The following contains discussions of suicide.

Summary

• Alone's protagonist Jess outwits and kills serial killer Sam after being relentlessly chased.
• Alone's ending implies Jess survived her ordeal, with a rescue helicopter being heard offscreen.
• Sam, a family man and hunter, underestimates Jess, leading to his downfall during their final confrontation.

Alone is an intense psychological horror thriller by director John Hyams, where a woman named Jessica is kidnapped and hunted by a relentless killer. 2020's Alone cast Jules Willcox as the recently widowed Jessica, who over the course of a long road trip, repeatedly encounters a strange man called Sam (Marc Menchaca). Sam seems to appear wherever she goes and is ultimately revealed to be a serial killer. Sam kidnaps Jessica and takes her to his isolated cabin, but thanks to some quick thinking, she's able to escape into the woods.

Sam proves almost impossible to shake because no matter how many times Jess tries to get away, he is always two steps ahead. This comes to a head in Alone's ending, where, after calling the police on Sam's phone, Jessica is forced to fight her tormentor one-on-one. Having been stalked by Sam for several days, Jessica decides she will either kill him or die trying. Despite being injured during the brawl, Jess grabs Sam's hunting knife and delivers a killing blow, before sitting back and watching him die.

Is Jess Saved In Alone's Final Scene?

The meaning of Alone's final close-up

After Sam dies, the wounded, exhausted Jessica lies on her back. Before the final battle with Sam, she saw a rescue helicopter flying over a clearing, which was searching for Jess following her call to the police. The Rotten Tomatoes-approved Alone keeps things slightly ambitious, but while the ending doesn't show the helicopter arriving, the sound of its rotors are heard offscreen as Jess looks toward the sky.

This means Jessica survived her ordeal in Alone, with the helicopter taking her to safety soon after.

Alone's Five Chapter Titles Explained

Alone is divided into five chapters, consisting of "The Road," "The River," "The Rain," "The Night" and finally "The Clearing."

The first chapter details Jessica's road trip and eventual capture, while "The River" involves her nail-biting escape from Sam's cabin and eventual plunge into a nearby river to escape. "The Rain" follows her attempt to escape from the woods, with help from an ill-fated hunter.

Some other movies that use chapters as a narrative device include Kill Bill, Moonlight, and 2022's The Menu.

"The Night" involves Jess being stalked through the woods by Sam, who shoots her in the arm as she tries to flee. Despite his best efforts to taunt her into a confrontation, she doesn't take the bait. Alone's final chapter "The Clearing" builds to the final confrontation between Jess and Sam, with she steals his phone and calls the police before they fight to the death. According to director John Hyams at Rogue Commentary, Alone almost used the five stages of grief as the chapter headings, until it was decided this felt too obvious.

Who Is Sam? Alone's Killer Backstory, Motives & Death Explained

Alone's terrifying killer is a family man

Alone earned great reviews, with Marc Menchaca's menacing performance as Sam cited as a highlight. Unlike Halloween's Michael Myers or other slasher movie villains, Sam is very much human and treats hunting down his victims like a sport. A phone call midway through Alone reveals that in the real world, Sam is a loving husband and father. Jessica overhears this call, where he explains to his wife he's still on a business trip but doesn't know when he will get home.

Sam also briefly talks to his daughter, who is feeling sickly. Not much is revealed about how long he's been kidnapping women, though when Jessica begs him to let her go, he coldly responds with "Do you think you're the first one to say that?" This implies Sam has been killing women for years and lets Jessica know there is no point appealing to his mercy.

Marc Menchaca later reteamed with Alone director John Hyams on 2022's Sick.

Alone's ending makes it clear that Sam never expected Jessica to fight back as fiercely as she did. His constant underestimation of her proves to be his downfall too, since Jess proves endlessly resourceful. His taunts also push her to fight back, and during their final confrontation, she's fully aware she could die - but refuses to back down. Jessica's will to survive ultimately proves stronger than Sam's.

What Happened To Jessica's Husband

When Alone begins, Jessica is seen packing up her belongings and setting out on her road trip. She speaks with her father and mother on the phone during the first act and is also seen looking at pictures of her husband, Eric. Jessica is later forced to admit to Sam that Eric died by suicide six months earlier and she is moving to escape the memories.

Sam also uses Jess' grief about Eric's death as a psychological weapon, particularly in a key scene where he tries to draw her out of hiding. Having learned to look past Sam's gaslighting and manipulations, Jess refuses to let him trick her into a fight she will lose.

Jessica's husband Eric is played by Alone co-producer Jonathan Rosenthal.

Why Jess' First Escape Attempt Fails

For the majority of Alone, the only characters are Jessica and Sam, outside of some voices heard on the phone. This changes towards the end of the second act, where after wandering the woods, Jess later encounters a friendly hunter named Robert (Anthony Heald). She initially attacks Rob when she mistakes him for Sam - an attack which has the tragic consequence of smashing the hunter's phone. Regardless of how they meet, Rob soon takes Jess to his jeep to drive her to the hospital.

Of course, her stalker has thought about this and blocked their path with a tree stump. Sam reappears and pretends to be Jess' brother, and claims the recent loss of her husband has caused her to have a psychotic episode. Rob isn't sure who to believe, but when he sees how terrified Jessica is, he insists Sam hand over his phone so he can call the police. While Rob holds Sam at gunpoint, the latter soon overpowers the older man, seizing his rifle and using it to kill him, while Jess runs back into the forest.

The Meaning Of Jess' Call To Sam's Wife

Jess earns her revenge during Alone's finale

In Alone's final scenes, Jessica realizes she has no choice but to face Sam, since help won't arrive in time. Before he reaches her in the clearing, Jess takes his phone and calls Sam's wife. Jess informs Sam's spouse her husband is a secret serial killer and that, in all likelihood, he's going to murder Jess when the call ends.

Sam arrives in time to hear this and realizes that even if he kills Jess, his secret life has been exposed. Jessica made this call to ensure that even if she dies, Sam will still be brought to justice.

With this move, she robbed Alone's killer of his remaining power and made their final fight to the death an intensely personal one. Despite Sam's anger, his would-be victim still manages to gain the upper hand.

Alone is currently available to stream on Netflix.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, John Hyams' Rogue Commentary