Across horror cinema there are hundreds of stories set within haunted houses. Amongst them is a subset of films featuring characters tasked with surviving a night or two inside the walls of a ghost filled house in exchange for cash. This concept gets a slight reworking in DW Medoff’s I Will Never Leave You Alone.
After serving time for a horrific crime, Richard (Kenneth Trujillo) is about to be released from prison. With no one waiting for him, and having no place to go, Richard finds himself with no option but to take on a rather strange job. He is hired by a realtor to reside inside one of her properties for six days. The house in question is steeped in anguish however, and Richard’s job is to purge the building of the bad feeling and ghosts that are rumoured to dwell within. Should he leave before the sixth day he will be sent back to prison, but it soon becomes clear that might be preferable as Richard is pushed to his limits.
I Will Never Leave You Alone is a film that is consumed by feelings of guilt and regret. As Richard begins his vigil, he finds himself tormented by his past. Regardless of whether the rumoured ghosts are real, Richard has the echoes of his former life to deal with. Prior to going to prison he lived with his wife and young baby. Sadly, their lives were less than idyllic, with Richard a destructive alcoholic and his wife Emma (Katerina Eichenberger) struggling with postnatal depression. As I Will Never Leave You Alone progresses, initial glimpses of Richard’s time before extend to fully fledged scenes. The longer they become, the more harrowing and confronting the story becomes. The true extent of the horror that Richard has endured is eventually revealed; it is thoroughly unpleasant and exceptionally bleak. If you thought The Coffee Table was upsetting, you haven’t seen anything yet.
As Richard is haunted by his past, he is simultaneously stalked by a wicked presence within the house. Unlike those before him, Richard does not crumble, the stoic and silent character seemingly accepts this treatment as punishment for his former actions. Instead of becoming increasingly more terrified, he is affected by his encounters in different and more dangerous ways. Watching him fall to pieces is tough to see, but Kenneth Trujillo gives a fantastic performance. Richard’s self-imposed silence means Trujillo has to convey a range of complex emotions through facial expression alone, and the actor does stellar work at making the audience invest in him. Not quite a tragic hero, Richard does still evoke empathy from the viewer. The closer the film gets to its conclusion, the higher the emotional toll on the audience.
DW Medoff compliments his anguish heavy script, and Trujillo’s tormented performance, with the perfect haunted house. Although unassuming on the outside, once inside the structure, the audience can feel the bad vibes. Medoff ensures that there is always something slightly off about Richard’s new enclosure. Swathed in shadows and agonisingly quiet, even the most benign of interior sequences have your hair standing on edge. Medoff creates optimal conditions for telling this tale of personal terror. Everything on screen combines to ensure that I Will Never Leave You Alone gets under your skin. There is a potency about the tragedy unfolding and the emotional turmoil portrayed is almost suffocating to endure. Certainly not a film to venture into lightly, I Will Never Leave You Alone is a serious undertaking that might shatter the less prepared.
I Will Never Leave You Alone
Summary
Demons of the past collide with literal ones in DW Medoff’s bleak, atmospheric tale of trauma and terror.
I Will Never Leave You Alone was reviewed at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2024.
