Seldom does a film come along today that mixes shock, thrills, visceral moments, and an interesting take on a story on a budget like the D. W. Medoff-directed and written little gem I Will Never Leave You Alone. Other films hype that they are special, but this one delivers it without saying it and then some. The emphasis is on the quality of the written work, conveyed visually by performances, particularly that of Kenneth Trujillo as Richard, a man with a dark past who is released from prison.
Richard is paroled early, on the condition that he stay in a haunted house for six days and nights to clear it of spirits. Richard is mute due to the trauma of his crime and staying in solitary confinement, giving the actor a different dimension to play. The doors of the home are chained shut, and the windows are boarded up. If he breaks out, he will immediately go back to prison to serve out his sentence. The only communication is an older-style cordless phone in an upstairs room that plays a significant part in the film’s later stages. The madness and spiritual goings that await him each night make the film excruciatingly horrific, without fountains of gore.
“…a man with a dark past who is released from prison….”
Richards’s story of his life and criminal career is told in well-placed flashbacks that are segued to quite slickly in the film. In the past, Richard speaks and has a beard, along with an erratic, loving wife, Emma (Katerina Eichenberger). There is a subtle, yet brilliant, moment when you meet them and know they are married when Richard and Emma are eating popcorn and watching television. You can tell by the interaction and the silliness with the popcorn that these people are accustomed to each other. Stanley Kubrick did this in Eyes Wide Shut with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as a married couple getting ready to go out, using the bathroom together.
"…this is the horror genre at its best..."
