Alone parents guide

Alone Parent Guide

Stupid writing is bigger menace than zombies...

Overall D

Digital on Demand: Life for Aiden changes dramatically when a plague breaks out, turning all those infected into mindless, screaming zombies. But just before he goes completely insane locked up in his apartment, he spots a neighbor - an uninfected neighbor. But that doesn't mean his problems are solved...

Release date October 16, 2020

Violence C-
Sexual Content C
Profanity D
Substance Use C-

Why is Alone rated R? The MPAA rated Alone R for violence, bloody images, some language and partial nudity.

Parent Movie Review

The world comes to a grinding and bloody halt when a global pandemic erupts, turning all the infected into ravenous, psychotic killing machines, hell-bent on eating their living neighbors – and it’s not even an election year. For Aidan (Tyler Posey), this means months barricaded alone in his apartment, with the other tenants in his building trying to beat the door down. Running low on food, water, and the will to live, Aidan is ready to give up when he sees Eva (Summer Spiro) in the building opposite. Realizing that they might not be as alone as they thought, Aidan and Eva start to work together to find solutions to their problems – but not all problems can be solved that easily.

Alone has a weirdly consistent problem with remembering what it’s doing. At least three of the major plot developments make almost no sense when you remember anything else that’s happened in the story. Without spoiling too much, at one point Aidan breaks into a neighbor’s apartment to scrounge for food and supplies. Thankfully, said neighbor is a rock climbing enthusiast, and Aidan finds a climbing ax and a length of high-quality rope. Despite these useful discoveries, the next time Aidan needs rope, he ties bedsheets together. What’s even dumber is that the reason he needs rope is because he’s decided he can’t throw an item the same distance he’s thrown others before without a problem. It’s like the movie was written by three different people who had only a vague understanding of what the other writers did.

As zombie flicks go, this one is pretty inoffensive. Those familiar with the genre are used to a certain amount of gore – and while this film certainly has some blood and chewed remains, it doesn’t seem to want to show off the blood and guts. I have a sneaking suspicion that this has more to do with budgetary constraints impacting the quantity of prosthetic and makeup work rather than an aversion to violence, but the end result is the same. This still isn’t a film suitable for children, but older teens would likely not have a problem with it.

Alone is a humbling reminder that even Donald Sutherland has to pay rent – I can’t think of another reason why he’d be here. Worse, he’s only in the film for the last 15 minutes or so, which is especially tragic because he’s the best part. This isn’t the worst movie I’ve seen this month, but that’s in no small part because I saw Hubie Halloween last week, and Adam Sandler is always doing his best to irritate. Instead, Alone joins the shambling ranks of bland, unremarkable zombie flicks looking for a ripe, living market…

Directed by Johnny Martin. Starring Donald Sutherland, Tyler Posey, and Robert Ri'chard. Theatrical release October 16, 2020. Updated

Watch the trailer for Alone

Alone
Rating & Content Info

Why is Alone rated R? Alone is rated R by the MPAA for violence, bloody images, some language and partial nudity.

Violence: A character is shown attempting suicide. A number of individuals are killed and partially eaten. An individual is killed by a blow to the head. A man is knocked unconscious with a baseball bat. A number of people are shot in self-defense.
Sexual Content: There is a scene containing very brief posterior nudity and a scene of implied female toplessness.
Profanity: There are three uses of extreme profanity and twelve uses of scatological cursing. There are occasional terms of deity and mild profanities.
Alcohol / Drug Use: The protagonist is shown drinking alcohol, occasionally to excess. He is briefly shown smoking what is either a hand-rolled cigarette or marijuana.

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Alone Parents' Guide

Aidan initially struggles to come to terms with his new reality. How have people reacted to similar restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic? Do you think they would be more willing to obey restrictions if the consequences were more serious, as in the film? What are the effects of these restrictions?

Zombie movies aren’t usually just about zombies – what do zombies typically symbolize? How does that compare to their symbolism in this film?

Loved this movie? Try these books…

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson served as a loose inspiration for the Will Smith film of the same name. For a metafictional breakdown of the undead menace, The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks offers survival strategies, anecdotes, and supply lists.

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Alone movie is November 16, 2020. Here are some details…

Related home video titles:

There is a surplus of zombie movies available in varying degrees of quality. One of the better options, and one which also focuses on the debilitating nature of loneliness, is I Am Legend. Other zombie films include 28 Days Later, World War Z, and The Crazies. Onlyand Light of my Lifeshow a world stricken by a virus along gender lines, leaving women even more vulnerable than before. In Children of Men, the plague simply makes the human species infertile. A more humorous take on the undead can be found in The Dead Don’t Die or Zombieland: Double Tap.