‘I Will Never Leave You Alone’ is Intensely Traumatic Horror – Movie Review

Haunted house films are one of my favorite types of horror film. The idea that there was something so terrible, so traumatic, that caused a resident to stay on this side of the veil fascinates me. But what happens when the trauma is also on the side of the human living in the house?

I was provided access to a screener of I Will Never Leave You Alone for review. The opinions I have shared are my own.

I Will Never Leave You Alone, written and directed by DW Medoff, is – as I wrote in my interview with lead actor Kenneth Trujillo – a tragic and intense movie. I hesitate to say I liked it or that it was good, because that feels like the ‘wrong’ word to use. The film definitely affected me, and I’m still thinking about it several days later. (And not just because I had to think about it for this review.)

The plot follows Richard Marwood (Trujillo), a man leaving prison after an involuntary manslaughter charge. Part of the conditions of his release is working for a real estate company that needs him to stay in a ‘catastrophe house’ (i.e., one where there was a violent death – or two) for six days without contact to help ‘evict’ the evil spirits. He is selectively mute, signing throughout most of the movie.

Since, as I also mentioned in that interview, a good chunk of the movie is just him being psychologically tortured in the house, the movie hangs on Trujillo’s performance. Thankfully, he hits it out of the park: you feel for his character right away, and as you learn more about his past (and why he was in jail), it just gets more distressing. He holds his own, showing a full range of emotional reactions: from sorrow to terror to even sympathy. There’s one moment near the end where he finally breaks his silence, and the pure rage and emotion he shows just broke my heart.

The movie is more folk horror than supernatural, and Medoff does a fabulous job of balancing plot, character development, and shocks. The actual frights are few and far between, but that makes them surprisingly scary. And most of them are more disturbing in nature rather than outright scary.

Katerina Eichenberger plays Emma Marwood, Richard’s wife. It’s hard to say what’s good about her performance without spoiling the film, so I’ll just say she does a great job acting against Trujillo (all of her scenes are with him). She is horrifying (see what I did there?) in her portrayal of a woman going through some emotional stuff, all bringing an eerie sweetness to the character.

I also have to shout out Christopher Genovese, who plays basically the caretaker of the house. He’s not in the film a lot, but he makes every scene he’s in count.

Without giving too much of the plot away, this is one of those films that show that the real horror is and can be people, although the supernatural definitely has its place in the plot. The special effects are believably convincing. The 90-minute runtime goes by quickly, and I was consistently waiting to see what happened next. This is my type of horror film: not too gory; more emotional and thought-provoking. However, it was effective enough for me to doubt I’ll ever want to watch it again, if that makes sense?

If I had to give the movie a ‘logline’, I’d say it was The Conjuring meets The Blair Witch Project (without the shaky-cam). So, if you like psychological horror, definitely check it out. But be prepared: there are a couple of scenes that are going to stay with you… whether you like it or not.

I Will Never Leave You Alone premieres on VOD/digital platforms on October 18, 2024. More information about the film can be found on the official website.

Author: Angie Fiedler Sutton

Angie Fiedler Sutton is a writer, podcaster, and all-round fangirl geek. She has been published in Den of Geek, Stage Directions, LA Weekly, The Mary Sue, and others.

She also produces her own podcast, Contents May Vary, where she interviews geeky people about geeky things. You can see all her work (and social media channels) at angiefsutton.com.

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary