Some of the most tantalizing entries in the thriller genre are those films that forgo extensive backstory and exposition, and instead build increasingly gripping tension between the protagonist and antagonist on screen. That’s certainly the case for the new drama, ‘Alone,’ which was directed and edited by action genre filmmaker and television helmer, John Hyams.
The director’s latest project is driven by its sheer confidence in the simplicity of its story, which was penned by screenwriter Mattias Olsson. The scribe effortlessly showcased the power of minimalism in ‘Alone,’ which thrives on the imminent physical and emotional conflict between the heroine and villain, who were played by Jules Willcox and Marc Menchaca.
The suspense-driven movie celebrates the genre by delving straight to the fragile core of the human experience. It examines the stages of grief as a one-on-one battle for survival between Willcox and Menchaca’s equally strong-willed characters.
Olsson wrote and co-directed the 2011 Swedish feature, ‘Försvunnen,’ which is translated to ‘Gone’ in English, and serves as the inspiration for ‘Alone.’ The American remake, which premiered at this summer’s Fantasia Film Festival, was distributed this weekend in theaters and On Demand by Magnet Releasing.
‘Alone’ follows Jessica (Willcox), a grief-stricken widow who flees the city in an attempt to cope with the loss of her husband. When Jessica is kidnapped by a mysterious man (Menchaca) and locked in a cabin in the Pacific Northwest, she escapes into the wilderness and is pursued by her captor.
Hyams, Willcox and Menchaca generously took the time recently to participate in individual exclusive phone interviews to talk about directing and starring in ‘Alone.’ Among other things, the filmmaker, actress and actor discussed why they were interested ing bringing Olsson’s Americanized script to the screen. The helmer and performers also talked about their admiration of each other’s work, and how they enjoyed bonding together on the thriller’s set, which was located in Oregon.
The interview with Hyams began with the director explaining what convinced him to helm ‘Alone,’ and how he approached his directorial style on the set. “I received the script from Mike Macari, who’s a producer who was developing the project at the time. It was a script by Mattias Olsson, and I was really knocked out by how his story focused on the stripped down elements of the thriller genre. The minimalism, and lack of unnecessary exposition and characters, really attracted me to the script, as I’ve grown tired of over exposition” the helmer shared.
“I immediately loved that the script was brave enough to keep the parts in that we want to see, and get rid of the parts that aren’t interesting; those unnecessary parts make executives feel safe, because they explain everything,” Hyams disclosed.
“But this story doesn’t insult your intelligence. It takes into account that if you’re watching the movie and spending time with the characters, you’re going to learn about them. Then the story is going to be an exploration of who they are, and how they behave under duress,” the filmmaker added.
“That’s how I initially became involved. We then spent several years developing the script and trying to get financing. But we were unable to get financing at the time, which was around 2014,” Hyams shared.
“It wasn’t for another few years, when I made another feature film with Mill House Motion Pictures and Paper Clip,” the 2018 drama, ‘All Square,’ which Hyams directed and starred Michael Kelly, “that they asked me if I had another movie that we could make together in the fall. I immediately thought of this script that Mattias had written that I was no longer attached to,” the director added. “So I reached out to Mike Macari again. Within a matter of weeks, we were out in Portland, setting up shop.”
Willcox started her conversation by sharing what it was about the character of Jessica, as well as the overall screenplay, that convinced her to take on the role of the movie’s protagonist. “The script came to me from my agent, and at first, I wasn’t quite sure why I was being offered a role in a thriller that’s based on a Swedish feature that’s called ‘Gone,'” she admitted with a laugh.
“I then looked at the director, and I realized that’s why; it’s being directed by John Hyams, who had previously directed me, about eight months prior, in an episode of ‘Chicago P.D.’,” the actress revealed, referring to the 2017 episode, ‘Last Minute Resistance.’ “We had an amazing time working together, but it was one of the most challenging episodes of TV that I have ever done.
“When I saw John’s name, I thought, I can’t wait to collaborate with him again, so I definitely want to do this role,” Willcox divulged. “So I didn’t even read the script.”
Throughout the thriller, Jessica is grief-stricken over her husband’s death, which leads her to leave their home and head to the country. But after she’s kidnapped, she must turn her grief into motivation to escape from her kidnapper. The actress embraced the process of creating her protagonist’s emotions and mindset during the film’s production.
“The script is very sparse, which is something I think we all loved. That meant that we, as actors, could bring in our own elements,” Willcox shared. “It was very bare bones, and we were only given a couple of clues of what happened to Jessica.
