Not Alone in Here

Amazing pace, tension, acting and even the comic relief is well placed. Definitely Sandberg's most solid and mature short film yet.

I need to say that this short movie is pretty different but we can hear some thoughts with the voice over trough all the short. Pretty interesting and it can make us uneasy and have some funny situations. I enjoyed the end that make us understand that the situation is not what it seem.

'Not Alone In Here (2020)' is the first of Sandberg's shorts to include narration, which is used to give us an insight into the thoughts of the protagonist. It works relatively well, though it does sometimes do the heavy lifting when it comes to the flick's storytelling. The piece looks incredible; its cinematography is crisp and clean, while its camera movements work perfectly to create a certain kind of tension. The thing has a couple of comedic moments that don't always land as well as they should. It's also rather slow in its first half. However, it has a few solidly scary visuals and feels different to the director's other, often similar short films. It's a good effort. 7/10.

The premise is good enough, and relatable: You're home alone. You locked the doors; you know you did. So why is that door open when you look back a moment later?

We can all recognize the fright and paranoia that comes with the unease of not feeling secure in your own home. Lotta Losten plainly expresses what the unnamed protagonist is feeling.

And that makes her voiceover narration not only unnecessary, but annoying, breaking the atmosphere this short otherwise conveys. It's a choice. It's not a good one. Without it, 'Not alone in here' would be improved considerably.

The tension still tries to reassemble our shattered disbelief as the protagonist perceives things that tell her all is not right. Again, this is a moment we can all identify with: Even if it's something as innocuous as an article of clothing we ourselves had hung up, the slightest bit of stress can launch our lizard brains into panic mode.

I'm divided on the climactic jump scare, and I think the very literal last second of the film is altogether unnecessary. Combine these aspects with the glaringly disposable narration, and despite the casual promise of the concept, I'm no longer sure it was worthwhile at all. That which is of value here, we can find elsewhere.

Adding one final insult to this self-injurious affair, the very streaming platform where one can watch 'Not alone in here' spoils the climax for viewers with the thumbnail of the video that appears directly below this feature as we search for it. And that very fact perhaps best sums up this short all by itself: Someone didn't think this through.

It reminds me the stories by Edgar Allen Poe. This is its basic virtue. The second - the high realism and the impeccable performance. A great short horror, with powerful old flavor traces .