Alone with Her (2006) User Reviews

Standout performance from Ana Claudia Talancon in this found footage thriller

[victoryismineblast · 6/10 · 22 January 2014]

Doug, played by Colin Hanks, goes out one day with a camcorder looking for a woman to follow. He settles on Amy, played by Ana Claudia Talancon, first by following her around everywhere she goes, then by setting up her whole apartment with hidden cameras.

He watches her every move, from showering to sexually abusing her hair brush, and uses the information he gleans from his surveillance to insinuate himself into her life.

This is not an original but yet interesting premise that plays itself out as one would expect. Hanks is competent in his role, and Talancon is a standout. The problem is that not enough tension and suspense are built to have the end payoff be enough for this movie to get a really good rating from me.

This is still a decent effort, and worth a watch for fans of found footage thrillers.

Good Low-Budget Thriller

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 18 May 2008]

In Los Angeles, the psychopath Doug (Colin Hanks) stalks the sexy Latin woman Amy (Ana Claudia Talancon) in a park and follows her. Later he breaks into her apartment and bugs it with surveillance cameras, learning her taste in movies, rock bands and books, and uses the collected information to approach to her in a cafeteria. Doug becomes Amy's best friend helping her in situations created by him, and when her friend Jen (Jordana Spiro) suspects of him, he kills her. The lonely and vulnerable Amy gets closer to Doug, now alone with her.

"Alone with Her" is a good low-budget thriller. The story is basically supported by two actresses and one actor in one location and use of camcorder and many cameras with different lens, and the result is a dark and credible feature. I do not know whether the information in the beginning of the movie about victims of stalkers is reliable or fruit of American paranoia, but this movie works very well. My only remark is how could the neighbors not be attracted by the screams and fight of Amy and Doug. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Note: On 2 May 2014, I saw this movie again.

Low Budget Creeps

[kenjha · 5/10 · 4 July 2010]

A psychopath goes to extreme lengths to stalk an unsuspecting young woman, installing surveillance equipment in her apartment and playing with her emotions. Hanks is quite creepy as the stalker, a loner with a warped sense of reality. Talancon is quite alluring as his prey. The gimmick here is that much of the film is told from the perspective of the weirdo. In fact, much of the early part of the film is devoted to what he captures with his hidden camera. The viewer does not even see the guy until half way through the film. While this approach is interesting for a little while, it soon becomes irritating. One good thing is the short running time.

He's watching her, but more people need to watch this film

[Cujo108 · 10 May 2010]

Alone with Her hit theaters in early 2007, a limited release of course. Despite that, I'm surprised that this film hasn't gotten more attention since then. Colin Hanks is Doug, one of those perverted types that carry hidden cameras in their bags to glimpse up women's skirts and the like. While out doing this, he spots Amy (Ana Claudia Talancón) and sets his sights on her for the remainder of the film. He breaks into her apartment and rigs it with hidden cameras, microphones, etc. to use what he learns to try and weasel into her life... and to watch.

The first thing you notice upon watching Alone with Her is the innovative nature in which it's shot. The entire film is seen through Doug's hidden cameras. It throws the viewer off guard, and makes us feel almost as voyeuristic as Doug. It also makes the film so much more unnerving than it would've been had it been shot in a conventional manner. We get a front row seat to the images that we have no right to see, as well as the nastier bits which hit harder when glimpsed through this unknown eye.

Doug is a truly pathetic character. Having no confidence and no life, he watches Amy 24/7. He watches to see what movies and music she likes so he can pretend to have something in common with her when they meet. He has hissy fits when he hears her make a date with another man. In some of the most disturbing sequences of the film, he punishes her, sabotaging her love-life by poisoning her milk and dabbing some kind of skin irritant all over her bed. He sabotages her life time and time again, all while poking the holes needed to weasel himself into her good graces.

This film isn't brutal or graphic, and it doesn't need to be. This does more without gore than something like Inside does with wall-to-wall amounts of it. Alone with Her is a deeply affecting look at the nature of stalkers and voyeurism. It's the type of film that will make you feel unclean after watching, something that will crawl inside of your psyche and stay there.

