Die Alone Cast, Director, Plot And More Details
Everybody loves a good post-apocalyptic thriller. The genre dates back decades, with titles like "Planet of the Apes" and "Mad Max: The Road Warrior." All these years later, the genre is still going strong, as evidenced by the popularity of movies like "A Quiet Place" and "Children of Men." Of course, perhaps the most popular strain of survival thriller involves outmatched humans trying their best to defeat the undead (or undead adjacent). For proof, look no further than TV series like "The Last of Us" and "The Walking Dead."
If you can't get enough of these types of terrifying stories, then we've got good news for you — another offering is heading your way. The provocatively titled "Die Alone" started making waves in May 2023, when the project was first sold during the Cannes Film Festival. All the months later, what else do we know about the upcoming thriller? Which big-deal sci-fi stars will be facing a new form of shambling, hungry monsters, and when exactly will we see the post-apocalyptic drama play out? Read on for everything we know so far about "Die Alone."
When will Die Alone be released?
In May 2023, The Hollywood Reporter announced that "Die Alone" would begin filming in June of that year, with shooting taking place in Saskatchewan, Canada. With a Canadian director and plenty of Canadian talent in front of the camera, no wonder it's shooting in the Great White North.
Just a few months after that THR report, Deadline revealed in September that "Die Alone" had wrapped filming. So now, we're all waiting to learn when we'll actually see this sci-fi thriller. At the moment, there's a bit of behind-the-scenes drama about which company has the rights to release the film internationally — Archstone or Myriad Pictures — but Quiver Distribution will handle the movie's release in the U.S. That's the same studio behind films such as the infamous John Travolta vehicle "The Fanatic" and the Lulu Wilson vs. Kevin James-as-a-Neo-Nazi thriller "Becky."
Who is starring in Die Alone?
As noted, when "Die Alone" heads before cameras in June, it'll do so with an impressive central cast. Fronting the pack is the one and only Carrie-Anne Moss. The star of "The Matrix" franchise and Netflix's "Jessica Jones" joins the cast of the upcoming movie after a two-season stint on the Nordic noir drama, "Wisting," and current festival player, "Chocolate Lizards." And she's sure to bring her signature blend of tender-hearted toughness to the proceedings.
Moss will be joined in "Die Alone" by Frank Grillo, best known for playing Brock Rumlow/Crossbones in the MCU. Playing the lead character (more on that in a bit) is Douglas Smith, who, unbeknownst to many, actually earned his first professional acting credit as a youngster in the mid-1990s. Over the years, he's appeared in television series like "The X-Files," "Big Love," and "The Alienist." He's also appeared in films such as "Antiviral," "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters," "Ouija," and "Don't Worry Darling."
And as "Big Little Lies" fans no doubt recall, Smith also portrayed Cory Brockfield, the soulful co-worker and love interest of Shailene Woodley's Jane Chapman during the series' second season. He'll be accompanied here by Kimberly-Sue Murray of "V Wars" and "Shadowhunters."
What's the plot of Die Alone?
The lead stars will apparently have their hands quite full in the post-apocalyptic landscape of "Die Alone." Tthe film is set in a bleak future where a devastating pandemic has led to the crumbling of society. Amid the perilous societal void, a young man named Ethan (Douglas Smith) is stricken with amnesia and allies himself with a hard-edged survivalist named Mae (Carrie Anne-Moss).
With the world still ravaged by the zombie hordes responsible for the pandemic, the two set off into the wild to find Ethan's long-lost girlfriend. En route, a chance encounter with the mysterious Kai (Frank Grillo) may hold the key to unlocking secrets buried deep in Ethan's memory. It remains to be seen what that all means in the grand scheme of the "Die Alone" narrative. But just based on that setup, the film appears to be shaping up as a more grounded, character-driven take on the zombie-plagued apocalypse genre, a la HBO's recent adaptation of "The Last of Us."
Who is writing and directing Die Alone?
To be clear, "Die Alone" sounds a lot like numerous other zombie apocalypse dramas that have hit the market since "The Walking Dead" helped open the floodgates back in 2010. The film does, however, have a pretty major wild card on board that should easily set it apart from any genre contemporaries. And said wild card is none other than writer and director Lowell Dean.
That name may not be familiar to everyone, but there's no doubt a devout group of B-movie horror lovers whose ears pricked up the moment they saw he was attached to the project. That's because Dean was the mastermind of 2014's unabashedly over-the-top schlock cinema feast, "Wolfcop." If you've seen that gonzo gorefest — or its equally daffy 2017 sequel, "Another Wolfcop" — you know there are a lot of reasons to be excited by what narrative prospects "Die Alone" might offer Dean. And if you checked in with the filmmaker's 2018 offering "Supergrid," you already know he's capable of delivering the dramatic goods in a post-apocalyptic narrative.
Still, "Die Alone" looks to be shaping up as a very different sort of post-apocalyptic beast for Lowell Dean. And it should be fascinating to see what the offbeat filmmaker does with the level of talent he's already got on board for the film.