Not Alone in Here

The premise is good enough, and relatable: You're home alone. You locked the doors; you know you did. So why is that door open when you look back a moment later?

We can all recognize the fright and paranoia that comes with the unease of not feeling secure in your own home. Lotta Losten plainly expresses what the unnamed protagonist is feeling.

And that makes her voiceover narration not only unnecessary, but annoying, breaking the atmosphere this short otherwise conveys. It's a choice. It's not a good one. Without it, 'Not alone in here' would be improved considerably.

The tension still tries to reassemble our shattered disbelief as the protagonist perceives things that tell her all is not right. Again, this is a moment we can all identify with: Even if it's something as innocuous as an article of clothing we ourselves had hung up, the slightest bit of stress can launch our lizard brains into panic mode.

I'm divided on the climactic jump scare, and I think the very literal last second of the film is altogether unnecessary. Combine these aspects with the glaringly disposable narration, and despite the casual promise of the concept, I'm no longer sure it was worthwhile at all. That which is of value here, we can find elsewhere.

Adding one final insult to this self-injurious affair, the very streaming platform where one can watch 'Not alone in here' spoils the climax for viewers with the thumbnail of the video that appears directly below this feature as we search for it. And that very fact perhaps best sums up this short all by itself: Someone didn't think this through.