Alone at Night (2023)

2 Stars (out of 4)

Cam Chowder

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Done in the self-aware, meta-style of the Scream movies, this slasher/whodunit has some wit and vigor, but in the end it's all flash, not dissimilar from the vapid reality show it purports to parody.

Vicky (Ashley Benson) is a webcammer who has just been dumped by her boyfriend and has no place to live. It's the early days of COVID, and a friend lets her stay in her remote cabin in Weed, California, where Vicky plans to recuperate and try and earn some money. She also passes the time by watching a new COVID-based reality show hosted by Paris Hilton.

Unfortunately, the internet keeps going out, unexpected guests keep dropping by, and one of her clients is starting to become a little too stalker-y. And to top things off, a serial killer who favors murdering with a crowbar is on the loose.

Resilient but vulnerable, Benson is very likable as the main character in Alone at Night, and she goes a long way in carrying it. There's also a strong sense of the sadness and deception of the webcam industry, although Luis Guzmán plays an uncharacteristically happy customer of Vicky's, pleased simply to chat with her, tell her how beautiful she is, and teach her how to dance (he really just wants to re-kindle his relationship with his wife).

But when it comes to the thriller stuff, Alone at Night sets itself up as a brutal crowbar-based slasher (albeit one with awful shaky-cam action), and then makes us wait as it turns into a half-baked "mystery." Additionally, while the Paris Hilton reality show angle is an obnoxiously effective parody, it ultimately has little to nothing to do with the rest of the movie.