Unsettling and Atmospheric

[samgiannn · 6/10 · 6 September 2015]

Where The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity used their found footage format to enhance the scares rather than hinder them, Alone with Her utilizes its style to create a suspenseful stalker thriller, even if it hits all the familiar genre beats. Alone with Her is shown from various hidden cameras inside a young woman's house that were set up by a stalker. There are also video cameras attached to him making you the stalker. Nothing about Alone with Her should be terribly surprising to even a casual viewer, but the way the cameras are set up can lead to some really unsettling images. This is a very character- driven suspense film. It's subtle and doesn't rely on elaborate chase scenes or convoluted plot twists. Alone with Her may not

Voyeurism in the electronic age

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 3 June 2010]

**SPOILERS** Unusual stalker flick filmed as if it was secretly video taped by the sick and homicidal person staring in it Doug the computer geek played by Colin Hanks. We never really see Doug until almost half way into the movie but he's there watching and recording everything that's going on in regards to his voyeurism. What Doug is in to is pretty part time artist Amy, Claudia Talancon, who's the object of his obsessive and uncontrollable obsession.

Sneaking into Amy's home Doug wires it with every spying device known to man to keep up with what she does in regards to her love life that he want's to become a part of. Outside Doug constantly stalks Amy trying top get into a conversation with her that he hopes would lead to romance. At first Doug indeed makes progress with Amy meeting her in a local coffee shop and wowing her with his knowledge, that he found out from spying on her, about Amy's love of both music and art. Doug even knows Amy's favorite but very obscure rock group-"Skinny"-who's never made a hit song or was ever even on the Billboard 100 listings!

Not quite knowing what to make of Doug's strange behavior towards her Amy at first slowly starts to accept him as a friend which drives the guy wacky, in trying to get her to jump into the sack with him, to the point of losing his, the super cool cat that he is, composer! It's when Doug sees Amy fooling around with her boyfriend Matt, Jonathon Trent, on his computer, that's hooked up to his spying devices in Amy's home, that he really starts to lose it. Trying even harder to win over Amy, who by now feels that he's some kind of weirdo, Doug starts to let his true feeling out about her without even, by him being just one step away from being committed, realizing it!

***SPOILERS*** As it turns out it's Amy's friend Jen, Jordana Spiro, who gets Doug's number in finding out that he's lying about being a native of Seattle, which he's always telling Amy, and who knows what else. With his act, in impressing Amy, slowly falling apart Doug's big secret falls apart with it in her finding out that he bugged her home and was watching her at all hours of the day and night with her clothes on as well as off! In the final moments of the movie Doug now exposed as a pervert and dangerous crackpot resorts to type and lays into a defenseless and terrified Amy who by then finally realized what a sick and dangerous psycho he really is and the big mistake she made in getting involved with him!

modest but innovative thriller

[Buddy-51 · 7/10 · 4 July 2007]

Eric Nicholas' "Alone With Her" starts off with a rather alarming Department of Justice statement that every minute three new people become victims of stalkers, and that, thanks to modern technology, even your garden-variety voyeur, who used to be restricted to what he could see by aiming a pair of high-powered binoculars into the neighbor's window, now has access to high-tech devices, once the sole province of the CIA and the FBI, to help him with his peeping. Through its innovative, you-are-there style, this low-budget, independent thriller really drives that message home.

The stalker in this case is a young man named Doug, a techno-savvy misfit with extreme sociopathic tendencies, who through an elaborate network of hidden microphones and cameras, has found a way to keep the object of his obsession - a beautiful young woman named Amy - under surveillance literally 24 hours a day without her knowledge. Slowly but surely, he worms his way into her life, manipulating her emotions and earning her trust along the way.

In form as well as in style, "Alone With Her" is a cross between "Peeping Tom" and "The Blair Witch Project," with the audience viewing the action entirely through the lenses of Doug's strategically placed cameras. This innovative technique effectively puts us in the shoes of the voyeuristic stalker, making us, in some strange way, complicit in his actions. The real chill, of course, comes from the realization of just how easy modern technology has made it for our rights of personal space and privacy to be violated. If this movie doesn't turn you into a raving paranoiac, nothing will.

"Alone With Her" is more than just a mere exercise in style, however. Thanks to compelling performances from Ana Claudia Talancon, Colin Hanks (who appears off-screen for most of the film) and Jordana Spiro, the movie emerges as an engrossing human drama as well, one that makes us empathize with the various characters whose story we are being compelled to watch. For beyond the threat posed by all the technical hardware, the film unnervingly points out the risk we all take by simply opening ourselves up to friendships and relationships with people we actually know very little about.

