‌తో పాటు ఆమె కూతురు అను ఆత్మ‌హ‌త్య చేసుకున్నార‌ని కాళిదాస్ అన్వేష‌ణ‌లో తేలుతుంది.

అమాయ‌కులైన వారిని హ‌త్య చేసింది ఎవ‌రో క‌నిపెట్టాల‌ని కాళిదాస్ నిర్ణ‌యించుకుంటాడు. అత‌డి ప‌రిశోధ‌న‌లో తేలిన నిజాలేమిటి? నిజంగానే శ్రీదేవి, అను హ‌త్య చేయ‌బ‌డ్డారా? అదే ఫ్లాట్‌లో ఉంటూ కాళిదాస్ త‌న ఇన్వేస్టిగేష‌న్‌ను ఎలా కొన‌సాగించాడు? కాళిదాస్‌తో ఫోన్ ద్వారా ట‌చ్‌లో ఉన్న హ‌రిభాయ్‌, య‌మున‌, సుసాన్ ఎవ‌రు అన్న‌దే(Alone Movie Review) ఈ సినిమా క‌థ‌.

సింగిల్ క్యారెక్ట‌ర్‌తో...

సింగిల్ క్యారెక్ట‌ర్‌తో ప్ర‌యోగాత్మ‌కంగా రూపొందిన సైక‌లాజిక‌ల్ థ్రిల్ల‌ర్ సినిమా ఇది. ఎలోన్ సినిమాలో మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ త‌ప్ప ఇత‌ర పాత్ర‌లు ఏవి క‌నిపించ‌వు. కేవ‌లం వారి వాయిస్‌లు మాత్ర‌మే వినిపిస్తాయి. హీరోతో ఫోన్‌లో మాట్లాడుతున్న‌ట్లుగా చూపిస్తూ మిగిలిన‌ క్యారెక్ట‌ర్‌ను తెలివిగా మ్యానేజ్ చేశాడు డైరెక్ట‌ర్‌.

సినిమా మొత్తం ఒకే ఫ్లాట్‌లో జ‌రుగుతోంది. ఒకే ప్లేస్‌లో ఉంటూ ఫోన్ ద్వారానే హీరో మ‌ర్డ‌ర్ మిస్ట‌రీని ఎలా సాల్వ్ చేశాడ‌న్న‌ది ద‌ర్శ‌కుడు షాజీ కైలాస్ ఈ సినిమాలో చూపించారు. చివ‌ర‌లో మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ క్యారెక్ట‌ర్‌లో పెద్ద ట్విస్ట్ ఇచ్చి స‌ర్‌ప్రైజింగ్‌ క్లైమాక్స్‌తో ఎండ్ చేశారు. ఆ ట్విస్ట్ ఏమిట‌న్న‌ది సినిమాలో చూడాల్సిందే.

సింగిల్ క్యారెక్ట‌ర్‌తో సినిమా చేయాల‌న్న ద‌ర్శ‌కుడి ఆలోచ‌న బాగుంది. మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ లాంటి వెర్స‌టైల్ యాక్ట‌ర్‌ను ఎంచుకోవ‌డంలో ద‌ర్శ‌కుడు స‌గం విజ‌యం సాధించాడు. లాక్‌డౌన్ నేప‌థ్యం కూడా షాజీ కైలాస్ అనుకున్న క‌థ‌కు యాప్ట్ అయ్యింది. అన్ని బాగున్నా క‌థ విష‌యంలోనే ద‌ర్శ‌కుడు స‌రైన వ‌ర్క్ చేయ‌లేదు. స్టార్టింగ్ టూ ఎండింగ్ వ‌ర‌కు ఒకే పాయింట్‌ను సాగ‌దీశాడు.

రెండు గంట‌లు బోర్‌...

త‌న ఇంట్లో ఆత్మ‌లున్నాయ‌ని మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ భ‌య‌ప‌డే స‌న్నివేశాలు, ఇన్వేస్టిగేష‌న్ మొత్తం స‌హ‌జ‌త్వానికి దూరంగా సాగుతుంది. పేరుకే సైక‌లాజిక‌ల్ హార‌ర్‌ థ్రిల్ల‌ర్ అయినా అటు భ‌య‌పెట్ట‌లేక‌, ఇటు థ్రిల్‌ను పంచ‌క సినిమా(Alone Movie Review) చ‌తికిలా ప‌డింది.

