Summary:

Doug is an obsessive stalker, fixating on a young Hispanic beauty named Amy. Using a staggering array of electronic surveillance equipment, he insinuates himself into her life, slowly gaining her trust and affection in an effort to win her over.

Steve says:

If a creepy film gets your motor running, you will love ALONE WITH HER. From its first frame, this movie establishes an aura of creepiness that never lets up.

The film begins with a printed prologue that essentially says, while stalking is nothing new, the explosion of electronic surveillance technology has given stalkers an entire new arsenal of weaponry to assist them in their manic obsessions.

Doug is someone clearly and deeply disturbed from the outset, so we are aware from the beginning that this is one dangerous dude. We follow him in the opening minutes of the film as he checks out one potential victim after another, finally settling on Amy Ruis, a single young woman, just out of a relationship with no one in her life except her loyal dog, Rocky. After following her home, Doug soon breaks into Amy’s apartment to install cameras and microphones in every virtually corner of every room in her apartment. From that point forward, he has total access to her life, watching her shower, sleep or just chat with her best friend on the phone.

I should note at this point that writer/director Eric Nicholas employs a technique that would seem to be almost impossible to maintain for the length of a feature film, yet he pulls it off. Every shot in the film is from the point of view of one of Doug’s cameras. Thus, traditional cinematography is out the window as director of photography Nathan Wilson intentionally employs the kind of sloppy composition you would expect to see in a surveillance camera. His replication of the look is spot on and convincing, yet leaves the movie extremely accessible. Indeed, it contributes immeasurably to the creepy tone of the piece.

Nicholas’ script and its execution are a triumph of imagination and creativity. This is a film unlike any you have ever seen before. And it will stick with you long after the end credits have rolled. Nicholas is a creative force to be watched.

Colin Hanks, (son of Tom) is completely convincing as the unhinged stalker whose entire life is a fiction, with virtually every waking moment spent installing and maintaining his equipment, then monitoring its output. Your awareness throughout the film of what a loose cannon this man is contributes strongly to the aura of suspense that permeates ALONE WITH HER.

Ana Claudia Talancón is a well-credited Mexican actress making her U.S. film debut in ALONE WITH HER. She is beautiful, vulnerable and very appealing, which puts the audience squarely into her corner from her first scene. I predict a successful career for this engaging actress.

Jordana Spiro is Amy’s confidant, Jen, who initially encourages her best friend to embrace Doug’s attentions. Then, after meeting him, she has some serious doubts. Spiro is fine in the role, allowing us a portal into Amy’s thoughts, doubts, hopes and dreams.

Sadly, ALONE WITH HER is only in limited release in the New York area, though the filmmakers are still in the process of seeking a wider release. This film richly deserves it and should be seen by a much wider audience. If that happens, do check it out. If not, put it on your future DVD rental list and watch it some night with all your doors locked and your lights on.

Five kernels for this gripping, highly imaginative work.

* * * *

PATTY SAYS:

Yikes! I’ll never again chat with another customer while in line at Starbucks without thinking about ALONE WITH HER. This film will make you take a hard look at any stranger who engages you in conversation and I think I’ll buy a copy for each of my daughters. It’s true….you never know who you’re talking to. He might be the sweet guy who carries out your groceries, or then again, he might be Osama bin Lookin. To the uninformed, Doug appears to be a gentle, geek-boy whom one might hook up with at Comic-Con or a Star Trek marathon. But gentle he’s not and Amy is like most of us. She takes Doug at face value. What she sees is definitely not what she gets.

Initially I was distracted by being limited to the vantage point of Doug’s cameras. I wanted a camera pan that would show me Amy’s entire apartment when she walked out of the shots. Soon, however, I was caught up in the space between Doug’s ears. And a creepy place that is.

Young Hanks rose to the challenge of playing a character that sets the dark tone of ALONE WITH HER. Even though the audience knows that he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, he is convincingly benign and sweet. Amy is easily convinced that he’s a socially challenged metromale and worthy of her affection. Hanks was convincingly passive while masking his true evil.

One should watch for the return of Ana Claudia Talancón to American cinema. She is a beautiful and skilled actor. Because Doug is “behind the camera” most of the time, Talancón is often alone on the screen. Not having the benefit of another actor to play off of, she deftly engaged me in the small details of her life that made Amy seem very, very real. It is the reality in the film that gripped me.

If you don’t like having the fine hair on the back of your neck prickling and your stomach tightening like when you hear your ex-husband’s voice on your answering machine, skip ALONE WITH HER. But do so at your own peril. This film will make you think twice about who’s watching when you think you’re alone in your bedroom.

* * * *

January 29, 2007