Some people may find "Alone With Her" too low-keyed in its approach to be truly frightening. However, it is just that lack of sensationalism that makes it so convincing in its creepiness. It's true that the movie, like many thrillers, falls apart somewhat in its third act due to its budgetary constraints as well as a certain predictability in the plotting. Still, "Alone With Her" illustrates the truth of Marshall McLuhan's statement that "the medium is the message" better than any film of recent times.

Clever

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 27 July 2014]

In Los Angeles, the psychopath Doug (Colin Hanks) stalks the sexy Latin woman Amy (Ana Claudia Talancón) in a park and follows her. Later he breaks into her apartment and bugs it with surveillance cameras, learning her taste in movies, rock bands and books, and uses the collected information to approach to her in a cafeteria.

Although found footage films are generally annoying and have not been innovative or clever since "The Blair Witch project", this one offers something of a different twist: because it is about spying, the film is shot from the point of view of spy cameras. In this case, rather than look cheap, the amateur approach comes across as creepy.

This is a must see.

Not really what I hoped

[SumBuddy-3 · 4/10 · 28 August 2012]

Independent of some of the "unbelievably good" reviews I've seen, just didn't think the movie was well thought out in the long run. Colin Hanks set up the film pretty well at the beginning, but his behavior was not believable as it progressed. With Ana having a boyfriend, Hanks would normally have taken his frustration out on the boyfriend, like planting her credit cards or IDs on him for Ana to find. Jordana Spiro was completely wasted in this film, the only intelligent character-who gets killed off in an over-the-top obvious scene. She was already "wary" of Hanks, but showed no caution on the steps in the rain. Finally, finding the dog-and getting away with everything is over-the-top, I'm sorry. I just don't buy it.

Its shtick wears out its welcome

[ThrownMuse · 6/10 · 6 June 2007]

Amy is coping after getting out of a bad relationship when she meets Doug, a seemingly nice (but awkward) fellow who has a lot of similar interests. No, not really, he's just a psycho stalker who has been spying on her! This movie's gimmick is very Blair Witch-y: everything the audience sees is through the lens of hidden cameras, either placed throughout the protagonist's apartment, or hiding in the coat/bag of the antagonist. It's a clever trick, and it works for the first half of the film, but it gets tired once the story gets kicking. Ana Claudia Talancon ("El Crimen de Padre Amaro," "Fast Food Nation") pretty much carries this movie with her brave performance. Colin Hanks doesn't fare as well, but luckily he is mostly behind the camera. The one thing I really don't like about this movie is that it made me feel awkward and embarrassed for every character involved. That seems to be the filmmakers' intention, and they succeed, but who wants to feel awkward and embarrassed for 78 minutes straight?

Scary idea, lost in a dull telling

[dbborroughs · 4/10 · 22 January 2007]

Young man stalks a young woman by installing cameras everywhere in her apartment and by following her with hidden cameras in bags and such.

While the idea of someone using todays technology to stalk the object of their affection is scary, especially since we see how seemingly easy it is, I found the depiction of the story more miss than hit. The problem for me was that the central conceit of the film, namely that we are watching the young man's tapes unbelievable. Call me a heathen but I couldn't get past the impossible cutting to a close-up with in a single camera sequence, or perfectly focused from a moving bag shot or any of the films seeming breaking of its own rules. It didn't help that I didn't really care for anyone in the film and found myself feeling pity for our anti-hero because he was "in love" with someone who seems rather dull.

I have a confession to make. I saw this as part of the IFC in Theaters cable service and the movie so disenchanted me that I shut it off about 45 minutes in. Normally I'll hang in there, especially when I'm watching a movie at home, since I can fast forward, but even that didn't seem like an option. I just was bored and distracted and finally got to the point where I just shut it off.

There's a clever idea here, it just needs someone better to use it to make a good movie.

Creepy

[realalien-2 · 8/10 · 29 September 2006]

Excellent.

