The Only Ones (2024) 

A group of friends go on a weekend of rest and relaxation which soon turns into chaos with people dying and panic setting in. 

Written and directed by Jordan Miller, The Only Ones is an entertaining horror romps in the woods with a bunch of characters that feel very much like they were plucked from some of the better woodsy slasher films. Here the story develops decently and the characters are well written with dialog that works almost all the time (not perfect but good). The film manages to have a few surprises in store even for those who watch a ton of horror films per year, something few low budget films have been able to manage lately. There are a few tense scenes and sequences and a few jump-scare-like moments, making this film stand out from the crowd. 

The cast here is one of the main things to pay attention to. The majority of them are on point and giving their best to their characters. Chanda Rowlings as Hiker and Tatiana Nya Ford as Sarah are great here, both starts off stealing a few scenes and Ford ends up running away with the whole film. The rest of the cast isn’t bad, they are good in fact, but she really stands out and makes the most out of her part. One part that was a surprising one as narration is not always a good idea is that of the narrator. Brett Wagner does rather well with this and his voice work does add to the film. Cayla Berejikian also does quite well as Casey.  

The film here does something else that many lower budget horror films seem to not pay attention to and it uses lighting just right, setting the world of aperture and exposure right again after so many independent films failing at this. This is how you shoot a film and make use of darkness and light on a budget. The cinematography by Jordan Miller shows an attention to detail and framing that is careful and calculated. The film looks great here. 

The special effects here are maybe not as plentiful as some would hope, but they work. The kills and blood and gore work well here, adding to the story while not becoming the star and lead character. 

The Only Ones is an entertaining film with a solid cast and a great group of minds behind the scenes. It helps show how good a well-planned and carefully calculated film can be done on a lower budget as an independent filmmaker.