User reviews

This film pleasantly surprised me. It was chilling and compelling as the story rolled out and I loved the balance of good acting by Kaitlyn Dever and well executed and restrained special effects. All of which was even more impressive since there was barely a word spoken during the whole film, yet a complex plot and a rich character still shone through.

The last scene was a bit twee for me, and I felt it could have been better executed, but I got what they wanted to say with it, so it didn't let the rest of the film down.

This film will appeal to horror and science fiction fans but it's got the legs to capture the attention of a wider audience, too.

In the small town of Mill River, Brynn Adams (Kaitlyn Dever) lives on the edge of town in her isolated home only occasionally venturing into town as she's not welcome due to an incident involving her former best friend Maude Collins. During the night, Brynn is awoken by strange noises from in her home that soon prove to be unearthly in nature and a prelude of a bigger nightmare to come.

No One Will Save You is the sophomore feature of Brian Duffield following his 2020 debut Spontaneous. The script was acquired by 20th Century Fox in a competitive bidding war and featured up and coming actress Kaitlyn Dever attached as the lead who'd earned strong acclaim in miniseries such as Unbelievable and Dopesick as well as the 2019 film Booksmart. Largely shot under the radar on a modest budget (roughly $23 million), the movie now makes a rather lowkey debut on Hulu and while it is overall good, I'll admit I did find myself less engaged in the third act.

One of the major defining features of No One Will Save You 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. Kaitlyn 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. Once the aliens show up, the movie puts its minimalist setting to good use and despite the aliens being somewhat conventional in nature, Duffield finds unique ways of using them (and to a degree justifying their appearance) and we get some really memorable sequences of Brynn either hiding from the aliens or being chased by them. I do have some misgivings about the film especially in how it maybe stretches itself a little much in its minimalist dialogue with a scene towards the middle of the film where Brynn doesn't file a police report (which they try to justify to mixed results in my opinion). The movie also has a third act that tries to tie back to the incident with Brynn's friend Maude and while I think it is better handled than how Signs handled similar traumatic incidents in its take on aliens, it didn't quite hit the mark for me especially with the rather strange note the movie ends on.

It's honestly a shame this movie'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 that would see it perform in the company of films such as Super 8 and A Quiet Place. While I have my personal misgivings about the end result, I applaud Duffield for trying to do something out of convention with the alien sci-fi genre and Dever continues to show what a strong actress she is. That alone makes it worth a viewing in my opinion.

But it's a lot better than many movies out right now and I really liked it. Think Close Encounters crossed with Communion with a dash of 2001 and some interstellar thrown in to boot. Plus it has its own originality. It looks great and moves along at a lovely pace. Kaitlyn Dever carries the movie and does it exceptionally well - its a fine perormance by an actress that will grow and grow and I can see her with a Streep like status in a few decades time - you can see it in her face. To the reviewer who skipped through it and claims there is "not one line" of dialogue... well, that's what you get for skipping.... My one criticism is I didn't really get the ending, as well done as it was, but that may just be me. I have thoughts on it but hopefully some other reviewer will clarify. This would be best seen on a big screen but regardless of where you see it, I think you will enjoy it and find the 90 minutes flies by. It also stays in your head afterwards which I always think is the mark of a good film. Enjoy.

This a an unconventional alien picture which delivers an epic of its own. The beginning seems to borrow a presentation from Tim Burton films, with the lead actress showing some Home Alone resourcefulness, while tying to sum it all up with a Twilight Zone like moral ending. Is it exactly like any them I mentioned? No. It just sprinkles enough of those ingredients from them that makes this a good film to watch. The aliens bring enough intensity and intimidation to satisfy a belief which matches what the lead character meets. There's good suspense, moving action, and the right eeriness that you're not predicting what is going to happen next. It's a strong 7 for me on this film. The only reason my score isn't higher is because of what the director chosen for its ending. I just thought the conclusion of the story could have been written differently because of how well this version told of an alien story was crafted, as well as the encounters that the protagonist had with the aliens she faced. If you enjoy alien films or sci-fi, this is one you can alternatively add it to those types of films.

If you're a fan of those movies, you might like this. Just don't expect to have everything wrapped up in a bow at the end. You're going to have to use your imagination.

A beatnik girl battles aliens and her own personal demons. This movie starts fast and keeps it up until the end. No time wasted on back story, dialogue, or technobabble. You have to remember she's just a girl not an Avenger or Wonder Woman although she manages to give a good account of herself. The effects are great and it's tense yet exciting. I don't consider the movie to be full of jump scares, it's just tension packed. It's definitely not for everyone. If you go into it expecting Alien or Independence Day even, you'll be disappointed. I think M. Night fans will be most satisfied with this.

The "Horror, sci-fi, thriller" description convinced me to watch this, unfortunately this was not what was delivered.

I enjoyed the lack of a spoken script, wondering what was going on, why and where it was all leading to; No spoilers here, but it all went nowhere, slowly.

