No One Will Save You (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – An exiled anxiety-ridden homebody must battle an alien who’s found its way into her home.

My Take – Indeed, alien invasions are the most exhausted sub-genre of science fiction right now, with every kind of dime a dozen feature releasing almost every year trying in to fill a supposed gap without bringing much innovation to the whole concept.

Thankfully, this sophomore directorial feature, following his debut Spontaneous (2020), from Brian Duffield, known for his screenwriter work on The Babysitter (2017), Underwater (2020) and Love and Monsters (2020), is far from the typical chaos-filled approach.

Paying perfect homage to Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), along with films like Signs (2002), Fire in The Sky (1993) and the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, is a competent exhibition of visual storytelling, fraught with genuine tension and tidy build-ups.

Largely shot under the radar on a modest budget, this surprising nearly dialogue less film instead makes big-budgeted ventures look rather inept. Deftly led by Kaitlyn Dever, who has earned strong acclaim in miniseries such as Unbelievable and Dopesick as well as the 2019 film Booksmart, the film always keeps you guessing as it continues to build on its set-up.

Yes, the ending is, well, odd, but the ride to get to it is delightfully worth it. It’s honestly a shame this film’s been released on Hulu instead of in theaters, because I can see this being exactly the kind of low budget high concept genre film that’s begging to be experienced with a full auditorium.

In the small town of Mill River, the story follows Brynn Adams (Kaitlyn Dever), a young anxious woman who lives alone in her childhood home after her mothers’ death. Keeping herself busy making dresses, constructing a model village, and writing letters to her childhood friend, Maude Collins, Brynn only occasionally venturing into town as she’s not welcome due to an incident involving her former best friend.

One night, she is awakened by strange noises, assuming, as one would, the invader to be of human origin, she’s wordlessly shocked to discover that it is in fact an alien, big eyes and even bigger head, a prelude of a bigger nightmare to come. Forcing Brynn to use all of her intelligence and resourcefulness to survive the night and fight off the aliens.

Here, writer-director Brian Duffield wastes no time getting started. After a brief setup, it gets right to the action: a home invasion that’s actually an alien invasion. What follows is an incredibly tense, surprisingly quiet mix of sci-fi and horror.

Once the aliens show up, the film puts its minimalist setting to good use and despite the aliens being somewhat conventional in nature, director Duffield finds unique ways of using them and we get some really memorable sequences of Brynn either hiding from the aliens or being chased by them.

What’s impressive about that first encounter, though, is that it’s just the tip of the iceberg. From there, the film expands its scope without getting off track. The alien menace grows, and as the film’s title lets on Brynn is entirely on her own since her neighbors won’t lift a finger to help out.

The aliens too are fun to watch, some tall and lanky, others short and squat, creepily crawling around everywhere, making appropriately scary noises and noiselessly opening doors at will. Director Duffield keeps ramping up the tension effectively with a few well-timed jump scares.

One of the major defining features of the film is that with the exception of one line, the film has no spoken dialogue and this is a purely visual film in terms of creating story and characterization. Yet, it was successful in not only maintaining suspense in eventful situations but also in characterizing the grief-stricken protagonist and her tainted past.

All these made this stand out from the rest, like a breath of fresh air in the midst of tedious repetitions. Admittedly, the ending will not be for everyone. Any ending that isn’t definitive and easily explained never is. Personally, I liked the ending, but prepare for a story that might not end in any way you expect.

Performance wise, Kaitlyn Dever proves once again, following Rosaline (2022), that she can command a film entirely on her own. Dever has proven herself time and time again as a reliable actress and that’s no less true here as she takes what’s essentially a one woman show for much of the time and must create a character purely through facial expressions and pantomime, and it really works as you get an idea for her character and the situation in her town without a word being spoken. Here, she is believable as both a victim and a fighter, and her performance is one of the major highlights of the film.

In smaller roles, Lauren L. Murray, Geraldine Singer, Dane Rhodes and Zack Duhame are effective enough. On the whole, ‘No One Will Save You’ is a taut alien invasion thriller anchored by its unique approach and Kaitlyn Dever‘s strong performance.