Alone Time (2013) User Reviews

Stunning Short in more than one way

[jrneptune · 7/10 · 24 March 2019]

Gorgeously filmed and loved the solid acting from Rose Hemingway. Nearly no dialogue. It might be a bit slow paced for some people but the visuals will suck you in.

There is a twist at the end. I can not say more than that. Waiting to see more from the director, Rob Blackhurst and Rose Hemingway.

Based on an old urban legend?

[Coventry · 7/10 · 8 January 2015]

I usually don't comment on short films, quite frankly because I can't find sufficient things to write about, but this one spooks around in my head since several days now. When I finished watching the barely 12-minute-long "Alone Time", via the website of a Belgian magazine, it hit me that I know the plot from an urban legend that I heard at least 15 to 20 years ago already. It's extremely simplistic and without any notion of violence, but the idea behind it is disturbing and genuinely petrifying. A single and attractive twenty- something New York girl suffers from fatigue and heads straight towards a burn-out. Every morning she steps into a crowded subway train, on her way to another unexciting day at a colorless office. Writer/director Rod Blackhurst marvelously captures this familiar routine. The trains as well as the New York streets are full of people, but nobody speaks a word or even grants a smile to one another. There is one male individual that clearly observes the girl, but they don't talk, and every evening she returns to her lonesome apartment. Subsequently, the girl – Anna – plans a quiet and solitude vacation upstate New York, in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. She enjoys nature, swims in the lake and takes snapshots with a throwaway camera. Back at home, Anna suddenly sees the evidence that she wasn't alone up there in the mountains after all… I certainly don't want to accuse Rod Blackhurst of plagiarism, or anything, but I swear this story must be based on an ancient urban legend that got forgotten over the years. It definitely was a nice re-discovery, especially because the short film is sober and tense, and quite compelling from start to finish. As a viewer, you're ready for something terrible happen. And it does, but not in the way you expect. The Adirondack scenery is breath-taking and unknown (to me, at least) actress Rose Hemingway is a natural beauty.

The anticipation is the thing

[manningenglish · 10/10 · 25 February 2021]

Rod Blackhurst's short film "Alone Time" is nearly 13 minutes of a young woman doing the most normal things, yet nearly every moment is suffused with dread and anticipation. More on that in a moment.

We first join our protagonist Ann (Rose Hemingway) at a rooftop cocktail party where she is off by herself, lost in thought, clearly disconnected from the social scene. Then over the next several minutes of the film, we see her endure the monochrome NYC universe of cubicles, exhausting commutes, and sidewalk overcrowding. She is lonely, unfulfilled, and stifled by the concrete sprawl. We, too, want to come up for air. How much longer can she withstand such rote misery?

Ann is arguably a cinematic descendant of Travis Bickle, whose urban alienation she most definitely shares, but she is fundamentally wholesome and thinks in practical and decent terms for a solution to her isolation: a weekend camping trip in the Adirondacks. Now, the fact she goes alone is not a horror cliche but rather another layer to her personality. She is an introvert with a rich interior life and she needs to be truly alone in the quiet to recharge her batteries. I know many women like her, so this struck me as authentic, despite its obvious service to the unnerving plot.

Once Blackhurst's film moves to the mountains of upstate New York, the film is suddenly colorful, vibrant, and breathtaking. Ann's mood has clearly lifted, and we see that she is now enjoying a lifestyle more suitable to her spirit. This makes it all the more powerful and mysterious that we, the viewers, are now more unsettled than we were in the bleaker city scenes. Each shot feels like a warning. Each sound is suspicious. Something is definitely wrong.

The movie's brief, quietly spooky reveal is as mesmerizing as everything that preceded it, and you'll likely rewatch the film to catch what you might have missed. The thing is, Blackhurst and crew are so artful and subtle in their storytelling, you just might not spot all the clues. I haven't. But that's the whole point: powerful cinema works on the subconscious, and with smart psychological horror the damage is done long before the final details are settled.

nice

[Kirpianuscus · 28 May 2019]

It could be better. Because the final twist, the crumbs of the beginning are nice but not convincing. The story of a young woman in a short trip. A stranger watching her on the few moments behind the excursion. Few pictures and a thrilling discover. A decent and correct work who deserves a more profound exploration of details. But the atmosphere saves many.

Too simple

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 5 April 2017]

"Alone Time" is an American 13-minute live action short film from 2013, so this one will have its 5th anniversary next year. The writer and director is Rod Blackhurst and he is most known for his Funnyordie work and also his recent Amanda Knox documentary movie, which may have given his other works (like this one here) also a minor boost here on IMDb in terms of popularity. Anyway, this one here is a film about a young woman stressed out by her hectic (job) life in the city, so she heads towards the mountainside and goes swimming in a lake. That's all there is to it. Oh well, not quite. The ending adds a special note to it that lets audiences question everything before these final 45 seconds, but it just isn't not enough. The action in here could have been packed very well into 3 instead of 13 minutes to be honest. Good thing is that there is no dialogue here, so no matter where you are from you don't need subtitles, even if you don't speak English. But why would you really want to see it. It is inspiring to take some off-time I admit, but as film it is not working to a sufficient degree. watch something else instead.

Turned out fine until...

[Irishchatter · 4/10 · 25 June 2015]

I have to admit, the views were absolutely stunning when Ann came into the North River forest in New York. I would love to go there but I wouldn't really like to go on my own like Ann did. Heck, she'd be braver then me! Then near the end, she was looking through her photographs when she had a nice time camping around the forest. However, what was horrible when she looked through the photos? Like did she take the photos in her sleep or did the subway dude follow her? I honestly hate asking these questions to myself especially seeing a short film that won't explain what honestly happened. I find this annoying and I think there should've been more detail throughout this film, especially having more lines!