Having gained reputation for spending vast amounts of money on big budget productions that regularly turn out as average at best, questions have been asked of how Netflix decides how much to invest on what projects, with eyebrows being raised after the streaming service won a record-breaking auction to secure the rights to short story I Am Not Alone.
In fairness, it does come backed with some substantially talented individuals attached, given that Lovecraft Country‘s Mia Green is set to write the screenplay and direct, with Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain poised for the lead role. However, forking out a high six-figure sum to net the rights, plus an additional seven figures to cover Green’s contributions – as well as whatever Chastain will be pocketing – means that Netflix has already spent a fortune long before a single frame has even been shot.
Per Deadline, the narrative revolves around the mother of a young daughter who begins to lose control of her life when she starts experiencing severe migraines that induce hallucinations. Described as a “grounded sci-fi story,” I Am Not Alone will see Chastain’s character “defend her family against a threat only see can she.”
The only worrying element is that Simon Kinberg is producing, seeing as his previous collaborations with Chastain on Dark Phoenix and The 355 hardly set the world alight, but at least we know he won’t be involved in writing the script or calling the shots from behind the camera. The marker has been laid down in terms of finance, now it’s up to the creative team to ensure that I Am Not Alone doesn’t become the latest in a long line of lackluster Netflix genre films.