సింగిల్ క్యారెక్ట‌ర్‌తో సినిమా చేయాల‌ని అనుకున్న‌ప్పుడు మెయిన్‌గా లెంగ్త్‌పై ఫోక‌స్ పెట్టాలి. ఈసినిమా నిడివి రెండు గంట‌లు ఉండ‌టం మైన‌స్‌గా మారింది. క్లైమాక్స్ ట్విస్ట్ ఒక్క‌టే ఈసినిమాకు బ‌లంగా నిలిచింది. కానీ ఆ ఒక్క ట్విస్ట్ కోసం రెండు గంట‌ల సినిమాను భ‌రించ‌డం క‌ష్ట‌మే.

మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ వ‌న్‌మెన్‌షో...

మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ వ‌న్‌మెన్ షో ఇది. ముందే చెప్పిన‌ట్లుగా ఆయ‌న త‌ప్ప ఈ సినిమాలో ఇత‌ర పాత్ర‌లు ఉండ‌వు. సింగిల్ క్యారెక్ట‌ర్‌తో ప్రేక్ష‌కుల్ని మెప్పించేందుకు మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ శాయ‌శ‌క్తుల క‌ష్ట‌ప‌డ్డారు.కానీ క‌థ‌లో బ‌లం లేక‌పోవ‌డంతో ఆయ‌న శ్ర‌మ మొత్తం వృథాగానే మారింది.

ప్ర‌యోగం ఫ‌లించ‌లేదు...

మోహ‌న్‌లాల్ త‌ప్ప ఎలోన్ సినిమాలో చెప్పుకోవ‌డానికి ఎలాంటి ప్ల‌స్ పాయింట్స్ లేవు. ఆయ‌న చేసిన ఈ సింగిల్ క్యారెక్ట‌ర్ ప్ర‌యోగం పూర్తిగా బెడిసికొట్టింది.

రేటింగ్‌: 2/5

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

A man named Kalidas gets stranded due to the pandemic lock-down when he travels from Coimbatore to Kerala. A man named Kalidas gets stranded due to the pandemic lock-down when he travels from Coimbatore to Kerala. A man named Kalidas gets stranded due to the pandemic lock-down when he travels from Coimbatore to Kerala.

• Shaji Kailas
• Rajesh Jayaraman
• 9 User reviews
• 4 Critic reviews

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia Shaji Kailas' son Jagan Kailas debuted as an associate director in the film.
• Soundtracks Life Is A Mystery Lyrics by Mick Garry Additional lyrics by Biby Mathew and Eldhose Alias Sung by Mick Garry

User reviews 9

• ngandacinema
• Mar 4, 2023
• How long is Alone? Powered by Alexa
• January 26, 2023 (India)
• Untitled Mohanlal Film
• Kochi, Kerala, India (apartment)
• Aashirvad Cinemas
• Confident Group
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 2 minutes

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Home » Review » Alone review: Mohanlal’s one-actor thriller needed more intriguing elements than stars’ voices to be engaging »

Alone review: Mohanlal’s one-actor thriller needed more intriguing elements than stars’ voices to be engaging

The only hurdle for Alone’s protagonist probably comes in the third act, but by then the makers begin to spoon-feed the audience and then straps it with a supposed ‘clever ending’

• Sanjith Sidhardhan

Last Updated: 12.27 PM, Jan 26, 2023

Story: Kalidasan, a motivational speaker, moves into an apartment in Kochi during the pandemic lockdown. Soon, he starts hearing voices – of a mother and her daughter. Those close to him, whom he reaches out through phone calls, blame it on his alcoholic tendency and the stress during the lockdown. Kalidasan, however, is convinced that there is more to it and ventures to seek the source of the voices and secrets behind them.

Review: A movie with just Mohanlal in it would have been a mouth-watering proposition for many while the actor was in his prime. His spontaneous expressions and presence alone would have carried the film. Alone, a single-actor movie helmed by Shaji Kailas, had the setting in place, even though the timing of its release is probably at least a year too late. But does it work? Not quite.

For single-actor films to truly hold the audience’s attention, an intriguing plot is a must. Alone has a capable actor in Mohanlal but the movie travels through so many of the protagonist’s quirks and acquaintances that the focus from its core plot veers every now and then. The central arc in the movie revolves around its protagonist Kalidasan, who shifts to an apartment during the pandemic lockdown, setting out, within the confines of the complex, to investigate the source of the voices he hears. With every step, he also unravels new clues and secrets, but without much effort and this again makes it a convenient flow of events. The only hurdle for Alone’s protagonist probably comes in the third act, but by then the makers begin to spoon-feed the audience and then straps it with a supposed ‘clever ending’.

