Alone

This movie is written by the same writer who came up with the Korean zombie horror movie #Alive, and while the two have a similar story arc, the former is the better of the two. The biggest difference, and the difference that keeps Alone from being as good as #Alive, is that the latter was far more willing to explore the connections between their fictional world and the Covid-19 world we're living through in 2020, and the former replaces it with -- you guessed it -- more zombie-killing action. There's also something more appealing in rooting for the socially awkward gamer of #Alive trying to survive a dystopian pandemic versus the handsome surfer dude of Alone, whose "before time" life seems to consist of smoking weed and having one-night stands. Especially when they meet their female counterpart after weeks in total isolation.

That said, Alone can be enjoyed on its own terms. As the lead character, Tyler Posey is clearly fully immersed in the deteriorating mental and emotional state of a young man torn up and traumatized. In the interactions between Posey's character and Eva (played by Summer Spiro), that sense of the innate human desire for simple interaction comes through, even if at times their muted and clandestine conversation comes across as the unlikely opposites of a dystopian romcom. And of course Donald Sutherland is amazing, and his performance brings the story the closest to the deeper themes that come through in the original movie.