“But that gave me everything I needed to know about playing this role, because I think we’ve all experience a version of grief. This film is really a metaphor for grief. When you’re experiencing that, you don’t think you’re going to survive it,” the actress pointed out. “It doesn’t, because grief always stays with you. But some people are able to fight through it and make it through. Jessica surviving her grief is the same thing as her pushing through to physically survive against the elements and the mystery man in this film.”
Menchaca began his interview by explaining what drew him to play the mysterious kidnapper in ‘Alone.’ “I became involved through my buddy, Michael Kelly, who’s also an actor, and had done another movie with these guys (‘All Square’). He called me up and said, ‘You’re going to get an offer for a film today, and here’s the deal,'” he shared.
Kelly’s “really good friends with John, the director. He, of course, sent me the script, and I loved it. I thought it would be a really fun film to do, which is how I originally became involved in the film,” Menchaca added.
“I also liked the element of (the character) having to survive in a different way than Jules’ (character) did,” the actor continued. “They have completely opposite motivations, obviously.
“But I was attracted to his means of survival and way of living his life, including keeping some things unknown to people. But what ends up happening becomes his worst nightmare,” the performer also shared. “He’s very confident in the beginning, and you see that slowly slip away. So it just seemed like a fun ride to take.”
Further speaking of the unknown, not much information is given about Menchaca’s character, his background and the motivations behind his crime. The actor then delved into what the process of creating his antagonist’s emotions and mindset during the drama’s production was like.
“There’s one scene that really informed me of who he was, and that’s (the scene with) the phone call that he gets. What’s said during that phone call was what I really built the film around, and who we really see him as before and after that,” the performer shared. “That’s where I found the humanity in him, and what he’s trying to feel, and extinguish, with Jules’ character.”
Further speaking of Willcox, Menchaca then delved into what his experience of collaborating with his co-star was like during the movie’s production. “Jules and I hit it off in the beginning. We were very comfortable with each other,” he noted.
“I think the building of the characters just came from the page, and what we did as we went along. We didn’t really do much work other than what was happening on the day (of shooting), and building day-to-day,” the actor continued. “We were mainly able to shoot this film in order, so that allowed us to take the story from A to B to C.”
Willcox also enjoyed her experience of starring with Menchaca in the thriller. “At first, I thought maybe we shouldn’t spend too much time together, and I should keep my distance. Since he’s playing the bad guy, I don’t want to think about him as the good guy,” she admitted. “But Marc happens to be one of the best guys around. He’s very funny and kind, and we couldn’t help but be friends.
“What that did for us was keep things light. Shooting would often be dark, in terms of the subject matter. So we would laugh between takes, which helped build trust between us. There were a lot of dark moments between us, so if we didn’t totally trust each other, I think it would have been much more challenging,” the actress also divulged.
“As a result, we were able to be free, and really explore what these characters are going through,” Willcox added. “Being there for each other while we were out of character was hugely beneficial. He’s one of my favorite actors who I’ve ever worked with; he’s just great!”
Also discussing his experience of collaborating with Hyams to develop his character throughout filming, Menchaca called the helmer great. “He always came to the table with great ideas, as well as a high amount of freedom for us (actors). It was fun to watch John steer the film. He knows this genre very well,” the actor divulged.
“I couldn’t think of anyone else I would have rather have made this film with more. There’s a humor to John that’s infectious. During (the production on) a film like this, it’s good to have that laughter in between the scenes,” the performer added. “John’s wonderful; I would work with him again in a heartbeat.”
Hyams also embraced the experience of collaborating with the two leads in ‘Alone.’ He revealed that Willcox “had an incredible access to her emotions…I was knocked out by her talent and skill. (Her) character has to spend so much of the story being quiet and not talking. There’s something about Jules’ eyes, as well as her stillness and internal presence, that really pull the audience in.
“I think Marc really strattled the necessary lines that this character needed to strattle,” the filmmaker also stated about his process of working with the film’s lead actor. The performer didn’t play his character “as an obvious villain that you can see from a mile away. He also accessed (the necessary) danger and darkness…So he was a great partner for Jules in this movie, and they really supported each other, and made each other feel safe in the process.”
‘Alone’ is mainly set in the cabin and the woods that surround it in the Pacific Northwest where Jessica is taken by Menchaca’s character after he kidnapped her. Hyams embraced the experience of shooting the drama on location, like he previously mentioned.
“For this movie, we chose the locations simply because they’re what we thought were visually the most ideal,” the director revealed. “Sometimes, the decision of where to shoot a movie has to do with tax rebates.
