Helen Alone (2014)

Left alone by her parents for the first time, a teenager finds herself on a 24-hour journey through the dark side of suburbia where an odd cast of characters all battle to control her fate.

Director:

Henrik Bech Poulsen

Writer:

Henrik Bech Poulsen

Stars:

Alexis Raich, Priscilla Barnes, Daniel Baldwin

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alexis Raich	...	Helen Olsen
Priscilla Barnes	...	Mrs. Straub
Daniel Baldwin	...	Jack
Nicole Elliott	...	Heather
Juliana Destefano	...	Ashlyn
Julie Oliver-Touchstone	...	Psychic Woman (as Julie Oliver)
Natalie Makenna	...	Roxy (as Natalie Wilemon)
Haddie Djemal	...	Fran
Michelle Ellen Jones	...	Britt (as Michelle Jones)
Jon Rivenburg	...	Mark
John Harris	...	Doug
D.C. Douglas	...	Mark's Dad / Announcer
AnnMarie Giaquinto	...	Mark's Mom
Chris Devlin	...	Chris Adam Thompson
Andrew Bourgeois	...	Jamey

Storyline

Left alone by her parents for the first time, a teenager finds herself on a 24-hour journey through the dark side of suburbia where an odd cast of characters all battle to control her fate.

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Plot Keywords:

female protagonist | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, language, drug use and teen drinking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sozinha

Filming Locations:

Houston, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shadowplay Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Interesting art house horror flick; an indie filmmaker's deconstruction of common tropes of horror genre, shot with tender loving care.

Caught this trailer late one night and remember getting a very eerie vibe while watching it. With a straight forward plot taken straight from a John Carpenter flick or any standard 80's/90's slasher movie (a young high school girl is left home alone for the weekend, where all kinds of mayhem ensues) yet shot in a much more eccentric way. There's a strong David Lynch presence, even a Nicolas Refn (spell check) at times, perhaps a Cronenberg influence, which is interesting (and refreshing) to see applied to the usual tropes and familiar plot line. It's almost as if this director is creating a horror movie with all of the usual subtext, the usual danger, yet due to a cinematography that cascades along the borders of homage/allegory/deconstruction, I found myself more freaked out but the directors vision of the genre; It's a unique film, due to an innovative/fresh approach to a genre loaded with stock characters, recycled set pieces, archetypal tropes, usual spin off plots. Very skilled, resourceful acting, and writing was strong too (look out for a big allegory) given the constraints of the genre. I think if Hollywood started putting filmmakers like this guy (you know, directors/writers who are hungry and clever, who seem to about making a film that offers an artistic statement and entertainment) we'd get some better movies. If you put actual director's (ones who are both artists and craftsman, not just technical A/V dudes) in charge of developing some new content, we'd get more unique cinema, and a big chance of a surge in quality, and ultimately sales would re-surge. I don't know if this movie is the next major indie horror masterpiece, but it was unique, original, well paced, and shot masterfully, and it was ultra cheap on the platform I saw it on. The big take away for me was, is that this is proof there is much

horror movies being made, because this tops the list of horror movies I've seen in the last 9 months. Hollywood is making a big mistake by not letting some new guys take charge of new content development. Until they do, it's sure more reboots, comic books, and remakes.

Would recommend to watch if you're a fan of quirky, dynamic, horror movies. It also has one of the Baldwin's in it, and he's pretty solid !

Tyler.