ReelBob: ‘Here Alone’ ★★½

A post-apocalyptic zombie-plague movie that is too leisurely paced and lacks intensity.

“Here Alone” is a post-apocalyptic zombie-plague story originally unveiled in 2016 at the Tribeca Film Festival.

It received limited theatrical release and now, because of the coronavirus pandemic, is gaining renewed interest.

Unfortunately, it is too late. A glut of these movies — as well as TV shows such as “The Walking Dead” and its offshoots — have flooded the market in the past few years.

And while “Here Alone” tries to set itself apart, it only partially succeeds.

Ann (Lucy Walters) survives in the forest after a mysterious epidemic has annihilated civilization. Ann struggles alone, having lost her husband and infant daughter in the plague’s aftermath.

She forages for food — berries and various grubs in the forest — and sneaking into abandoned homes to find canned goods. All the while, she is on guard against infected, bloodthirsty survivors.

“Here Alone,” directed by Rod Blackhurst and written by David Ebeltoft, is sparse. For the first 30-plus minutes, most of the limited dialogue involves flashbacks between Ann and her husband, Jason (Shane West).

Out foraging one day, Ann comes upon teenage Olivia (Gina Piersanti) and her injured stepfather, Chris (Adam David Thompson). She takes them back to her small camp where she tends to Chris’ injuries and provides shelter for the pair.

After healing, Chris decides that he and Olivia should stay with Ann for a while. It’s at this juncture that a feeling of tension slowly begins to simmer.

Olivia seems to begin resenting and grow jealous of Ann as she realizes a bond is growing between the two adults.

As Olivia’s feelings alter, so does the tone of “Here Alone.” It grows darker and shades of melodrama seem to hover over the proceedings.

The pace of “Here Alone” is too relaxed; it lacks urgency and — at 97 minutes — feels longer than it is.

Walters’ performance lays the foundation for the movie. At the outset, she is not much of a survivalist, questioning her husband’s decision to escape to the forest — especially since they have a baby — and, at times, resenting his efforts teaching her to hunt and recognize which berries and edible and which are not.

Walters paints Ann as a weary individual dealing with pain and regrets. Before the arrival of Chris and Olivia, she wore her isolation like a comfortable blanket.

Thompson and Piersanti are also solid. It’s the script’s latter stages that undercuts their work, especially the actions by Olivia when she and Ann return to an abandoned house to gather more supplies.

Ann had decided to head north with Chris and Olivia, a decision that upset the teenager.

“Here Alone” falters in the last act. It feels as if Ebeltoft’s original premise of survival and isolation was unsustainable, so he fell back on tropes from the genre.

In its final moments, “Home Alone” becomes a story of family connected by grief and loss rather than blood.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

HERE ALONE
2½ stars out of 4
Not rated, nudity, language, violence, sexual content