“Imperiled women” thrillers have changed a lot since their early days, but no matter how much they’ve evolved, they always seem to start with a woman being watched by a stranger. The first in a series of original movies for Tubi’s “Terror on Tubi” event, Alone in the Dark centers around a woman haunted by a recent scandal. Between legal troubles and a messy divorce, Bri Collins (Novi Brown) hasn’t had an easy time, though if she can make it through this year, her life might finally improve.

Alone in the Dark takes a page out of Disturbia and sentences its protagonist to 365 days of house arrest. This comes after Bri and her former husband Michael (Christopher Bencomo) were put on trial for a global “pump and dump” scheme. While her ex is stuck behind bars, Bri serves her time at their lake house. What her best friend and lawyer, Sofia (played by co-writer Kimberly Daugherty), calls “getting off easy” is more like torture for Bri. Her sheer boredom eventually becomes dread as she suspects an intruder has been inside her house.

As to be expected in a movie like this, the police don’t believe Bri; a detective named Joe Hall (Malcolm Goodwin) swings by only to suggest the goings-on are nothing but the house settling. Encouraged by Sofia to then hire personal security, Bri convinces an ex-marine-turned-private-investigator to help her. This Xavier character (Terrell Carter) is at first standoffish and wants to keep things strictly business, but it’s pretty clear where the movie is going with this flirtatious subplot. 

Just when Alone in the Dark begins to act too much like a meet-cute mystery, Brant Daugherty remembers he’s actually directing a thriller. Having the stalker break in at night and knock Bri around had some potential, though this encounter ends up being the last point where the movie ever feels remotely suspenseful. The movie title might imply she’s going to be alone, but there’s almost always someone around to prevent Bri from being by herself. There was a real chance here to use Bri’s prolonged isolation to fuel her paranoia and cloud her judgment. The Daughertys instead overstuff the cast, gradually ditch the psychological aspect, and fail to take full advantage of Bri’s smart house as a prison.

The movie indeed lacks tension, but at least it starts to loosen up toward the very end. Those first two and a half acts were like a long and fruitless warm-up exercise. Now, Novi Brown finally comes alive and seizes every further scene she’s in. The movie also does an admirable job of hiding the stalker in plain sight, enough to where the unmasking comes as a small surprise. The culprit’s actor cuts loose and delivers an overdone yet amusing performance. Although it might appear the mystery is solved a bit too soon, Bri quickly realizes something still doesn’t add up.

Alone in the Dark chose to gather its strength rather than distribute it evenly. The payoff isn’t so big or worthwhile that the shortcomings can be overlooked, but those more patient and lenient viewers might be pleasantly surprised by the ending.

Alone in the Dark is now streaming on Tubi.