Deep in New York’s upstate wilderness, Ann, a young woman in her late 20’s, struggles to survive after a mysterious epidemic decimates society. On the constant brink of starvation, Ann leads an isolated and regimented life. Haunted by memories of her past she also battles the current bloodthirsty threat that lurks just outside of the forests borders, those that the epidemic has infected.
When her food stores run dangerously low Ann must make the desperate journey into a nearby town to forage for any remaining food. During one of these raids, a chance encounter brings Olivia, a teenage girl, and her injured stepfather, Chris, into Ann’s life and regimen of survival.
Learning that Chris and Olivia are trying to go further north, where the infection is supposedly contained, Ann allows them stay at her wooded camp so they can prepare for their journey. Initially reluctant to let her emotional barrier down, Ann relents as Chris’s affable nature erases some of the pain the epidemic and her past choices have caused. While Ann and Chris grow close, Olivia becomes bitter, feeling distanced from the man she has depended on for both physical and emotional survival.
As an uneasy tension grows, their lives are threatened when the protective forest is breached by the infected. Under attack, Ann is forced to confront her past and make a decision that will irrevocably alter their collective existence and survival.
Cast and Characters
Lucy Walters as Ann
Ann is 28 years old with dirty blond hair and piercing blue eyes. After the mysterious virus decimated society Ann, along with her husband and daughter, fled to the overgrown woods surrounding an abandoned rural community. Months later, she’s alone, struggling to endure and keep her practical disposition, necessary for survival, from splintering. Any warmth and kindness she once held from her time as a mother and nurse has been lost.
Isolated and fearful of the mysterious infected that lurk beyond the edge of the wood, she’s running out of resources. Plagued by memories of what she’s done in the past Ann is physically and mentally trapped. Somehow she persists, finding the strength and courage necessary to conduct harrowing, physically demanding raids to secure food from the nearby rural community plagued by the infected. Her ability to survive and her strong façade hide her tortured mental state. She continually wonders if her being alone in a fractured world is retribution for her past acts. After a chance encounter with Olivia, a teenager, and her wounded stepfather Chris, Ann’s daily existence and her mental state is on one hand supported, and on the other, threatened.
Adam David Thompson as Chris
Chris is wiry and lean after months on the move and sports a months-old dirty beard that makes his 36 years look even older. Before the virus hit, he was set to marry Olivia’s mother, but when she became infected Chris was forced to put a knife through his fiancées skull. Hitting the road with Olivia they struggle physically and strive to find a way North to where there may be a sanctuary from the virus.
Attacked along the arduous road Chris succumbs to his injuries and it is the chance encounter with Ann that allows him to recover. The cup is always half full for Chris who upon recovering begins to plan his and Olivia’s progress North. Chris takes everything in stride except the haunting memory of his mercy killing. He doesn’t forget that the those remaining need to remember their own humanity. He is hopeful even when the world around him doesn’t return the hope.
Gina Piersanti as Olivia
17-years-old, Olivia lets her emotions and fears get the best of her. She’s riddled with insecurity and dread at the thought of being left alone in a world she doesn’t have the maturity to process. She’s spent horrifying months on the move with Chris whose sheltered her as much as he can. He’s her security, her stability, and all she’s known since the virus broke. Her youthfulness and naiveté occasionally peek through as she struggles to figure out how she fits in. After Chris asks Ann to join them on their route North Olivia’s fear gets the best of her, controlling her emotions and the lives of those around her.
Shane West as Jason
A pragmatic man of 30, Jason doesn’t say a lot. He settled down to a life with Ann that didn’t always feel right but was expected after she became pregnant. His marriage was bound by circumstances and while love once was once there, Ann and Jason often don’t see eye to eye. When the virus hits, Jason acts decisively, fleeing with his family in tow to the woods surrounding his small hometown. Protected by isolation, and relying on his boy scout and park service employee background, Jason struggles to teach Ann basic survival skills while keeping his emotional control over a relationship that is starting to crumble.
Here Alone (2017)
Directed by: Elisabeth Subrin
Starring: Lucy Walters, Gina Piersanti, Adam David Thompson, Shane West, Holly Adams, Abel McSurely Bradshaw, Mary Guzzy, Aubrey Hart, Sophia Nickerson, Danielle Smith, Rebecca Spiro
Screenplay by: Elisabeth Subrin
Production Design by: Rob Ebeltoft
Cinematography by: Adam McDaid
Film Editing by: Rod Blackhurst
Costume Design by: Brooke Bennett
Set Decoration by:
Art Direction by:
Music by: Eric D. Johnson
Distributed by: Vertical Entertainment
Release Date: March 32, 2017