If you are expecting a movie that takes you on a journey and leaves you satisfied at the end....... prepare for disappointment!

I can think of similar movies that are far better than this one. Check out a movie called "Stephanie", a great example of how to do a movie like this and leave the viewer satisfied at the end, in fact, wanting more.

I love how this movie balances the expected with the unknown. It forces you to create your own ending in the simplest way, and it focuses on the deepest fears of home invasion, while creating plenty of jump scares and unique scenes. Great movie, give it a watch.

Props to the creators, especially with putting Kaitlyn in such a unique role. Not many novies have succeeded with such little dialogue, but this does.

Anyone that appreciates kaitlyn Dever and Sci fi together will appreciate this original depiction. The small town only adds to the originality of the film. Unique scy-fi in the best way.

"No One Will Save You" is a home invasion film and also an alien invasion film that features much more than it may seem at first, let by a shining performance.

Starting off with the good in this movie by far is Kaitlyn Dever. She is outstanding in a role that basically requires no dialogue. She is able to put so much fear and emotion in her expression that truly made this one of her best performances. The camera work is also great. It moves so well and the directing is on point here with many great action scenes. The aliens themselves were pretty creepy and the CGI for them was actually pretty good. I liked the emotional core the film gave. It made me really appreciate it more. And finally the movie is really fast paced and it was a nice 90 minutes.

Now I do have some issues with this movie, mainly regarding the choice to have no dialogue. It works for the most part but it also left me having a hard time understanding what was going on at times. I felt the middle portion of the movie lost some steam from its great first act and action packed third act. And finally I felt that the ending left some unanswered questions about a certain choice that was made. Along with that the end did feel like it was stretched on for maybe 5 minutes longer than it should have been

Overall despite some issues, "No One Will Save You" is a pretty fun home invasion movie with standout lead performance.

Plot

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

Cast

Writer/Director Brian Duffield has been involved with several films I really enjoyed such as Love & Monsters, Spontaneous and The Babysitter so I'm saddened I couldn't hold this to the same level. Beyond that I knew nobody, I have to credit leading lady Kaitlyn Dever though she was great here.

Verdict

I'm not a sci-fi guy, immediately I was concerned I wouldn't like this but advertised as a sci-fi horror I thought I'd give it a go.

What you notice first is how well made it is, fantastic cinematography, a fascinating character with a hidden background you're looking forward to finding out about and manages to pad out her universe really quite well

When everything kicks off it looks great and is paced perfectly, despise my initial concerns I was gripped. The trouble is such sequences get repetitious, basically the same thing happens each time and never really changes things up. Furthermore when you learn about our characters plight it's not really very engaging and has been done before.

Though the movie looks great, the leading lady is competent and there's unexpected depth to the film it still fell short for me and delivered a highly average effort.

Rants

To show how little interest I have in sci-fi look at this, X-Files was always a show that I wanted to like but I found myself struggling as episodes always came under one of two headings. 1) The ongoing plot which which featured conspiracies, the smoking man, Mulders sister, ufo's, aliens etc and then 2) The standalone episodes, these featured a creature or person with a mysterious power. I enjoyed the latter episodes, I despised the former.

Breakdown

Looks great Some solid moments Surprising depth Decent lead Some moments get old Not keen on the finale Some bits are very lackluster.

But I have an absolutely opposite feelings towards this film , even though , I have given it 7 stars , probably , more positive than otherwise ... Firstly : absolutely terrific acting , main character portrayal is just plain brilliant , effects and action are superb , story is consisting in many parts of many films before , but up to the end , done pretty good . My problem is the ending ... the film itself was almost brutal , the ending should have been like a punch in a face , kinda like the "Mist" , instead we got overly philosophical and empty resolution... Anyhow , in comparison with many modern films , it is by far not the worst. Decent one time watch .

This movie honestly had so many good moments that I wanted to love it. But the mind boggling, inexplicable decisions that were made by the main character, as well as by the director, were too much to look past. Let me explain:

Suspense was built in such a cool way. Very effective. There were creepy jump out of your seat moments. There were "oh my goodness" make your skin crawl moments.

BUT

There were too many unexplained moments where you wonder why the main character suddenly begins making decisions and doing things contested to the characteristics of the character they've been developing the whole film.

Some odd moments of slow motion in weird places at weird times. Too many prolonged "let's zoom WAY in on the main characters face as she ponders life for an uncomfortably long time.

For those reasons, I gave it a 6.5. A solid watch IF your expectations aren't super high.

This won't be everyone's taste; you really need to focus to track the hints sprinkled throughout the beginning of the film. If you watch closely, the ending will make a lot more sense. I really like Kaitlyn Dever in Unbelievable, where I thought she out performed Toni Collette, but she really nails her role as an outcast with "no one to save her", working with almost zero dialog and with a limited cast, she made the movie. I really enjoyed the slow burn feel. I actually wish they had shown less of the intruder, I think that would have made it a bit more intense, letting your mind do more of the work. I recommend a watch.