Fans of folk horror have been counting the days and reading the portents leading up to the release of one of the most anticipated titles ever to come along in this creepy little subgenre. But now the hour has come ‘round at last, for You Won’t Be Alone is in Australian cinemas now.
An Australian, British, and Serbian co-production, You Won’t Be Alone marks the feature directorial debut of Macedonian-Australian filmmaker Goran Stolevski. Set in the far rural reaches of 19th century Macedonia, the film tells the tale of a young girl, Nevena (Sara Klimoska) who is promised to Maria (Anamaria Marinca) an evil witch—“Wolf-Eateress” in the film’s parlance—in exchange for sparing her life as a baby.
Taught the magic of shape-shifting, the girl, who was raised in isolation, explores the mortal world in a variety of guises and forms, learning about love, loss, pain, and oppression in all their varied shapes. Noomi Rapace (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) and Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures) co-star. It’s very much a dark fairy tale with strong feminist themes running through its bloody veins—comparisons with Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves are apt.
Stolevski is on a bit of a roll at the moment. His second feature, Of An Age, recently won the 2022 Best Film Award of CinefestOz, while You Won’t Be Alone has racked up a slew of positive reviews from its time on the festival circuit prior to wide release. The film itself is very much in the arthouse horror vein; while there are many moments of shock and gore, it’s a much more meditative and thoughtful film, steeped in Macedonian folklore and superstition, and dripping in haunting atmosphere. If Terrence Malick remade Jim Henson’s The Storyteller for A24, it might look a lot like You Won’t Be Alone.