“But in the case with this movie, upon reading the script, we thought about if we could shoot it in Los Angeles, as that’s where I live, and I would have loved to stay home. But then we really thought about it and said ‘No, we should really go to the Pacific Northwest,'” Hyams continued. “We wanted the scale that the nature, including the trees, mountains and rivers, has there. Also, we wanted that heavy, damp climate that creates that beautiful green moss on the rocks and tree trunks.
“We really wanted the natural surroundings to be a natural character. At first, you look at them for their beauty. But very soon, we realize their danger, and how the characters are dwarfed by their surroundings, and become insignificant in this landscape,” the filmmaker noted. “So we wanted the landscape to be both beautiful and threatening at the same time.”
Shooting ‘Alone’ on location the Pacific Northwest was also a process that Willcox cherished throughout the production. “When you can actually be in the real environment, it gives you more freedom, both physically and emotionally. Being in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest was amazing. We would get to the set at 4 o’clock in the morning to watch the sunrise over Mt. Hood,” she shared with a hint of a laugh.
“Even though we had a very challenging day ahead, it was still glorious to be in that environment. It was another character in the film,” the actress noted.
Menchaca also enjoyed the experience of shooting the movie on location. “The Pacific Northwest has a very beautiful, but also very rugged, terrain. We didn’t really stop shooting if started raining; we shot in the rain, because that’s the way the weather is there,” the actor pointed out. “It would stop raining after awhile, and then start again, so we didn’t let that get in the way of what we were doing.
“We were in the elements, so it was fun to work in those conditions, and not stop to try to get the perfect shot when it stopped raining. You can see that in some scenes-it’s raining part of the time, and not raining during other parts,” Menchaca added.
The actor then delved into what the process of collaborating with the thriller’s stunt coordinator, Alex Terzieff, to create the physicality for the characters was like. “We had a really great stunt coordinator, and he made sure that we were doing everything safely. It was pretty rigorous at times,” Menchaca shared.
“As far as the physicality, most of it came from (my character’s) voice. That was from specific moments that I found” in the story, the performer continued. “In specific moments, he changed his voice, which helped me create the physicality.”
Hyams also chimed in on the physical aspect of the film. In regards to Menchaca’s antagonist, the helmer shared that “It’s a very physical role, and Marc has a real physicality about him. He also has a deep voice, and he’s able to draw people in with it in reality, as he’s a very charismatic guy. But with the case of this character, he was willing to dive right in.”
Willcox also embraced the experience of creating the physical aspect of her character of Jessica in ‘Alone.’ “John’s so great with action. I saw how hard it was going to be physically, but I knew that I would be in good hands working with John,” she shared.
“I actually broke my foot early on in filming during a simple stunt running through the woods,” the actress also admitted. “It was so frustrating because we had already gotten through so much of the emotional scenes involving the grief in the beginning of the shoot, and we were just starting to get into the physical scenes when I broke my foot.
“John was such a class act, and really made it my decision of whether or not we would keep going. But I couldn’t not tell this story,” Willcox divulged. “So we were able to write in the injury. From that point on, I was actually dealing with a real injury. So that kind of took some of the pressure off of the acting about getting around in the wilderness with a broken foot,” she continued with a hint of a laugh.
“You then add on the challenges of the mud and river. But it ended up being fun, because I like being pushed to my edge, physically. I’m a very outdoorsy person, so it was a real gift to get to do the physical scenes,” the actress added.
“But it wasn’t just all fun; it also gave me empathy for people who are really in this situation. It was very hard and challenging, emotionally,” Willcox also noted. “But I like that kind of work; I like to get gritty and real.”
With Magnet Releasing distributing ‘Alone’ in theaters and On Demand this weekend, Hyams stated that he feels the dual theatrical and digital release is beneficial for an independent film like this one. “We were very lucky to have XYZ Films as the company that sold this movie. I also couldn’t be more thrilled that the company that came in to distribute the movie was Magnet.
“I had a great experience with them several years back on my film, ‘Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning.’ They also released that film, and I felt they released it intelligently,” the director gushed. “They also knew how exactly to position this movie in the marketplace, and figure out who the particular audience is, so I put my trust in the company.
“I think a day-and-date release is a great thing for a movie like this, even without a pandemic. I think a movie like this needs exposure, and people to have access to it. If you can’t see it in a theater, I think you should be able to see it On Demand. But I also think it’s a great film for a theatrical experience; there’s nothing more exciting than seeing a suspense thriller like this in a theater. So I think this dual release is perfect for a movie like this,” Hyams concluded.
