From 2023, He Never Left is a film that blends various thriller and horror sub-genres to interesting, sometimes effective, sometimes less-so-effective results. It brings together stuck-in-one location tenseness, bloody serial killer action, urbane legend unease, and mismatched cop drama/ comedy.  Here from Epic Pictures is a recent Blu-Ray release taking in a commentary track, a lenghty making of, and a few other extras.

He Never Left is the first feature film directed and (co) written by James Morris, who was born in Provo, Utah. Dating back to 2011, he has fifteen acting credits to his name- including this film.

The film opens with text detailing The Pale Face Killer- who several decades back kidnapped (and seemingly) killed several people in a small American town, before disappearing without a trace. We then get a nasty killer stabbing victim scene, before nicely moody drone shots of rolling and mountainous autumn countryside.

As we drop into the film we get to meet two of our lead actors- skinny and goateed 40-something Gabriel(Colin Cunningham), and his rather haunted-looking/world-worn girlfriend Carly(Jessica Staples). She’s helping him out of the boot of a car- leading him into a motel room- which you guessed is in the town where The Pale Face Killer stalked. As the film unfolds, we find out Gabriel is a wanted man- and can’t leave the room.

Fairly soon we meet our next two lead characters cop partners Tim (Morris) and Mike (Sean D. Hunter)- the former is focused & no-nonsense, and the latter is more quirky saying/ doing often inappropriate things. These two are tracking down Gabriel, and hearing murmurs that The Pale Face Killer may be back.

The eighty-nine-minute film moves between the room Gabriel is trapped in- blending the present, with flashbacks to what he did. The two cops banter. Brutal masked face killings. And darts into the lives of Carly, and those running the motel.

There is no doubt we get effective moments of taut tension, brutal violence/ threat, and light chuckle-bound drama. But the problem is that the film tries to balance too many different tropes/ elements- so as a result it often feels tonally unbalanced/ uneven. Also, a positive is the acting is largely good- though we do get a few moments of hamming it up towards the end of the film.

However, my main issue here is that the film doesn’t fully explain some plot points/ elements, and the whole thing wraps up with way too many loose ends. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for mystery and things left unsaid- but really how this wraps up you feel like it’s just the first part of the film.

Moving on to this new region free Blu Ray, and we get a good selection of extras. First up is a commentary track from director James Morris and producer Michael Ballif.  They start off by discussing that the opening credits were shot in the Alpine Loop near Sundance, and that they always wanted this as the opening of the film. We find out the film was done in blocks- with the Crowdfunding slashing scene being first filmed in Sept/ October 2021, then six days in the motel.  They talk about the actors having a real flow to their performances. We find out the original version of the script was more of a Crime drama, with the slasher elements added in a rewrite on Baliff’s suggestion. They discuss how lucky they were to get Colin Cunningham-  as he’s a very experienced actor, with over a hundred credits under his belt. They point out family members who turn up in the film, and a brief cameo from Baliff. Later on, they point out unsettling moments of sound design. We find out some of the film was shot in the hot summer. We find out that Morris's day job is working as a cop, and he uses his real tack vest in the film. They discuss when the film shifts, and more. All in all, an interesting enough one-play track.

Otherwise, we get the following new extras- The Legend of Pale Face - The Making of He Never Left (1 hour 28 minutes) an epic making-of doc. Scoring A Legend (14.16) interview with the film’s soundtrack composer Randin Graves. Sculpting A Nightmare (6.21) interview with special effects creator. A Night at Lyc-Inn - Short Film (9.36). Intro Pre-Visualization (6.16). Super 8 Reel (3.20). Crowdfunding Pitch (7.23). Original trailer, and trailer reel. So, a good selection of worthy extras.

There is no doubt there is real talent behind He Never Left, and when it’s balancing all of the genre-blending just right- it’s certainly a compelling and pulse-bound ride. Issues aside I’d say give the film a go if you like where slasher, crime drama, and urbane legend meet.