Sam Was Here (2016)

What to Expect

Sam Was here is a Shudder exclusive that fits into the "where is everybody??!" genre, a term coined in reference to the very first ever Twilight Zone episode of the same name. Basically, there's signs of life everywhere but no actual people anywhere. Sam is a door-to-door salesman from LA whose boss had him drive out into the middle of nowhere to peddle his wares to a rural desert community. Problem is, nobody's home. Every house is empty. The local diner is abandoned. The motel left a door open, but nobody's at the front desk. The movie is built upon a feeling of isolation. Sam's completely isolated in the middle of the desert and in the middle of a dusty town. But, the cool thing is he's not actually completely alone. There's someone who knows he's there and apparently has an ax to grind with him because he keeps getting threatening messages on his beeper and even painted on his car. Even though he can't see or hear anyone. There's also a running sub plot of a serial killer on the loose, which you learn about through a local talk show radio host which apparently everyone in the town was listening to before they disappeared.