To the makers’ credit, unlike the chamber thrillers that were released during the pandemic, Alone never feels claustrophobic. Even though the protagonist roams around with a disinfectant spray and the film is extensively set inside an apartment and its corridors, the character has enough space to move around. Even the distracting visuals of a sky view from the apartment, which is only on the 13th floor, add to that.

But a few constraints could have actually benefitted a single-actor film like Alone, which could have been edited better. The scenes, which details its protagonist making tea, omlette and even semiya payasam, could have been eliminated to focus on what is driving Kalidasan crazy in the first place. Instead, we have the character lingering in the corridors and spelling out alphabets, much longer than what’s required.

While Mohanlal is the only actor you see on screen, the movie has host of stars lending their voices to characters – not all of whom are pivotal to the story. For instance, Prithviraj’s Hari bhai, a criminal who has been transformed by Kalidasan’s motivational speeches, is integral because his character also gives you an idea of what’s happening outside Kalidasan’s world. Manju Warrier, Nandu, Siddique, Renji Panicker, Suresh Krishna, Baiju Santosh and others have all lent their voices. In fact, after a point, the audience’s focus could almost shift towards identifying who is the face behind the voice. Another unwanted distraction. The music of the film too, at times, becomes jarring because you have up-tempo music painting the protagonist as a ‘mass’ hero when none of his prior actions warranted it.

The third act of Alone is probably what salvages the movie a bit, showing another side of Kalidasan’s character. But again, it’s not a film where you should look for logic, even though the writer and filmmaker try to explain their rationale, in a haphazard ending.

Verdict: Mohanlal’s Alone was a film that was made for OTT, right after the lockdown rules were lifted. It would have benefitted the movie if the team would have followed through with their plan in 2021 itself.

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Alone Movie Review: Mohanlal’s one-actor film is a tedious watch

Director shaji kailas’ alone, starring mammootty, is a one-actor film that tries to be a thriller with a twist. but, it neither offers thrills nor the so-called twists have an impact on you, writes our review..

Listen to Story

• Mohanlal's Alone is directed by Shaji Kailas.
• The film graced the screens on January 26.
• Alone is a one-actor film.

Release Date: 26 Jan, 2023

Imagine a film with just Mohanlal in it. Known as the Complete Actor, the Malayalam superstar has redefined himself over the years. It’s an interesting prospect to have just Mohanlal in a film. The supporting actors appear only as voices. In fact, Alone reminds you of Parthiepan’s Othatha Seruppu, a film with just one actor. Oththa Seruppu received critical acclaim. But, will Alone turn out to be successful?

Kalidas (Mohanlal) is a motivational speaker, who moves into a new apartment in Kochi. Since he moved into the apartment during the Covid-19 lockdown, everything is dealt with in calls. Soon after settling into the house, he hears the voices of two people – a mother and her daughter (Sreedevi and Anu). Das has a strong feeling that there is a reason why the spirits are in the house. He soon digs up to know why he is hearing the voices.

Director Shaji Kailas’s Alone aims to be a thriller with horror elements. However, the film hardly has anything going to keep you engrossed. The film feels excruciatingly long as there are not enough elements in the screenplay. Once you start hearing the voices, you automatically know that these are spirits. By now, one can guess that the two people would have been wronged. Half the time, we see Mohanlal’s Das stating the obvious. After a point, you just stare at the screen wondering when this ordeal would come to an end.

Apart from the wafer-thin storyline, it is the bizarre camera angles that almost give you a headache. You get a crazy close-up of Mohanlal’s eye and a random shot of a pen's nib flying off. You see artificial skies and many unnecessary close-up and slo-mo shots with jarring music.

It is in the pre-climax of Alone there are some twists in the story. However, when the big reveal happens, you end up scratching your head rather than being surprised. Mohanlal tried his best to salvage this drowning story, but there was only so much he could do to uplift it. In the film, he’s drowning in alcohol, mouthing pop philosophies and romancing Yamuna (Manju Warrier). His camaraderie with Hari Bhai (Prithviraj), a retired goon, is an interesting bond that could have been explored better.

However, Alone ends up as an uninteresting affair with almost no meat.

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Alone movie review: Is Mohanlal in a race to give us the worst Mohanlal film yet?

It is heart-breaking to see an artiste who has made us laugh and cry and given us food for thought for years, wasting himself. Alone is zero-impact, zero-purpose fare.

