2022 / 108m - Australia
Horror
3.5*/5.0*
You Won't Be Alone poster

Watches

May 01, 2022

3.5*/5.0*

Folk horror and arthouse seem to have found each other. You Won't Be Alone is the latest in a series of (often) Euro-centric folk horror films that stand out with more distinct direction styles, an aversion of straightforward narratives and familiar arthouse clichés. It's a pretty successful combination, but not quite as original as it pretends to be.

A mother makes a deal with a witch to come fetch her daughter when she is 16. The witch honors the deal. The girl is clueless about the world, but soon learns that she can take on the identities of the people she kills. She uses her powers to infiltrate the villages, learning what it is to be human.

You know you're watching arthouse when someone messed with the image ratio and the soundtrack has Arvo Pärt on it. I wish directors would try to be a bit more original, but when it comes down to it, they're just as predictable as their genre counterparts. The horror elements and lore are pretty cool, the atmosphere is on point and there are some memorable scenes, it's just a bit too cheesy at times to be a true personal favorite.