Seuls / Alone, movie (2017) - Film review by Kadmon

Seuls / Alone, movie (2017) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
video © Echo Films & StudioCanal (Vivendi) & Faust Films & Scope Pictures

Article updated: 2023.06.17

The Seuls / Alone (2017) is a contemporary fantasy mystery / thriller film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.

Product: Seuls / Alone, movie (2017) - Film review by Kadmon

Original title: Seuls, English title: Alone

Series: -

Setting: alternate Earth

Product type: Film, Genre: contemporary fantasy mystery / thriller, Features: thriller, mystery, fantasy, contemporary fantasy, ghosts, post-apocalyptic

Release: 2017.02.08

Watched: very recent (2020.05), first time

Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Average (2 out of 3 points)

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This is my review of Seuls / Alone, a contemporary fantasy mystery / thriller movie from 2017. It's about a kids left alone in a city, trying to find out what to do. The Alone film is slow, but the story is interesting, so I recommend it to fans of the genre.

Update: I've read now the graphic novel series, that the Alone film was based upon, and now the story makes a lot more sense, even though the reasons behind the happenings should have been in the movie. I'll add my new thoughts to the Alone film review.

If you'd like to be surprised by the Alone film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 0:50, because it gives away too much of the plot. It basically provides a summary of the film, up to the ending scene.

Seuls / Alone, movie (2017)
image © Echo Films & StudioCanal (Vivendi) & Faust Films & Scope Pictures

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Review (spoiler-free) - Alone movie (2017)

I'm not sure where I've heard about the Seuls / Alone movie, but it caught my interest, and went on my "to watch" list. When I had the chance, I watched it. I probably didn't watch the trailer, I don't remember.

The Alone movie is about a group of kids left alone in a city, and trying to find out what happened, and why are they there.

The characters are not well-developed. The actors are good, their play is mostly believable, although there are some scenes that feel forced.

Some reviewers of the Alone film were not satisfied with the acting abilities of the kids, feeling them fake, but I think that's not entirely true. These kids do not know each other, and they are completely alone. I feel it justified that the characters start to act in a way they think would work the best, and they all try to pretend to be more adult than they are.

However, the lack of characterization is true. The characters are bland and static. We don't get to know practically anything about them, but the story works well enough even without that. Their lack of change is more of a problem in the narrative structure.

The Alone movie is slow, and it builds up to some large reveal, but then it amps it up with another reveal, that leads into a cliffhanger.

The music is most likely okay, I don't remember it.

Alone is a strange contemporary fantasy mystery film, probably not satisfying the needs of everyone.

My experience

I enjoyed most of the Alone film.

Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points). Technically it's okay, the Alone movie is watchable.

Enjoyment: Average (2 out of 3 points). Alone was slow, but it was interesting up to the end.

Rewatchability: I'm not sure. I think it's mostly the surprise of the story that makes you feel interested.

Chance of watching it again: There's a chance. Now that I know the story, there's probably no need to watch it again, but I liked it enough that I might watch it in the right circumstances.

Chance of watching a sequel: High. I'd sure watch it. Especially after reading the comics, I'm now intrigued.

Seuls / Alone, movie (2017)
image © Echo Films & StudioCanal (Vivendi) & Faust Films & Scope Pictures

Will you enjoy this?

If you like mystery or thriller movies, you might like Alone.

If you'd like to watch a movie about kids going on an adventure, you might like this. The kids are played by good actors and they are likable.

If you like alternate world (supernatural, alien abduction, reality simulation) movies, you might be interested in the Alone film, although you might interpret the plot however you want. If you have seen too many of those movies though, you have probably seen most of the surprise twists a couple of times.

If you prefer horror or action thriller movies (Langoliers, Nightmare on Elm Street, 28 Days Later), this is probably not for you. There are not many action scenes or scary scenes in the Alone movie.

Do you need to read the comic book series to enjoy this?

The comic books are way better than the movie, so you might just skip the movie, if you have access to the comics. After reading the comics, it might be interesting to watch the movie, to see an alternate take on the events.

Also, if you have already watched the movie, I think it's worth reading the comics, because a lot more things will make sense in the movie. I sure appreciate the story more after reading the comics.

Watching for plot points

If you are interested in mystery, I think it's worth watching the Alone movie for the plot points. It has a couple of unpredictable twists.

Seuls / Alone, movie (2017)
image © Echo Films & StudioCanal (Vivendi) & Faust Films & Scope Pictures

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Review with spoilers - Alone movie (2017)

I mostly liked the Alone movie, but there were some problems with it. A better cut of the film could be useful, because the actors were good. Or maybe a remake, even with the same actors.

The Alone film is a very loose adaptation of the first cycle (issues #1-5) of a comic book series (Seuls). So it's not surprising the movie is not a closed story, but I would have preferred it that way. Another loose adaptation of the story, by a different team, is Seuls Two, that - despite the title -, is not the sequel of the Seuls (Alone) movie.