Cast: Mohanlal

Director: Shaji Kailas

Language: Malayalam

Imagine being stuck alone in a haunted house during the severest, most restrictive lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic. Imagine feeling driven to help the spectres in that house wrap up the unfinished business that caused them to linger on Earth.

What you don’t have to imagine is writer Rajesh Jayaraman and director Shaji Kailas arriving at this promising concept for a solo act, bagging one of Indian cinema’s biggest names for their film, and then making a mess of it – you don’t have to imagine this happening since you can witness the unravelling for real if you choose to watch Alone that is currently in theatres.

Set in Kochi, Alone stars Mohanlal as Kalidasan who moves into a flat in a posh residential complex just when the Coronavirus first confined us to our homes. Kalidasan starts hearing conversations floating around within those four walls right away, writing surfaces on a mirror, and he decides to investigate the strange goings-on. In this quest, he has the help of various characters who – in addition to a friend, a therapist and a neighbour – don’t physically appear on screen but are only heard on the phone or on the other side of a shut door.

The illustrious voice cast includes Manju Warrier and Prithviraj Sukumaran.

A single-actor film set entirely in a single space places a huge burden on its central artiste. From the best of Mohanlal’s work in his over-four-decades-long career including, most recently, the Drishyam franchise, we know that if anyone has what it takes to deliver the goods in such a project, it is he. The chasm between capability and delivery has rarely been as wide – or as embarrassingly poor – as it is here.

Irrespective of the potential of the basic plotline, Alone is off-key from the moment it opens on Mohanlal’s mannered acting as he enters the condominium. The intention is, in all probability, to convey his character’s eccentricities, but the performance is way off the mark, coming across instead as fussy, cutesy over-acting no different from Lalettan’s work in that disgrace titled Monster (2022) and other mindless entertainers over the years.

Considering the premise and theme, Alone is a surprisingly crowded film. When the spirits in Kalidasan’s home are not speaking, his friend/girlfriend/lover is calling to check on him. When she disconnects, he is consulting one of his allies on the phone, making inquiries with the management of the condo, fraternising with his elderly neighbour through closed doors, or pulling odd faces. All through this and even when none of these are in play, the sound designer, music team and cinematographer are unrelenting. It’s not that the overall soundscape and background score are loud, but that they are never given a rest. And the camerawork is needlessly all over the place. Alone is bereft of silences and stillness.

If the team of this film wanted tips on how to handle a solo-actor venture, they need not have gone far. The Malayalam film industry itself gave us the compact, tightly edited, thoughtfully directed, well-acted Sunny starring Jayasurya in late 2021. Sunny was also set in the pandemic and was about a man alone in his apartment during the quarantine enforced on travellers just arrived in Kerala back then. The eponymous protagonist was dealing with various crises in his life, he was an alcoholic and he was suicidal. Director Ranjith Shankar was unafraid to leave Sunny alone with his thoughts. Alone is too busy trying to look busy and impressive.

The only point worth noting here is that Alone is different from Shaji’s last two films: the noisy, bombastic Kaduva and the stereotypical gangster saga Kaapa , both released in 2022. Different is not good though. Alone cannot be accused of being formulaic like the other two, it’s just empty, and its imagination took a vacation after the single-line description was written.

In recent years, Malayalam cinema has taken a lead in spreading awareness about mental health and normalising therapy in a way that no other Indian film industry has. Directors and writers have been persistent in this regard, with the likes of Kumbalangi Nights , #Home and Sunny foregrounding psychiatry in their storylines. This is important in a country where depression and other psychological disorders are stigmatised even today. Alone messes up even on this front with a random, thoughtless insertion of a serious psychological condition into the plot.

The two Big M-s have been pillars of the Malayalam film industry for decades. One of the happiest developments for long-time followers in the past two years has been Mammootty’s decision to go off the beaten track with the likes of Puzhu , Rorschach and Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam even as his overtly mass-targeted Bheeshma Parvam steered clear of the extreme misogyny and clichés that abounded in too many of his earlier films. Mohanlal, on the other hand, is floundering in the face of the new Malayalam New Wave . Last October’s Monster directed by Vysakh – featuring the star’s cringe-worthy acting as a Sikh, horrendous homophobia and its treatment of lecherousness as comedy – felt like an all-time low, but Alone gives it stiff competition for a top rank on the list of worst ever Mohanlal starrers. It is heart-breaking to see an artiste who has made us laugh and cry and given us food for thought over the years, wasting himself in this fashion.

