Grimmfest (2021) review: ‘Alone With You’ is a startling debut for Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks.

ALONE WITH YOU

While waiting for her girlfriend to return home for their anniversary, Charlie Crane discovers she’s trapped inside her apartment and begins a frantic fight for survival as nightmarish visions descend and a voice in the wall guides her towards a way out.


Emily Bennett understands how to accentuate a feeling of claustrophobia. Stuck in a wildly angled apartment, brimming with eccentric kitsch, Charlie awaits the arrival of her girlfriend behind a front door that won’t open. As time passes, confusion arises. Simone should be home by now. Charlie hears voices, doesn’t know what time it is, and things seem to move on their own. Reality shifts under her, and things get worse by the minute.

The success of Alone With You lies within the minute details. Keep a sharp eye on every frame. The script is dizzying. The longer Charlie is trapped, the more overwhelming the story becomes as memories flood in. There is a jump scare so fantastically timed that I stumbled backward and gasped. And the transition that follows makes things all the more intriguing. Barbara Crampton plays Charlie’s mother. She’s a conservative woman who doesn’t want to accept her daughter. Although Crampton only appears in two scenes, she owns them. She’s a legend. She never fails to amaze.

Dora Madison, as Thea, is fantastic. She’s got this crunchy, stoner vibe. The way she holds the phone during her video calls with Charlie is incredible. It adds to the realism of her party friend vibe. Madison’s laid-back attitude counters Bennett perfectly. Emma Myles, who you’ll recognize from Orange Is The New Black, plays Simone. She’s the photographer girlfriend of Charlie. The script allows her to play both soft and hard moments, and she kills it.

Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks have written one hell of an arch for Charlie. You can see the sanity slowly drain from her eyes. It takes a lot of energy to be in every single scene. She knocks it out of the park. Alone With You keeps you on your toes, constantly second-guessing what might be happening. So much of the terror relies on sound. This only makes Bennett’s performance more impressive. The mystery and horror thrill you until the very last frame. It’s one hell of a debut.



  • Director:
    Emily Bennett, Justin Brooks
  • Screenwriter:
    Emily Bennett, Justin Brooks
  • Producer:
    Andrew Corkin
  • Cast:
    Emily Bennett, Barbara Crampton, Dora Madison, Emma Myles, Meghan Lane


Review: ‘King Of Knives’ shines light on the dark side of family dynamics.

KING OF KNIVES

ONE BIG CRAPPY FAMILY

KING OF KNIVES tells the story of Frank and Kathy who are baby boomer parents and Sadie & Kaitlin, their millennial daughters. Frank is screaming towards a mid-life crisis. Kathy pretends she’s happy and doesn’t drink that much wine. Sadie is the good child; convinced her first and only boyfriend is the one to marry. Kaitlin is the rebel, the entertainer; the truth-teller who will not filter how she’s feeling.

Over three days, with much drama and humor, this crap-happy family careens and skids straight towards a fateful anniversary. On the way, they realize they are more alike than they know.

Family is complicated. Every generation trying to make life better for the next but ultimately failing in one way or another. You cannot do it all perfectly, that’s not a thing. It is in the mistakes and flaws we accept where we grow as individuals and as one family unit. King Of Knives is a raw and undeniably funny look at regret. It shines in its honesty. It allows its characters to feel relatable with great dialogue and effective editing as the full plot is revealed. It’s a beautifully balanced screenplay, allowing each of the four family members to come to terms with where they fit in and how that might affect the others.

The performances are really great. I have to call out the comic timing from everyone. It’s a natural back and forth I have with my family, like it or not. While we all think everyone is so very different, I reality we’re all just as messed up as the next person in line. Gene Pope, Mel Harris, Roxi Pope, and Emily Bennett do a fantastic job making you believe they are related. There is just enough connection and disconnection for you to buy it completely. They are coated in trauma they ignore and facing it one year later will finally break open family secrets and revelations that will change everyone. Lindsay Joy‘s script feels real from my perspective; the first of four (now adult) kids that all did different things and pretend to be too cool for school most of the time. But we know, deep down, we’re all floundering in one way or another. We’re still better together. King Of Knives hits home for any viewer. Sometimes you have to break it down to build it back up. It’s a “Go call you Dad” kind of film. It’s the perfect holiday film, once you watch it you’ll understand why. It releases today on VOD and Digital platforms. Get a taste from the trailer below.

This refreshing comedy is written by Lindsay Joy with story by Gene Pope and directed by Jon Delgado.  The film stars Gene Pope, Mel Harris, Roxi Pope, and Emily Bennett.  It was produced by Gene Pope, Daniel Sollinger, and Jenn Gomez. The film has a running time of 94 minutes and will not be rated by the MPAA.  Gravitas Ventures will release KING OF KNIVES on VOD and Digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Fandango Now and all major cable/satellite platforms on Tuesday, December 1.