The director Eric Nicholas creates a creepy atmosphere throughout this film about obsession with a very original directing film style. The audience is immersed into the role of an observer watching a very convincing Ana Claudia Talancón as a young women living alone in a small apartment who is being stalked by a very disturbed Collin Hanks. The acting is solid and the film keeps a sustained tension throughout. Also not to overlook the script written by Eric Nicholas which is well structured for this kind of film and delivers a surprising, haunting ending.

Highly recommended!

Worth watching but your not missing out on anything big.

[atinder · 4/10 · 30 September 2012]

Alone with Her is a 2007 American suspense film directed by Eric Nicholas about a tech-savvy stalker who uses spy cameras to force his way into the life of a young woman.

The first 20 mins were little creepy, when he wsd talking to other people and they had no idea, that they were being filmed,

This movie was little boring at times, i was slowly fast forwarding the movie in bits, then the last five minutes of movie were things start to happen and then ends,

The ending, I was not too keen on it , there is also alternate ending. which I didn't like either.

I give it 4 out of 10

ALone with her

[adriannafiss · 22 February 2007]

A man (Colin Hanks) hopes to start a relationship with a woman (Ana Claudia Talancon) by planting hidden cameras and listening devices in her home and learning her secrets. The film is shot entirely through hidden cameras, including a "body cam" worn by Hanks. Written and directed by Eric Nicholas. This movie takes Voyerism to the 20 yard line. Ana Claudia is not only a terrific actress, but very good looking. The film is creepy as a good thriller should be. This film is a work of art, it is that simple. It is completely original and crossed many lines that a standard Hollywood film would never cross. This film will entertain many for many years to come. It might not be the greatest work, but hey it will bring out the voyeur in you.

modern day peeping Tom

[killercharm · 7/10 · 21 July 2020]

Exquisite FF stalker-flick of a geeky modern day peeping Tom who plies his "trade" by installing cameras through her home. It's an unsettling ride through first his emotions and then her fear. It's great because we are in on his inept tries at being a normal guy. We're in on just how out of touch he is with how to treat a lady as well as how sweet and down to earth she is, which would make it so easy for any normal man to talk to her.

Failed to impress

[julie13872 · 1/10 · 16 March 2008]

This film is slow and boring and tries far too hard to be 'realistic'. The story of a guy obsessed with a girl and films her 24/7. Don't know about anyone else but I find no entertainment in watching someone sleep, brush their teeth, shower or do their housework; but whatever rocks your boat I guess. The film is mostly the main character, Ana doing everyday things viewed through something with the same resolution as a web cam. Watched for 5 minutes, fast forward, fast forward again, probably watched for 15 minutes total but feels like watched for 15 hours.

Very little action, weak characters and the camera is irritating.

don't take your new date or girlfriend to see it

[georgemex · 5/10 · 4 September 2008]

This movie is the one you don't want to see with your new girlfriend... makes them wonder if every single man on earth is a freak that likes to stalk them. Ana Claudia Talancon is not the best actress (despite she's from Mexico as I am), it's an OK interpretation. Hanks really did it good, like father like son. So when a character makes you feel like you are in front of a real sociopath which obtains pleasure from stalking other people, I guess they are doing a very good job playing that specific character. Also the fact that almost the entire movie was filmed to make you feel like you are watching from a spy camera, makes it more real. In general, this movie has a very stressful subject. You don't see the typical ending... it is just too raw.

What is wrong with people?

[boblentini · 9/10 · 1 February 2007]

This film is a work of art, it is that simple. It is completely original and crossed many lines that a standard Hollywood film would never cross.

It is so disturbing and unsettling to watch, and the way the film is present through the eyes of the stalker is fascinating. I think its ridiculous that this film isn't being noticed, it is unbelievable.

I had to pause this movie 5 times because I felt so uncomfortable watching it. I highly recommend this movie.

I hope everyone gets a chance to see this, it shows horror in a way I have never seen. If someone knows a movie more creepy and strangely realistic like this one, let me know.

Could have been better...

[Timbzy · 4/10 · 15 June 2008]

Shot entirely using body cams and spy cams, the movie attempts to explore the horror of the increase in stalking due to the advances in and availability of technology. The movie begins with a stalker, played by Colin Hanks, filming women at the beach and at the park, obviously searching for a victim. He chooses a girl, played by Ana Claudia Talancón, and begins following her, planting cameras in her apartment and slowly inserting himself into her life, using the knowledge he gained from the cameras to find common ground. I could see what the writer/director was trying to accomplish, but it was not entertaining enough to hold my interest without taking breaks. The acting was mostly convincing, although there were some spells of poor acting. The ending seemed very film-school and amateur.

