Alive is a 2018 horror thriller about a severely injured man and woman with no recollection of who they are who wake up in an abandoned sanitarium held captive by a sadistic caretaker and must find both their freedom and their real identity.
Let’s face it. At this point in the horror film scene, a lot of plots are about used up and director Rob Grant‘s latest Alive certainly feels as much. A single setting. Sanitarium. Amnesiac captives/patients. Ominous unknown captor. Been there, done that, right? However, what separates any see-through story from the crowd is how well it’s executed and what twist it can give, and especially for something set in one location, how engaging its characters are. Alive manages to nail all these elements well and successfully create an impressive little indie gem, despite a few distracting flaws.
By keeping its cast small, it allows time to give characters depth. We meet amnesiac patients/captives, one man and one woman, credited only as Man Patient (Thomas Cocquerel) and Woman Patient (Camille Stopps). There’s is a blank slate and as small specks of their memories come into view, the mystery surrounding them only grows, especially when faced with meeting their captor (Angus Macfadyen). The instability and genuine suspense layered into the villainous nature of his portrayal makes nearly every scene with him an absolute tense-filled delight. Even when he is off screen, his presence finds home in the shadows.
There is this subtle ‘unknowing’ to it all, wondering whether there is something more to what’s on screen, at the same time, trying to link what these two captives might have in common. Questions are endless. Its multiple layers make that more so, starting with proper suspense and torture porn sort of vibe. Blood streaks every scene. However, there is also this psychological angle, especially when it comes to who the captor is and what motivates him. And then, the film takes a turn, becoming game of cat and mouse as escape drives the story. To be sure, the finale is unexpected and in a surprising way.
Still, Alive takes a step too many. There are after credit scenes you need to sit through, and a number of unnecessary additions to the horror slow it down, feeling a little a cheap. It didn’t really need to because there is such a wonderfully executed horror thriller already at play and the excess is only distracting. Either way, it’s not enough to ruin the experience, making this well worth a look.
Alive will be showing at the BITS Festival on November 23rd at 9pm at The Royal Cinema.