Alone is zero-impact, zero-purpose fare. The point of its existence is a far bigger mystery than the occurrences in the flat where the story unfolds.

Rating: 0 (out of 5 stars)  

This review was first published in January 2023 when Alone was in theatres. The film is now streaming on Disney+Hotstar.  

Anna M.M. Vetticad is an award-winning journalist and author of The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic. She specialises in the intersection of cinema with feminist and other socio-political concerns. Twitter: @annavetticad, Instagram: @annammvetticad, Facebook: AnnaMMVetticadOfficial

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Home » Movies » Bollywood Movie Reviews

Alone Review

Star Cast:  Karan Singh Grover, Bipasha Basu, Zakir Hussain

Director:  Bhushan Patel

What’s Good: The use of all possible creepy elements such as wooden doors that make noises, swing and an overall horrific location. Interestingly, Bhushan Patel manages to infuse a good amount of suspense in the film and stretches it to the very climax even though one starts getting the hints quite early on. The visual effects are quite decent and it seems Patel is getting the hang of it with every film.

What’s Bad:  Well, I would say a wrong timing of intimate scenes that nearly breaks the link of a ‘could have been’ gripping tale. Also the spine chilling moments don’t come very often and more often than not it is the background score that gives away what’s coming, thus leaving you all ready for the scene.

Loo break:  Won’t miss much! Relieve yourself!

Watch or Not?: Alone is once again not an out and out horror film and so it won’t satiate your scary needs or give you nightmares. If you are a fan of Bollywood’s horror films then this one is worth your watch. Don’t even think of comparing it to its original Thai film by the same name, because I couldn’t watch that one without closing my eyes every two seconds. Alone is a decent weekend watch if you have nothing else to do.

Sanjana and Anjana are conjoined twins who swear to be together no matter what. Right from their childhood, the twins seem too share distinct personalities and while Sanjana is usually the loving and caring one, Anjana is somewhat spoilt by this. As years pass by and the twins grow old, the more and more attention that Sanjana gets, it creates insecurities for Anjana and jealousy steps in when both fall for the same guy, Kabir (Karan Singh Grover). Kabir falls in love with Sanjana and that’s unbearable for her twin sister.

Well, after years of losing her sister in an operation to separate them, Sanjana who is happily married to Kabir returns to her hometown Kerala, only to be haunted by her sister’s ghost. Whilst hurting Sanjana what are her sister’s motives? Is it just Kabir or something else? Watch to find out.

Alone Review: Script Analysis

I have to agree even though adapted; the film’s story is quite a breath of fresh air with a haunted twin as the focus. Alone has its own spine-chilling moments and in certain scenes the visual effects such as the ‘rotating bed scene’ almost takes you back to the Exorcism of Emily Rose. The story is well-kept and with a tinge of suspense it is gripping in parts.

The only problem is that once again like most horror stories this one too relies on the same old tricks and more often than not they are cheap thrills, nothing that give you a haunting experience. Use of Kerala backwaters as the scary location is a good move. Bhushan Patel gets better with his story and certainly he has gone a notch higher from his last Ragini MMS 2 .

All in all the story is a winner for the hero considering both the twins are not only obsessed with him affectionately but sexually too! At one point it seems as though all the ghost wanted to do was to sleep with Karan Singh Grover since that is the only thing that happens when the ghost possess a body.

Overall this one disappoints since it does not really break Bollywood’s streak of coming up with average, not-so-nerve-wrenching dramas.

Alone Review: Star Performances

Bipasha Basu is known to be the ‘horror queen’ and she does maintain this image of hers with Alone. The actress other than flaunting her hot bod in the normal avatar does a much better job when she takes up the ghostly garb. She is scary but sadly don’t let her speak is what I would say. Beware she might scare you off with her obsessive erotic thoughts. Well, after Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, all men may get scared of this one.

Karan Singh Grover debuts with this film but he still acts just like it is a TV serial drama. More often than not, he is stone faced in the film but the actor does best at flaunting his body and well that’s all for his character.

Alone Review: Direction, Editing and Screenplay

Bhushan Patel is certainly one of the better one when it comes to mixing erotic and horror in one film. In this one, thankfully he sticks to the intimate portions only with one song and that is quite a relief. The problem comes when there is a repetitive background score which may scare you for a bit but after a point it is just monotonous.

Also it would have been better if the director had introduced some fresh elements in the film rather than the same old practices of wooden doors reeking and utensils banging and of course why do people keep pianos in the house, for ghosts to come up and play in the middle of the night. The editing is fine as the film is kept crisp for most portions other than songs that could have been chucked since they break the overall link.