Promise of the first scene

A girl takes part in car racing. She suddenly brakes? Or something. Then the scene ends. The next scene shows the girl living her ordinary life. I'm not entirely sure what we'll get in the story.

Execution: Even after watching the film I'm not entirely sure what I got in the story, so the promise might be appropriate.

Plot summary / Synopsis

A girl (Sofia Lesaffre as Leïla) goes into a circus at night, then wakes up the next morning, and her parents are missing. Walking around the city, she finds a couple of kids (Stéphane Bak as Dodji, Jean-Stan DuPac as Terry, Kim Lockhart as Camille, Paul Scarfoglio as Yvan). They try to look for help. They find it out that there's someone who tries to hurt them. They also see that some kind of grey mist surrounds the whole city.

They decide to leave the city through the mist when they make radio contact with someone that promises them help. Later that night, one of the kids is kidnapped. When they go to a place to meet the demands of the captor, a kid gets killed. They find there someone (Renan Madelpuech as the Master of Knives), who they consider to be the killer, and take him to their hiding place. They bury their dead friend. Later, they realise their captive is a kid with Down syndrome, so he is probably not the mastermind behind their problems. They also realise that the radio messages came from the killer, so they track the background noise to the circus. They confront the killer (Thomas Doret as Saul), just to find out that he is also a kid, who died a couple of years ago. He also informs them, that they are also dead. All of them were visiting the circus, when fire broke out, killing all of them. Also, they don't stay dead any more, so they have to dig out the kid that was killed.

They decide again to leave the city, and drive a car through the fog. They arrive in another city, where only kids live, and they worship the killer as their leader.

The setting

The Alone film is set in a copy of a contemporary Earth city, where everyone has left, but the protagonists. A grey cloud encompasses the city.

On the other side of the cloud, there's another, similar city.

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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?

I think I haven't seen any other works of the writer/director (David Moreau).

As of 2023, this is the only work of the co-writer (Guillaume Moulin).

How does it compare to the original source?

The Alone graphic novels are better in many ways, but also more confusing. I'll write more about this in its own section: Comparison to the original.

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Seuls / Alone, movie (2017)
image © Echo Films & StudioCanal (Vivendi) & Faust Films & Scope Pictures

Analysis of the story - Alone movie (2017)

The message of the story

I'm not sure there's one.

The structure of the story

The scenes of the Alone film are mostly played in sequence, except for a couple of flashbacks.

It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure, but instead of a resolution, we get a cliffhanger.

Things I liked

• The look of the empty city

Problematic elements

The premise: The fact that they are all dead is not that unique, there are already plenty of movies with the same premise.

The scene when the kid offers to have sex with the girls: I didn't think it was funny, and for me, it broke the mood of the story. I'd probably cut it from the film, as it doesn't have any consequences, nor does it foreshadow anything. (Update after reading the comics: This is because they mixed two characters from the story together. In the comics, it was not this character who offered to have sex, but the killer, who had a very different arc in that story.)

They left the kid with Down syndrome: When he was shot, he didn't die. Yet, the main characters don't try to find him or help him any more, without any reason given. (Update after reading the comics: In the comics, the world was not ending that fast, so the kid with Down syndrome just went home after the events. However, when they left the city in the comics, they took this kid with them.)

The resolution: I don't particularly like the end of the movie. The finale gives us the possibility of a sequel, but I'd had preferred a more complete story, with maybe a hint of the sequel. I was afraid that the makers will just end abruptly when the kids drive into the mist, so it's a plus point that they didn't, but I'm still not satisfied with this.

The trailer: The trailer spells out a large part of the story. It also shows the ending scene, so if you watch the trailer, you already know they will leave to city, and they'll find another community of kids.

Unanswered questions

The story was intentionally left vague, so in this case I don't consider it a problem. (Update: After reading the first 11 books of the comics, most of the questions are still unanswered, so that's not the fault of the film-makers.)

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Possibilities of improvement

• Probably cutting the beginning, and putting the scenes in flashbacks might give a better structure for the story. Let's just start with waking up alone.
• Cut the offering of sex
• Probably cutting the ending would be more satisfying

How it could have been better?

There should be a resolution of some kind, instead of the cliffhanger.

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Comparison to the original: the Alone comics and the Alone film (2017)

I have now read the English version of the first 11 parts of the Alone series, and I find them very interesting. However, I know also find that the writers of this movie had a lot of courage to start this movie before we know anything about how the events will work out, because even at the end of the 11th book, I have still no idea, what is going to happen.

The story of the Alone graphic novels runs very slowly, especially if you consider that issues come sometimes years apart. So, you really need to wait for events to resolve. However, this lets a lot more characterisation into the story, that's missing from the film. The kids have personalities, and they also change slightly in the comics.

