I Am Alone

First thing here is something I've noticed lately going on too often, and it seems especially with zombie movies. I'm a Z fan so I see lots of them. What seems to be happening is that some people get together and make an indie zombie movie with the usual small cast and low budget. Then some distributor picks it up and pays someone to make some jazzed up cover to drive quick sales or streaming. But the cover ends up misrepresenting the movie, usually by making it look like a big budget all-out action zombie flick when really it's totally different. That's what is going on here. Usually they put just about everything big that happens in the film on there like it happens all at once. In this case that's what they've done plus they added all kinds of fire and explosions and hordes and some kind of total Armageddon going on and it's not like that at all.The thing is, people who want something like that will be very disappointed by the film they actually get and that's not fair to the filmmakers or the audience. It's a bait and switch that may create some sales but create bad word of mouth for the film. This is a good film. It's a totally serious "infected" type zombie film (so they're not the undead and don't require headshots). The primary cast is only four people. It takes place in the back country of the Rockies in Colorado and the town of Montrose (population 19,000). It's there that you get the gradual unfolding of the infection and its rapid spread. You do get some crows running and a fairly large number of "zombies" plus a few digital fires and a digital helicopter or plane, pretty much the effects software everybody uses. It's effective enough but it's nothing like this cover. The zombie makeup isn't too much either, mostly red around the mouth.It's not a special effects film.It's a very well-executed, well-acted study of a few people in an unexpected major crisis situation. The Story: Jacob Fitts is the star of a reality show where he shows his survival skills by setting out into a challenging wilderness situation alone (using his own cameras) and his experiences get edited into a show. His crew of two helps him set out then go into town to interview the locals and work some local features into the program. When a ZA starts happening, the situation gets a lot more challenging than usual. At a certain point the town crew cameraman gets picked up by the CDC who take him to an underground bunker. This is how the movie opens so I'm not giving anything away here. The story is told through his interview with a CDC doctor while they watch his footage and Jason's found footage, so it's basically flashbacks. For found footage it doesn't shake too much for a change.What makes the film good is that it's filmed very smoothly and realistically so it seems like you're actually seeing documentary footage. I suspect the crew have some experience making actual documentaries because they really have the look and feel down. After what seems like horrible overacting in the first few minutes settles down into a very real character study, especially of Jason, the survivalist, who is well-acted by Gareth David-Lloyd. It's a fairly quiet for a zombie flick, but it's well-made and well-acted so you can get into it if you give it a chance. Just don't expect anything like the cover.

So... this is Bear Grylls meets zombies. That's probably how film makers pitched this little gem when they were asking their uncle the dentist to invest. The idea was pretty good, and some...SOME of the executions is quite good. The problem is some of the inconsistency, so the bits with our Bear Grylls stand-in are REALLY REALLY good. This guy is obviously a professional actor, he's likable and you can buy him as a semi-real TV survivalist like Bear Grylls... but then you cut to ANYONE else in the movie and their acting is so grating and awful and unconvincing made that much more by the professional acting you were just enjoying. It's like jumping out of a hot shower right into a wintery Alaskian forest and then getting slapped in the face. You might have been better off just overdubbing all the other actors with the professional actor doing different accents...Same thing goes for the special FX,Spoiler Alert: the main character is somehow immune or resistant to the zombie virus. When the main character gets bitten - it's really cool. Very creative zombie makeup, the bite area starts to get all veiny and forms really gross boils or tumors. Every other zombie looks like Party Express zombies!!!!!This film would have gotten C- but gets a boost to a B for the great performance by the Bear Grylls type character and the fun concept.If you are a long-time zombie enthusiast this won't completely waste your time... assuming you didn't pay a rental fee. You will find at least 65% of this video file engaging to your brain-meat.Happy Hunting!

10-16-17 I have to admit that this one was surprisingly GREAT for what it was. Held me to the last second.Anything you have against zombie movies probably applies but insignificantly. Anything you like about good acting etc will be found plentifully applied herein.And, DUH, why doesn't the marketing team brag about all the awards this thing has won? Get on it! I mean, really!

I agree that the cover is misleading. This movie is a lot more about the emotions of the people going through the situation with the infected than it is about fiery armageddon type stuff. When you factor in that this was a Kickstarter funded film, though, you have to give them credit. The ending wasn't very satisfying for me, but maybe they're hoping for a sequel? I just have a dislike for ambiguous endings because I feel like I'm being robbed of part of the story.Now, if you're a Torchwood fan, this movie might be traumatizing for you. It's like watching Ianto Jones die all over again, but in the worst possible way and with a lot more time to run the gamut of emotions. As we know, Garreth David-Lloyd puts all of his acting chops to work no matter how large or small the role is. He's done that here and there were points where I was having to fight off the memories of his Torchwood death scene. If I hadn't already invested so much attention in it, I might have turned it off to fend off the feels. That's the mark of an excellent actor. He excels at portraying every facet of his character. That's why I keep looking for other projects he's done so I can watch them. He can do a lot with not much of a script or production values.

You have to be a die hard zombie fan who will watch anything zombie related to "enjoy" this movie. They need to start issuing licenses so armatures can't make these things. To give credit, I did watch it until the end (fast forwarded a lot). It's like a car accident. You can't help but look.Unoriginal, horrible acting and camera work. Can't believe they were able to afford more than 5 zombies. They must have recruited friends and relatives.

I received the film, thanks. Lovely film.