Alone Review: The Last Word

Alone at the end is quite a typical Bollywood horror film which will scare you in bits and parts. Of course it’s an achievement it does not get funny since we have a habit of usually taking it lightly considering the primitive effects they used earlier. For its special effects, its not exceptional but does a decent job of giving you minor jerks in the seat. I am going with a 2.5/5 for this film.

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Alone  releases on 16th January, 2015.

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Alone Movie Review: A daring experiment that becomes a tiring experience

Rating: ( 1.5 / 5).

The pandemic and the subsequent lockdown continue to be a source of never-ending stories that range from romance to supernatural thrillers. It has also proven to be a fertile setting for novel experiments.  Alone  is one such attempt—a single-actor film set largely in one location. It's in stark contrast to the Mohanlal-Shaji Kailas duo's usual larger-than-life mass entertainers that celebrate the superstar, his  mundu  swag, and the iconic  meesha piri . In Alone, not once does Mohanlal wear a mundu nor does he twirl his moustache, but that doesn't mean this film is short of gimmicks. In fact, it has a lot...

Cast: Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier

Director: Shaji Kailas

Rating: 1.5/5

The narrative begins with Mohanlal's character Kalidasan reaching an apartment complex in Kochi during the lockdown. After encountering some strange incidents in his flat, he starts unraveling a lot of mysteries. But all of this is before the final twist, which has become a routine in most Mohanlal films of late. However, his uninspired performance worsens things. There is a shade of eccentricity to his character, and it should have been a cakewalk for someone who aced similar roles in films like  Ayal Kadha Ezhuthukayanu  (1998) and  Thala vattom  (1986), but all we get to see is a pale shadow of his old self. At times, his mannerisms reminded me of the dismal  Alexander the Great  (2010), which arguably had one of his weakest performances to date.

Alone  also has voice-acting by popular actors like Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Annie, Rachana Narayanankutty, and Nandu among others. Among them, Prithviraj's Hari Bhai is the best-written character and it is enhanced by the actor's delightful rendering of the  Thironthoram  slang, which sounds way better than what he did recently in  Kaapa . In an ordinary film without any such experiments, the Kalidasan-Hari Bhai portions would have been thoroughly enjoyable.

Alone  is somewhat similar to Jayasurya's 2021 film  Sunny  in terms of how they both are single-actor films set during the pandemic. However, what distinguishes  Sunny  from  Alone  is the former's superior technical quality. The Shaji Kailas directorial is ruined with tacky visuals and shoddy VFX, which is probably because the film was originally planned as a direct OTT release. The strange camera angles and sound design that are intended to invoke jump scares and a sense of spookiness hardly create any impact. Rajesh Jayaraman's script has a supernatural angle to it, but it seems like the makers tried too hard to make it look like one. Right from the intro sequence Shaji Kailas has employed all his trademark gimmicks—the zigzag camera movements, flashy cuts, and the unnecessarily deafening background score—resulting in a headache-inducing experience.

In a couple of scenes in  Alone , Mohanlal is seen wearing a T-shirt that screams the word 'vintage'. But sadly, this film doesn't even have a glimpse of the good old vintage Mohanlal or Shaji Kailas. To put it bluntly, it's an experiment gone terribly wrong.

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2020, Mystery & thriller, 1h 38m

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Alone 's minimalistic approach makes this heightened thriller a gripping and suspenseful experience. Read critic reviews

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Alone videos, alone   photos.

A cold-blooded killer hunts a widow in the wilderness after she escapes from his remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest.

Rating: R (Violent Content and Language)

Genre: Mystery & thriller

Original Language: English

Director: John Hyams

Producer: Jordan Foley , Mike Macari , Jonathan Rosenthal , Henrik JP Åkesson

Writer: Mattias Olsson

Release Date (Theaters): Sep 18, 2020  limited

Release Date (Streaming): Sep 18, 2020

Box Office (Gross USA): $538.3K

Runtime: 1h 38m

Distributor: Magnet Releasing

Production Co: Mill House Motion Pictures, Paperclip

Cast & Crew

Jules Willcox

Marc Menchaca

Anthony Heald

Jonathan Rosenthal

911 Operator Voice

Nico Floresca

Little Girl Voice

Max Huskins

Bus Passanger

Shelly Lipkin

Jessica's Dad Voice

Mattias Olsson

Screenwriter

Ben Cornwell

Executive Producer

Martin Persson

Yeardley Smith

Kevin Sullivan

Jordan Foley

Mike Macari

Henrik JP Åkesson

Federico Verardi

Cinematographer

Film Editing

Nima Fakhrara

Original Music

Cait Pantano

Production Design

Jules Larrouy

Set Decoration

Ashley Russell

Costume Design

Sari Knight

News & Interviews for Alone

Best-Reviewed Movies by Genre 2020

The Indie Fresh List: The Devil All the Time , Alone , and More

Critic Reviews for Alone

Audience reviews for alone.

