How to Be Alone (2019)

How to Be Alone turns a simple, familiar setup into something bracingly intimate: a horror film that doesn’t just scare you, it seems to crawl out of the mind and into the room. Director Kate Trefry has a gift for visual metaphor, using exquisite cinematography and a pulsating score to make repressed fears and desires feel physical, immediate, and uncomfortably close, while the performances keep it grounded in real human vulnerability. The vibe is sleek, tense, and psychologically charged—more artful dread than cheap shocks—so it lingers after the lights come back on. If you prefer straightforward, plot-heavy horror, this might feel more like a fever dream than a roller coaster, but for anyone who loves stylish, intelligent scares, it’s a short film that hits with feature-length impact.

How to Be Alone is clearly aiming for a moody, psychological nightmare about loneliness, repression, and the things that crawl out when you’re stuck with your own thoughts. It has some striking visuals and a committed central performance, but the film leans heavily on monologue and atmosphere while the story itself can feel thin, slow, and oddly directionless. If you need horror to build toward a strong payoff, clear rules, or a memorable narrative hook, you may find this underwhelming and even boring. If, however, you’re happy with a short, art-leaning mood piece where the imagery does most of the talking, it might still be worth a late-night watch.