What Is the Story About?
No One Will Save You is a sci-fi alien invasion horror thriller that tries to give an interesting twist to the genre, where a trauma stricken young woman gets caught amidst a terrifying alien invasion in a small town far from the city. A compilation of tried and tested jump scares and cleverly knit moments of healing and grief, the film follows Brynn and her coming to terms with the loss of her best friend.
Performances?
In this almost wordless genre-bending home invasion horror thriller, the only and most effective performance is that of Kaitlyn Dever. She is the only main character of the film and effortlessly drives the proceedings of the film with a bunch of ugly looking aliens. A psychological horror is as effective as the performance of its protagonist and No one will Save You has to credit Kaitlyn a ton.
Analysis
Written, directed and produced by Brian Duffield, starring Kaitlyn Dever in the main role, No One Will Save You is a complete dialogue-less alien invasion thriller. It also has moments of psychological horror, jump-scares, dissection of grief and guilt and a lot more.
The films starts with Brynn starting her day. She lives in a home outskirts, all alone, stitches dresses, and seemingly has communication issues as she struggles to even wave a wish to her far neighbors. We can also see Brynn writing letters to Maud, scribbling all over about a traumatic incident that happened in her life and her never ending guilt.
Now we know that Brynn lives alone. Her mother and best friend, both no more. She pushes her day and tries to make the most of it until one day she wakes up to a shocking realisation that her home is being invaded by scary looking aliens. For someone with almost nada social skills and self-defense skills, she out-wits the supersonic abilities of an alien that attacks her and kills it.
The next morning, she visits the town to make a complaint, but returns to no avail. Brynn realises that the entire town is being invaded by UFOs and that she needs to save herself from them as well as her own pent-up guilt. No One Will Save You, lives by its name. Brynn is not saved by anyone. Brynn is all alone to fend for herself. But does she save herself or does she succumb to the alien intrusion to her own body forms the crux of the film.
Coming to the best part, No One Will Save You is engaging from the word go. The dialogue-less film lays the base in the pilot 20 minutes itself and doesn’t take a break till the climax. There are relentless jump-scares, endless twists and also a heart-touching pre-climax reveal that cuts through Brynn’s past. Lest to forget, a climax that is anything less than jaw-dropping.
No one will Save you is thrilling, riveting, beautifully shot and exceptionally enacted by Kaitlyn Dever. But, the film could feel repetitive after a point as the aliens keep coming and going and the cycle keeps occuring again and again. The climax is also a bit too ambiguous (I mean I dug the ambiguity) and might feel steam-less for a setting this engrossing.
In short, if there’s one film you’re up for this weekend, let it be No One Will Save You. Even if not as detailed as Jordan Peele’s Nope, the film has its own charm and it sure is engaging.
Music and Other Departments?
The cinematography of No One will Save You is exceptional. Aaron Morton’s frames reminded me of Jordan Peele’s Nope (2022) even if not as impactful and nuanced. The sound design and music by Joseph Trapanese does a bit of heavy-lifting while imbibing psychological horror from a template invasion thriller.
Highlights?
Performances
Thrills
Direction & Editing
Cinematography
Drawbacks?
Bit Repetitive after a point
Relies too much on Jump-scares
Ambiguous Climax may not work for all
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes. Definitely.
No One Will Save You Movie Review by Binged Bureau