It does fall into some predictable visual and narrative tropes but the movie is undeniably tense for a good portion of the runtime.

There are suspenseful moments, but the story has no emotional weight.

"Alone" is a rock-solid thriller. If you are a jaded horror fan, you'll scream "don't do it" multiple times, and mostly, your wish is granted. Very well acted and tautly paced, it is a worthy entry in the "serial abduction and escape" genre.

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The first 30 minutes or so of John Hyams ’ “Alone” are promising. Jessica ( Jules Willcox ) packs up her U-Haul trailer and moves out of Portland, Oregon for parts unknown. Whatever parts they are, they’re deep in the wilderness. Jessica is running from Something Traumatic, as befitting all protagonists in this kind of movie. Her father is concerned that she’s left a day earlier than expected so that she could avoid any kind of verbal skirmish with her mother. Her mother calls her repeatedly, and when Jessica finally answers, Mom’s whiny nagging explains why a confrontation was unwanted. No matter. We never find out where Jessica was going, because her plans get derailed.

You see, there’s a serial killer on the loose. He’s a goofy looking man with glasses and a push broom for a mustache. He reminded me of an older version of the Simpsons’ Ned Flanders, one who has done a lot of things that require repentance. You would think the filmmakers went for this rather Everyman look to distract victims from his villainy, but the guy known as Man in the credits ( Marc Menchaca ) never once acts anything other than creepy. In his first in-person interaction with Jessica, he asks where she’s going, tries to engage her in conversations unbecoming of strangers and then points out that he was driving the Jeep Grand Cherokee that almost got her killed when she tried to pass him a few miles back. I hope Jeep got paid well for this particular product placement. I hope U-Haul did too, because when Jessica’s trailer gets a flat, Man shows up to beat her senseless, drug, and kidnap her. Jessica wakes up in an empty basement room conveniently fitted with a lovely beam of sunlight streaming through the barred up windows.

So far so good for a thriller. There’s even a halfway decent moment of suspense where Man torments Jessica about the devastating event that sent her packing. When Jessica pleads for her life, Man asks “do you think you’re the first person who’s done this?” It’s the last time Man will seem scary, which is a shame because the movie’s barely one-third over. We’re spared any torture or sexual assault, thank goodness, and Jessica easily escapes from Man. This occurs after Jessica overhears Man talking to Wife and Daughter on his cell phone. Screenwriter Mattias Olsson really wants to lean into the idea that Man is living a secret life, but honestly, why should I be impressed by this? “Dark, murderous secrets kept from families” is covered in Serial Killer 101 on the first day of class.

Any genre goodwill generated by Hyams’ assured direction and pacing is lost when the film introduces another character, Robert ( Anthony Heald ). Robert is stupid, as all characters like him are in this type of picture. Before he shows up, Jessica suffers a gruesome foot injury while running from Man, so I expected “Alone” to become a battle of wills between the two out in the big, bad wilderness. Eventually, it does, which makes Robert not only completely extraneous, but also living proof that a good guy with a gun doesn’t stop anything.

The dialogue Man is given to speak is atrocious. When the film catches him monologuing while trying to flush Jessica out of the darkness, his attempts at psychological torture sound amateurish and paltry. It’s to Wilcox’s credit that she so ably plays mental distress that she almost saves the scene. But when Man says, in the dullest voice possible, that “I’m gonna get you, you delicious f--king b---h!” my suspension of belief dissolved completely. And that’s before we get to the deus ex machina helicopter and the climactic phone call which, believe it or not, isn’t to the police.

“Alone” gives us little reason to care if our hero makes it out alive, but I have to give credit where it’s due: Jessica isn’t written as some damsel in distress. Though she does make a questionable choice or two, she’s more crafty and engaged than a standard victim. There’s a scene where she temporarily gets the upper hand with a tire iron, and when she crawls away, she has the good sense to take that tire iron with her. I laughed, because I didn’t think she would do that. It showed a true survival instinct. There’s also a scene where a potential savior, when faced with believing Jessica or Man, sides with the killer simply because Man convinces him Jessica is hysterical. I might be completely wrong in my reading of the scene as a statement on the patriarchy, but I appreciated the sting of the moment nonetheless. It gave me something to think about as the movie limped to its conclusion.

