Movie Review: Here Alone (2016)

Here Alone (2016) directed by Rod Blackhurst

A woman (Lucy Walters) is alone in the woods, living off the land as best she can. It's slowly revealed that a virus has wiped out most of humanity and all of civilization. She fled with her husband and infant daughter as the outbreak happened. Now she just walks through life remembering her past. Coming back from a supply raid, she discovers an injured man and his step-daughter. The woman helps. She brings them back to her camp where they slowly open up to each other. Learning to trust can be hard after so much isolation and loss.

The movie is slow and lyrical. The woods are idyllic and stark, a contrast to the morbidness of their lives. Long stretches go without any dialogue, making the actual bits of dialogue more important. The characters grow closer to each other and more of the woman's back story comes to light. Their plight is tough and her struggle to regain compassion and forgiveness is moving. The story falls into a familiar narrative arc in the last third, lessening the impact it has. The ending was a bit nonsensical and unsatisfying, even though the woman winds up in a better state just by becoming more human.

Mildly recommended--the story is fairly slow and ends poorly.

Parental warning: the movie is not rated. It has some gory moments but that's not the focus. There is enough f-bombs for an R rating and a surprising amount of non-sexual female nudity.