cPOP Universe

In a world with to many Zombie flicks can Alone stand out?

I'll admit it, I love Zombie movies. There's something about them and their look at the human condition during a crisis that draws me in. From the terrible indie produced cesspool versions to the masterpieces, I just can't seem to pass one up. It could be a curse or a blessing, but thankfully there's plenty from which to indulge.

Alone is a 2020 American zombie film starring Tyler Posey and Donald Sutherland. (The latter is the reason I chose to watch the film.) The film follows Aidan as he wakes up to a zombie pandemic to discover he is trapped in his apartment and you guessed it....he's alone.

As I watched the story unfold I couldn't help but recall the Korean zombie movie #ALIVE that played out in almost the same exact story beats. It was so identical down to the set design and even the tiniest plot points that I had to get on my google machine to see who got sued for it. As it turns out Matt Naylor who co-wrote the screenplay for #ALIVE also provided it for Alone. So I guess it makes sense to do another? But did he improve upon the formula?

The story is simplistic. After only 42 days alone, Aidan decides he's had enough and tries too end his life. I thought my wife was an extrovert, but this dude takes it to another level. He apparently did not live through 2020. But just as he is about to cross that line, he looks across the apartment complex to see Eva, played by Summer Spiro, looking back at him. His desire to connect to her will be his driving force throughout the movie.

Zombie movies have clearly evolved over the past decade. They went from just getting through the zombie movie alive to deeper character studies. I don't know that they accomplish that here however. Aidan's complete growth happens the moment he sees his attractive neighbor very early in the movie. From that point on, it's a nice mix of zombie action and a love story but nothing that screams deep character growth. What you get is a man driven solely on his need for companionship become braver, but more reckless, as time passes.

Tyler Posey, who plays Aiden, will have to shoulder the majority of the work as we will see things from only his perspective. As the story progressed, so did his performance. The emotion written into the script after meeting his neighbor gave him more into which to sink his teeth. Donald Sutherland didn't let me down either. Even though we don't meet him until the third act, it was worth the wait to see a screen legend go to work.

The special effects are serviceable here. The zombies look like zombies. The shots the director chose aren't atrocious, and the music didn't make me want to kick a wall. I'm not a purist when it comes to this genre. I want to see it continually evolve. I was happy to see that director Johnny Martin went with something more threatening then the slow lumbering moving zombies of the past. These monsters run, climb, and jump there way to get to the prey. He added a neat little slant on them which I appreciated. The human behind the zombie knows what they are doing but can't control their body movements. He reinforces that throughout the film when you hear many of them ask their victims to kill them while aggressively try to get to those sweet brains.

At the end of the day I just want to enjoy the ride with my zombie flicks. It may sound like Alone failed to provide that to me, but in fact I enjoyed it quite a bit. I found myself rooting for the couple to find an end to their misery, not the zombies, but the fact that being alone was something neither could handle very well. Something that drove them to take unnecessary risks to find a way to be together. The story doesn't take the easy way out at the end either. It leaves room for hope. A much needed change to the genre.

The writer made vast improvements from his Korean version of this film #Alive. I want to see more from him, although a new plot would be welcome. Third time won't be the charm for this one.

I'm giving this one a POP. You can find it on Amazon Prime at the moment.