A debut feature from Adelaide directors Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell (and now streaming on Shudder), You’ll Never Find Me is a suspense/horror film that draws out philosophical tension in a most impactful way. An elderly man by the name of Patrick (Brendan Rock) lives alone in a desolate trailer park when a stranger comes knocking at his door in the middle of a thunderstorm. The unnamed woman (played by Jordan Cowan) is searching for shelter and a means of navigating her way back home as the two engage in tentative conversation throughout the night. As the storm turns more ominous, so do their continued interactions, with both individuals uncertain how much to trust the other.
Developed from an observable small budget, Allen and Bell succeed in rendering their audience at the edge of their seats. With zero special effects and not relying on jump scares or predictable plot unravelings, You’ll Never Find Me’s aspects of horror and suspense lie within the fantastic casting of its two characters in the film. Creaking floorboards, snaps of lightning and dark shadows cast upon the small and claustrophobic trailer home presents a simple premise, keeping its viewers glued in the immediate as the two characters gradually reveal their true nature and background stories.
Patrick’s deep wrinkles and shaggy beard portray a lived-in appearance, someone encased deep within the confines of his trailer home, brooding and philosophizing about human nature. The younger Visitor (as Jordan Cowan is credited) is restrained yet clearly on edge regarding her apparent trapping with Patrick as sole company. Resisting the urge to flail out of control or fall into formulaic dialogue, the two actors are a force to be reckoned with in their subtle and controlled pacing.
Engaging in acts that leave us unsure of whose side to take, Patrick offers his new guest a shower, warm food and clean clothes, yet there’s an underlying tone of deception to his offerings. Surreal shots of blood splatters and household tools encrusted with blood leave us nervous as to how and why those scenes came to be; whether they are flashbacks or wild nightmarish dreams. Engrossed in a card game by the name of Bullshit to pass the time, Allen and Bell are fiendishly clever in their plot with intertwining a game of (mis)trust with stories of the two character’s retelling of their past, the viewer constantly left guessing as to where the night may turn.
Arguably, the ending laid the path for a more unsurprising turn of events, yet despite the film’s final choices, the subtle force of You’ll Never Find Me’s earlier unyielding unease proves effective and carries its strength throughout its entirety. For those that yearn for more thoughtful horror, this one’s for you.
