Alone (2020)

We know the 'Cat and Mouse' genre ad nauseam, and I'm not talking about Tom & Jerry, but the kind where a male psychopath hunts a terrified female victim in a desolate environment.

Jessica, a woman in her mid-thirties who has just lost her husband, leaves her old life behind, embarking on a long road trip to a new home. Starting in Portland, Oregon, she drives north through desolate forests and soon discovers she has a stalker following her in a black SUV, eventually abducting her and locking her in a cabin, from which she manages to escape, but her troubles don't end there. 

That's all I'm going to say, but just you wait ...

Oh yes, we've seen it all many times before, but I was sucked into the story by the mood, the photography, the editing, the acting, the intensity ... in short, all of it. It's hard to put your finger on what makes this indie film by largely unknown director John Hyams better than most others in the genre, but it's probably because it focuses more on the acting performances than jumpscares and splatter effects. The man (Marc Menchacha) and woman (Jules Willcox) are perfectly cast, and in a minor role we see Anthony Heald, remembered as the friend Hannibal Lecter was supposed to have for dinner in 'Silence of the Lambs'.

"Alone" is one of the best thrillers I've seen in a long time. It's on HBOMax.