Zombie films have always been some of the most potent horror films, in part because the chaos and tension they create often feel the closest to what real world terror looks like. And if there was ever a time where a zombie film would strike an urgent tone it would be now.
After all, we are living in amid a once in a century pandemic caused by a deadly airborne virus. Is it turning people into flesh eating monsters? No. But the idea of a world with dwindling supplies and an increasingly agitated populace doesn't feel too far off.
Alone, a bland new zombie movie which at least looks as if it may have been produced amid the pandemic, could have seized this moment to say something timely about how society can break down in a situation like this, but instead it does almost nothing new and decides to saddle us with two uncharismatic leads.
Tyler Posey, the nominal and perpetually shirtless hero, gets the most screen-time and does little with it besides obnoxiously monologuing to himself and moping around his mostly impenetrable apartment. We learn little about Posey accept he that he has a lot of tattoos and like surfing.
He cries a lot, contemplates suicide and almost immediately falls in love with a chipper neighbor (Summer Spiro) simply because they have a meet cute across balconies as zombies cavort below them.
As slow moving as the first half of the movie is, there are at least some decent zombie scares and chases to watch but once Spiro and Posey start bonding the whole thing collapses into jaw dropping amateurism. Neither character is particularly well drawn or played and their 'romance' is simply a plot contrivance that feels rushed and inauthentic.
In fact, only one thing is this movie works -- a striking, extended scene featuring the legendary Donald Sutherland, as another survivor of the zombie outbreak with a secret. Sutherland is so effortlessly compelling and avuncular in an abbreviated appearance. He makes Posey better. He makes the movie more intriguing and hints at a more ambitious movie that could have been,
But sadly, his role is little more than an extended cameo. He deserved better and audiences deserve better too.
We have seen so many iterations of the zombie movie -- even comedies -- and it's become so much a part of our culture that we've got long running TV series that revolve around them. So for me, and I suspect a lot of other people, that bar is pretty high to keep these kinds of films fresh and exciting.
I have no idea why the makers of Alone thought they were invigorating the formula. It has a few nifty moments and one strong performance, but that does not make a movie a must-see.
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