Now Streaming on Shudder.
Equal parts silly and ambitious, “Youll Never Find Me” gets by in its first hour because the audience will definitely want to know what they’ve invested all their time in. Directors Indianna Bell, and Josiah Allen keep us in the dark about what this situation is boiling in to, and by the time we’ve decided that we really don’t want to see anymore, it’s too late. By then if we shut off the movie, it’ll all have been for nothing, so you pretty much have to stay to see what ultimately culminates from such a long drawn out horror film.
On a stormy night, Patrick, a seemingly troubled man, is visited by a mysterious young woman, asking for shelter at his mobile home. As the night unfolds, their anxiety and mutual mistrust grow, causing fear and paranoia to engulf the small RV.
“You’ll Never Find me” is a chamber piece that watches like an elaborate play about two lost people in a horrible storm and something lurking outside. And for the first hour it snags us and pulls us in. It certainly pulled me in quite well as I was eager to see what this was all leading to. Is this woman a vampire? Is she a demon? Is this mysterious man a predator or unwitting prey? Is she a predator or unwitting prey? Are both of these people predators? Is this man living alone or is he fulfilling a higher purpose? Is he perhaps on a mission? Is she on a covert mission? Is he waiting for someone or some thing?
There will be so many questions that will arise and the movie deals up small clues throughout the movie at the behest of our patience. For the first half hour I was anxious to see what surprises awaited and by the final half hour I just wanted a reason, any reason, to keep me going until the very end and not shut it off. While viewers might be tempted to ruin the mystery, the movie really gets off on pushing us back and forth with small verbal and non-verbal cues, seemingly cryptic discussion about feral kids banging on doors, and horrible storms, and all of it—well—much ado about nothing. Once it all became abundantly clear what was happening, I left generally indifferent.
If anything the direction and sound design are immaculate, and both director are very good at depicting confined spaces, as well as playing with bold colors and minimalism. He’s also great at playing with the audience, always ensuring that there might be something off screen, even if there isn’t. “You’ll Never Find Me” sadly opts for one of the most derivative and hamfisted finales of the year. Your mileage may vary with “You’ll Never Find Me.” It certainly is well made and ambitious, but its execution is just not worth the journey.