Film Review: DIE ALONE (2024): Another Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Movie with a Few Extra Twists

Die Alone Review

Die Alone (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Lowell Dean, written by Lowell Dean, and starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Douglas Smith, Frank Grillo, Kimberly-Sue Murray, Jonathan Cherry, Amy Matysio, Leo Fafard, and Sari Mercer.

Genre filmmaking presents a complex challenge. It comes with audience expectations of how and when things should unfold in the story the filmmaker wants to tell. Anytime a film, or piece of art for that matter, is made, the person creating it needs to have something new to bring to the table. But at the same time, it has to obey certain unspoken pacts between the movie and the audience. This notion is especially true in genre filmmaking and even more so in sub-genre filmmaking, like the category Lowell Dean finds himself in with his new feature, Die Alone.

Die Alone is a post-apocalyptic zombie film. I know what you’re thinking, and I was thinking the same thing. “Really, another one?” Zombies are in an interesting place these days. The craze has subsided, but the fatigue has waned, and in my opinion, it’s opened the door for a new filmmaker to step into the genre and hit a home run. Die Alone is not the film to do it, but Dean does a serviceable job with a few added twists and turns to make this an entertaining enough addition.

The plot is simple (another genre mainstay): Ethan (Doulas Smith) is suffering from amnesia and trying to find his girlfriend in the washed-out and barren landscape of a post-apocalyptic zombie world. He sort of bumbles and fumbles his way through the film and the performance as he crosses the paths of different survivors along the way. Until he meets Mae (Carrie-Anne Moss, in yet another role where she deals with an inept man and his amnesia), who takes him in and promises to help find his girlfriend. The story more or less unfolds from there in a sometimes confusing and disjointed nature due to our highly unreliable narrator, Ethan.

Dean does a very solid job in presenting his world to the viewer. It feels lived in, real, and gritty. I’m not sure where the principal photography took place, but the landscapes are gorgeous. A definite highlight of the viewing experience. Everything counts at the end of the world. Every drop of water, electrical charge, and slice of bread is coveted by all. That attention to detail is handled perfectly in the film. Mae’s old farmhouse is stuffed to the gills with a million different little trinkets and gadgets that all serve their own purpose in keeping her alive.

The performances are solid, especially from Moss. I’d expect nothing less; she has been putting out incredible and interesting work for about 30 years. Not sure if I’m just losing my mind at this point, but the glasses she wears in this film make her look just like Paul Bettany. Drop a comment if you see what I’m saying. It was also a treat to see Johnathon Cherry (Final Destination 2, Goon) pop up in a small role. He makes meals out of any bit of screen time he’s given, and yes, I’ve seen House of the Dead.

I have not seen Lowell Dean’s 2014 cult hit, Wolf Cop, but there’s no doubt that he can put a solid movie together. I think his style may lend itself more to the horror comedy genre than this bleak world he crafted for Die Alone. Nevertheless, his addition to the post-apocalyptic zombie subgenre was a good effort and fairly enjoyable to watch, but I think it may fall prey to the hordes of other films it’s up against as the years go by.

Rating: 6/10

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