Gutsy movie -- and amazing!

[saturn1122 · 29 July 2006]

I saw this movie at Fantasia in Montreal and was blown away! This is very ballsy film-making. Nicholas takes big chances, not only with the movie's style (shot completely through hidden cameras) but also with its pacing and horrifying climax.

The film left me very disturbed and days afterward was still haunting me.

Further, the film-making inspired me to strive for something fresh and original in my own work -- to break some rules.

In terms of performances, the two leads (Talancon and Hanks) are phenomenal. Completely real. And Jordana Spiro also kicks ass in her supporting role as Amy's best friend. Great work overall!

Done for Harvey Weinstein Gratification

[nipny · 4/10 · 15 November 2017]

This movie was dull and predictable. About the only highlight was you get to see Ana Claudia Talancón naked a couple of times which is why I suspect the movie was done, so Harvey Weistein could get his chance with her. She hasn't come out as one of his victims yet, probably only a matter of time.

The real horror the real perversion

[abisio · 8/10 · 4 March 2007]

One of the most terrifying things about ALONE WITH HER is that the stalker on the beautiful young women is barely seen or heard until more than half of the 90 minutes movie giving us the feeling that the real stalkers are us.

Yes, the first person narrative (mostly on the first half of the movie) positions us fully inside and not really so uncomfortable.

Don't you think that in a generation growing with BIG BROTHER, THE APPRENTICE, SURVIVOR and many more reality shows the voyeurism has become something a little more usual than it should ?. . How many "normal" people will go as far as Collins Hanks goes in this movie is a really the frightening question.

This is a movie based on pace and events. There is not much to explain about it. Let's just say that as the obsession grows events and situations get darker but never unrealistic. You can think of it as an obsessive love story where you get a lot of sympathy for the main characters and with no real chances of a happy ending.

See it; you won't regret it; but please complain as much as you can on why this independent movie never got a proper wide release while so much garbage did it.

Creepy thriller

[atulsharma · 10/10 · 27 June 2006]

An incredibly well crafted and realistic cautionary tale, this movie left me very disturbed. There are a lot of guys out there like the Colin Hanks character and to see this story creepily play out through hidden cameras really gave me the chills! It makes you realize that anybody could be out there watching you right now, especially with all the technology available! The movie slowly lets you discover the character of Doug (Colin Hanks) but not directly and as the film goes on you begin to realize just how sick he really is. The acting was amazing by everyone in the movie which speaks a lot to the director because even in big Hollywood movies you will see uneven performances. I think this is a very original and eye opening film and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Darkly disturbing

[dgci-net · 10/10 · 25 June 2007]

...and entirely too believable. But then, that is what makes good film noir.

There is absolutely nothing in this movie that doesn't contribute to it, from the shot via hidden cam approach, to the acting, the lighting, the casting and the score. This is simply a BRILLIANT movie.

Ten minutes into the film, I found myself repelled, yet fascinated, like a mouse before a cobra. By the time it was over, I felt like I needed a shower.

Ana Claudia Talancón (who is remarkably easy on the eyes) played her role superbly, and Colin Hanks turned in what SHOULD be an award-winning job as "Doug", the stalker. It's a shame that the little movies like this so often get overlooked.

a stalker -- and who could blame him

[mitchmontana · 8/10 · 21 July 2006]

Ana Claudia is not only a terrific actress, but easy on the eyes as well. The film is creepy -- as a good close-in thriller should be. Colin Hanks (no relation to Colin Firth apparently) is also excellent.

I saw the film at the Tribeca Film Festival without expectations. (You sign up for a bunch of films after looking at their menu several weeks in advance and by the time you're going to the screening, you only know the name, the place and the time, having forgotten what attracted you to the film in the first place.) Once the opening credits started rolling and I saw Ana Claudia's name (I'm a bit of a fan) I remembered why I had signed up for the film -- but nothing of its plot. It's probably best to see it that way because the film is seductive. It lures you into its creepiness, but through the squirming you'll enjoy it.