Odie Henderson

Odie "Odienator" Henderson has spent over 33 years working in Information Technology. He runs the blogs Big Media Vandalism and Tales of Odienary Madness. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire  here .

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Film credits.

Alone (2020)

Jules Willcox as Jessica

Anthony Heald as Robert

Jonathan Rosenthal as Eric

Marc Menchaca as Man

• Mattias Olsson

Cinematographer

• Federico Verardi
• Nima Fakhrara

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‘Alone’ Review: Catch Her if You Can

An emotionally fragile young woman takes a terrifying road trip in John Hyams’s bare-bones thriller.

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By Jeannette Catsoulis

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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Alone is the nasty little thriller you need to watch on Netflix

You know how everyone sucks at driving? What if there was a horror movie about that

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The internet is often accused of annihilating the personhood of other people, encouraging everyone on it to regard only themselves as whole, complex individuals worthy of empathy, and everyone else as pond scum. This is a dire read, but not an inaccurate one. Driving, however, should get some credit for doing the same first.

Behind the wheel, everyone else is a potential aggravation, a metal jellybean waiting to piss you off rather than a person. The anonymity of the road affords us the space to be petty tyrants; it also puts us at risk. Someone else can decide to reflect your perceived tyranny back at you. Annoyance can escalate to conflict. A fellow traveler can become something more sinister.

It’s important that Alone begins on the road. The minimalist 2020 thriller, now streaming on Netflix, leans into the archetypal sorting the brain does behind the wheel, immediately locking the viewer in on a primal level with its inciting incident. A woman is driving on a long trip through remote roads, hauling a trailer behind her sensible car loaded with all her possessions for a move. She tries to drive around a green SUV. The SUV accelerates, refusing to let her pass, and nearly forcing her into an oncoming truck. It’s frightening, and infuriating, but then she shakes it off… until she keeps seeing that same green SUV.

Directed by John Hyams (the low-budget auteur behind Netflix’s best zombie show ), Alone is a wickedly taut two-hander, with its lead, Jessica (Jules Willcox) slowly realizing with horror that Sam (Marc Menchaca) is not merely running into her out of coincidence. Mattias Olsson’s script doesn’t give much in the way of backstory on either character, but it hardly matters. Willcox and Menchaca are both adept performers capable of gripping you with their gaze alone — giving depth to Jessica’s growing desperation and Sam’s initially friendly menace.

As their conflict escalates, Alone — through spare dialogue and careful direction — becomes almost fable-like, less ambitious than, say, Men , but ultimately more successful. Jessica could be any woman. Sam could be any man. That’s why you feel your body tighten more and more as the film’s 97-minute run time races by.

To fans of direct-to-video action movies , John Hyams is a legend best known for 2012’s Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning , arguably one of the most provocative action films of its decade. In that film, Hyams established a visual style of bleak naturalism, a fondness for muted colors, and a distaste for medium shots. This brutally efficient combination makes his films feel hyper-real, uncomfortably so.

Hyams shoots in a way that underlines his characters’ psychological isolation, not just their physical one — dense forests are seen from above and from the characters’ perspective below. Bodies are blocked in a way that heightens their physicality, filling the screen or getting lost in it. Close-ups are reserved for pure reptilian moments of fear or adrenaline. While Hyams can dial aspects of this up or down — the gore and violence in Alone , for example, is minimal — the director is consistently skilled at visually triggering lizard-brain responses in the viewer, making him an excellent, if underappreciated, cinematic purveyor of isolation thrillers. Alone could be considered the middle entry in a loose trilogy of Hyams films about the subject, from Day of Reckoning to his most recent film, 2022’s COVID-themed horror film Sick .

These three films are wildly different, but there’s a similar nasty edge to all of them, about what happens when you allow inertia to blunt your sense of empathy. Alone is easily the most accessible of the bunch, beginning with a nigh-universal experience of road rage, and then slowly dragging its characters into the literal mud until its hero must violently assert her personhood in the face of indifference. It didn’t have to go that far, of course. But that’s John Hyams’ specialty: taking something casually terrible to its awful logical end. Like, for example, the petty tyranny of driving.

Alone is now streaming on Netflix.

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