I think the actors were a good match for the characters in the comics, so that's a good point for the creators.

Differences between the comics and the film

In the comics, we get some glimpses of the life of the kids before the event, and there are some hints that something ominous is going to happen. The meeting of the kids and the kid with Down syndrome story line is very similar, but - as far as I understand the comics -, the kid with Down syndrome attacked them, because they shot at his house while on a drunken spree, and he thought they tried to kill his little sister, whom he wanted to protect. I don't remember the Alone movie that well after a couple of monthes, but I don't remember anything like that in the film. Also, he didn't have any mastermind behind him, he worked alone.

The killer from the movie was the leader of another group of kids in the comics. When the kids joined that group, it was that leader who offered to have sex, instead of the kid in the movie. After they have caused the death of that leader, they have fled back to the city. It was then, when the resurrected leader followed them to their city, the events around the circus happened. The killer killed that kid in the comics only to prove him that he'll come back later.

The finale shows us a place where they worship the killer as their leader - this is a reference to a later part in the comics series. After they leave the city, together with the killer and the kid with Down syndrome, they reach a place that is ruled by a strict caste system. The killer is placed in a ruling class, while the kids are separated into several castes, some of them into being slaves.

That ending jumps to a point that would be hard to make sense of, if they decide to make a sequel, while trying to stay true to the original series. So, I'm still not sure why did they stick that part at the end of the film.

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Uses for the film - Alone movie (2017)

Plot

• Everybody disappears from the place, except for a select few.

Scenes

Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas

Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas

• The playing area has the power to resurrect the dead. Every unit that is killed will come back. When a unit dies, put a marker beside the model. Roll a d6 dice every turn for every killed unit. On a roll of 1, the unit comes back alive. It takes a turn for them to realise what is happening, they are stunned in their first turn, and their enemies can use this time to kill them again. In the the next turn they are able to take actions normally.

Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)

The kids are regular kids.

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Similar stories - Alone movie (2017)

Novels

Stephen King: The Langoliers (1990): A select few find themselves alone in an empty world.

Graphic novels

Seuls / Alone: A select few find themselves alone in an empty world. It turns out they were dead all along, and they are in an afterlife world. It tells the same story, but it's more interesting and logical than the movie.

Movies

Seuls Two / 2 Alone in Paris (2008): Two people find themselves alone in an empty world. It is another adaptation of the comics.

Passengers (2008): It turns out they were dead all along, and they are in an afterlife world.

Vanishing on 7th Street (2010): People disappear due to an invisible force.

The Langoliers (1990): A select few find themselves alone in an empty world. Based on the The Langoliers novel.

The Others (2001): It turns out they were dead all along.

The Quiet Earth (1985): A select few find themselves alone in an empty world.

The Sixth Sense (1999): It turns out he was dead all along.

The Silent Earth (2012): A select few find themselves alone in an empty world.

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Frequently asked questions - Alone movie (2017)

Will the Alone movie be available with English audio dub?

As of 2023.06.17, Alone is not available with English audio dub.

Is the Alone film based on comics?

Yes, the Alone movie is based on the Alone comics.

Is the Alone film a remake or reboot?

No, the Alone film is neither a remake nor a reboot.

Is there a post credit scene in Alone? / Does Alone have end credit scenes? / Does Alone have a post credit scene?

No, there's no post credit scene in Alone.

Is there a sequel to the 2017 Alone film?

As of 2021, there hasn't been a sequel made to Alone. Despite the title, Seuls Two / 2 Alone in Paris (2008) is not a sequel, but another adaptation of the same story.

Where can I see Alone? What is Alone playing on? What streaming service is Alone on? Where can I watch Alone online? Is Alone available on Netflix? Is Alone on Amazon?

As of 2023.06.17, Alone is available on Amazon Prime Video UK, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube.

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Resources - Alone movie (2017)

Official

Scope Pictures: Seuls: Database article.

Information

IMDB: Seuls (2017): Database article.

WikiPedia: Seuls (film, 2017)(in French): Database article.

English version via Google Translate

Rotten Tomatoes: Seuls 2017: Database article.

The Alone comics

TVTropes: Comic Book / Seuls: Database article

Reviews with no spoilers - Alone movie

Adam Tierney (for IGN): Neo-Tokyo: Review article of the Alone movie with no spoilers.

Marcus Goh (for Yahoo Movies Singapore): Review: 'Alone' ('Seuls') is a mad mess of a French film: Review article of the Alone movie with no spoilers.

Vance Wong (for F*** Magazine): Alone (Seuls) (2017) – Review: Review article of the Alone movie with minor spoilers, no more than the trailer.$

Reviews with spoilers - Alone movie

Culture Crypt: ALONE (SEULS) (2017 - French): Review article of the Alone movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.§

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Buying the product - Alone movie (2017)

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Have you seen the Alone film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!