You Won’t Be Alone movie review: Overly stylistic to a fault

When I covered the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, I remember wanting to catch You Won’t Be Alone, but with so many films, I missed it. So I was excited to have the opportunity to check it out recently! Below, I share my thoughts on whether or not you should watch this movie.

You Won’t Be Alone follows a young girl who gets kidnapped and then transformed into a witch by an ancient spirit. I will start by saying that this movie won’t be for everyone. You should also know that the film is subtitled, with Macedonian being the spoken language. Now, with that out of the way, let’s dive into the film.

You Won’t Be Alone fails to deliver after a strong second act

As the film started, I wasn’t sure what to expect, overly crazy supernatural horror films have never been my cup of tea. The film shows us how Nevena (Sara Klimoska), a baby at the time, has her vocal cords torn out by the witch, and as she grows up, we see her stuck in this world being voiceless. Her mother tries to keep Nevena from the world by keeping her trapped in a cave.

I don’t mind a film trying to world build to show us how things are set up or watching our characters grow, but the first thirty minutes were rather rough. However, when the film shifts into the second act, the film picks up as Nevena escapes this little prison and ventures into the world with the witch. I LOVED the entire second act and how writer/director Goran Stolevski had Nevena learn the ropes of being a witch herself. As she transformed from body to body and grew to understand the different types of upbringing was profound in a way that made the audience do a little self-reflecting.

When we make it to the third act, it loses its way too much as Solevski focuses a little more on style than substance. It bothered me because, after building such a strong second act, he had all the momentum to break us down in a way that had us clutching to every moment, but it lost its way and the film failed to recover. The final moments should be filled with sorrow and even on the verge of tears. Instead, I felt sad, but not heartbroken, which took away from these moments.

You Won’t Be Alone is a good movie that could have been great. It has some outstanding performances and a strong stylistic approach, but it failed to deliver after its incredible second act and leaves you wishing for more. If you like stylistic horror films, this may be for you, otherwise, this is a wait till VOD type of film for most.

You Won’t Be Alone hits theaters Friday, April 1, 2022.