No One Will Save You

No One Will Save You
Starring Kaitlyn Dever, Ginger Cressman, Zack Duhame, Geraldine Singer
Directed by Brian Duffield

There's nothing scarier than a home invasion. The place you feel most safe, most secure, most welcomed. When that safety is shattered by someone invading your home it's something that you never fully recover from, and find yourself living in fear even in the place you used to go to for safety. While that's scary enough, what would happen if the home invader is something not of this world?

Brynn Adams (Kaitlyn Devers) is living alone in her family home set far away from the small town she lives in, and doesn't venture out into town because of an event that happened years earlier between herself and her former best friend Maude that resulted in the entire town hating her. She lives an isolated life, writing notes to Maude, building miniature birdhouses, and solitary dancing. All is tranquil for her, until one night someone breaks into her home. Thinking it was an intruder, she soon discovers that it's no ordinary person - in fact, it's not a person at all. An alien has invaded her home, and this is just the beginning of Brynn's torture as she discovers that aliens are invading the town, bent on assimilating the human populous - including Brynn herself.


The Good:
The film blends the home and alien invasion stories into one, forming a tight, solid story that makes it feel more close to home than most other alien invasion movies. While other movies like that center on big cities and loads of people, here it's a small town and centers almost entirely on one character who's totally isolated from the outside world. You feel Brynn's fear, her despair, and her hopelessness as she tries to battle the alien invaders alone. It's claustrophobic in a way that doesn't seem to work: a big, sprawling house with acres and acres of woods doesn't typically paint a small confined space, but that's how it feels with the excellent cinematography and storytelling.

Kaitlyn Dever shines as Brynn in a role that is easily her most challenging to date. What's unique about this film is that there's barely any dialogue, and Dever has to rely on her physicality to tell her story. We see her at the beginning obviously still struggling from something that happened to her in the past, as she isolates herself and shies away from anyone. When the alien arrives, she is rightfully frightened, but she also showcases strength that comes from somewhere within as she battles against impossible odds. She's no damsel in distress, and when push comes to shove she shoves back.

The house is a great character all its own, as it utilizes all the hidden nooks and crannies, the distorted windows that conceal what's behind, and every creak and moan feels like a crashing crescendo. It establishes a mood of hopelessness and isolation that makes you second guess purchasing a home far away from civilization.


The Bad:
The film drags somewhat in the middle as Brynn plays cat-and-mouse with the aliens, repeating the cycle of run, get caught, escape, and all over again. At a scant 90 minutes, this repetitive narrative gets a bit stale.

The ending is quite divisive, and obviously not going into spoilers I'll say I actually liked it, while others clearly didn't.


The Verdict:
A tight, compelling, unique take on the alien invasion subgenre, "No One Will Save You" will keep you on the edge of your seat as it delivers a slow burn thriller led by a career-best performance from Kaitlyn Dever.


The Score: A