This review of “You Won’t Be Alone” was first published on Jan. 22 after its premiere at Sundance.
The dismal arthouse horror-drama “You Won’t Be Alone” will surely test the patience of viewers who expect a straightforward, character-driven, or even generic period chiller. Set in 19th century Macedonia, writer-director Goran Stolevski’s debut feature presents a disorienting narrative about Nevena (mostly played by Noomi Rapace), a shape-shifting teenage witch who’s kidnapped and then haunted by the malicious “wolf-eateress” conjurer Maria.
The movie’s heavy-handed and often distracting impressionistic style — lots of too-tight extreme close-ups, wobbly hand-held camerawork, whispery stream-of-conscious voiceover narration, and over-edited montages — will understandably frustrate some viewers and draw comparisons to recent dramas directed by Terrence Malick as well as Robert Eggers’ “elevated horror” movies “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse.”
Stolevski’s pretentious and mindlessly alienating style also smothers his ensemble cast’s performances and his crew’s diligent contributions,...
The dismal arthouse horror-drama “You Won’t Be Alone” will surely test the patience of viewers who expect a straightforward, character-driven, or even generic period chiller. Set in 19th century Macedonia, writer-director Goran Stolevski’s debut feature presents a disorienting narrative about Nevena (mostly played by Noomi Rapace), a shape-shifting teenage witch who’s kidnapped and then haunted by the malicious “wolf-eateress” conjurer Maria.
The movie’s heavy-handed and often distracting impressionistic style — lots of too-tight extreme close-ups, wobbly hand-held camerawork, whispery stream-of-conscious voiceover narration, and over-edited montages — will understandably frustrate some viewers and draw comparisons to recent dramas directed by Terrence Malick as well as Robert Eggers’ “elevated horror” movies “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse.”
Stolevski’s pretentious and mindlessly alienating style also smothers his ensemble cast’s performances and his crew’s diligent contributions,...
- 4/1/2022
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
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