Shudder Original You'll Never Find Me is an exercise in suspense

If you create a horror/thriller film with one setting and only two characters, you have to be very careful with your choice of actors. In order for viewers to stay engrossed (especially since so many people these days are so distracted by their phones), the characters have to be compelling, and the actors have to be really good at their craft.

Shudder Original You’ll Never Find Me is one such film, and it’s a great example of how strong actors can carry a movie that is so economical in its set and story.

Patrick lives alone in a trailer, and there is one heck of a storm brewing outside; so you can imagine his surprise when there is a loud knock at his door. He opens it to find a young woman standing outside in the pouring rain, and after he initially hesitates, he allows her inside.

With the exception of a few brief flashbacks, this is where the entire film takes place – inside Patrick’s lonely mobile home. It is clear from the first moments these two characters spend together that one or both of them are harboring secrets (or bad intentions); the air between them practically crackles with it.

I know it sounds like a weak premise for a full-length feature film, but this is the perfect example of a slow burn that really works to amp up tension and put viewers on the edge of their seats. Independent films often don’t have the budget for high quality actors, but You’ll Never Find Me proves that a good percentage of said budget SHOULD be spent on people who can sell the story.

Brendon Rock plays Patrick, and Jordan Cowan takes on the role of “The Visitor,” and these two are horror movie gold together. Their facial expressions alone tell part of the story, even as we are trying to figure out what exactly that story is. Their distrust of one another ebbs and flows, as they intersperse suspicious questions and answers with periods of relaxing and playing cards (appropriately, they play the card game “Bulls**t”).

Every component of great filmmaking is in its proper place here – the sound and lighting especially help, and the camera work gives us close ups on the actors’ faces and what would seem to be unimportant details – a bowl of soup, an earring. Throughout the movie, the storm rages outside, causing the trailer to creak and moan.

I don’t really want to tell much more of the story, so as not to give spoilers. Suffice it to say that most questions are answered as the film nears its end. It’s worth noting that Jordan Cowan doubled as You’ll Never Find Me’s producer, making her a double threat to the film industry. Directors Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell (who also wrote the screenplay) have previously only worked on shorts, making this their feature film debut…and one helluva debut it is!

You’ll Never Find Me will premiere on Shudder March 22.