‘You’ll Never Find Me’ Tribeca Review – Classic Ghost Story Setup Gives Way to Something More Grim

“It was a dark and stormy night” is an opening phrase instantly evocative of classic horror stories, a dramatic mood setter that evolved into a cliché and sometimes loving parody. You’ll Never Find Me, the feature directorial debut by Indianna Bell and Josiah Allen, is a somber tale set on a dark and stormy night. But the filmmakers instead reclaim the quintessential setup to blend grim, contemporary horror with a classic haunted house aesthetic, resulting in a claustrophobic, oft-unsettling chamber piece.

A torrential downpour late one evening brings an unexpected Visitor (Jordan Cowan) to a stranger’s door in a quiet RV park. She’s soaked, on edge, and needs a phone to call for help. The man, Patrick (Brendon Rock), invites the Visitor inside to dry off and take refuge from the raging storm outside. The woman hesitantly accepts her guard up at potential danger, even with Patrick’s attempts to disarm her with warm hospitality. The mistrust is palpable, though, as is the feeling that something’s deeply amiss. Being trapped inside by unforgiving weather leads to a night of suspicion and paranoia as perceptions are challenged, and all is not as it appears.

Image Credit: Tribeca Film Festival

Bell (who also wrote the screenplay) and Allen mine a sustained unease from the outset through the atmosphere. For an intimate story centered almost entirely around two actors, the filmmakers use sound design and brooding staging and cinematography by Maxx Corkindale to create visual interest and a relentless sense of foreboding. The rain pelting the RV and rolling thunder makes for a beguiling contrast to the quiet push and pull between the two strangers.

The dialogue-heavy feature keeps the audience at arm’s length, making it difficult to know which stranger should earn the audience’s allegiance as they embark on a tense push and pull. Credited only as The Visitor, Cowan imbues her with plausible weariness as a woman alone with a strange older man in the middle of the night, with no way to call for help lest things take a dark turn. Yet the guarded Visitor seems to harbor secrets of her own that grow more suspicious the kinder and more open Patrick becomes. The nuanced range in both characters keep you guessing, even as Bell and Allen weave in more recognizable horror elements.

For a horror feature set on a deeply dark and stormy night, You’ll Never Find Me does contain ghosts. But Bell and Allen’s interpretation of them breaks from convention in a clever way that ensures the third act packs a potent punch. The carefully plotted examination of what it means to be haunted and why eschews classic paranormal horror in favor of grim realism that lingers long after the credits roll.

You’ll Never Find Me is a horror Trojan horse; a classic haunted house setup complete with howling winds, punishing rain, and blackouts allow for a unique exploration of ghosts. It’s fitting for a feature that hinges on the core theme that appearances can be deceiving. While it bides its time to get there, reveling in the subtle details, extensive dialogue, and brooding mood along the way, Bell and Allen’s confident grasp on this story ensures it culminates in a finale that’ll haunt you.

You’ll Never Find Me made its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

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