The alien-horror genre is a tricky one to navigate these days. It feels like every possible angle has been covered – from the horrifying Alien to the goofy Mars Attacks. And yet, writer/director Brian Duffield has given us something fresh with Hulu’s No One Will Save You. This film toes the line of that classic horror while also perhaps getting a bit too ambitious at times with its message.
No One Will Save You follows Brynn Adams, a creative and talented young woman who’s been alienated from her community. Lonely but ever hopeful, Brynn finds solace within the walls of the home where she grew up—until she’s awakened one night by strange noises from decidedly unearthly intruders. What follows is an action-packed face-off between Brynn and a host of extraterrestrial beings who threaten her future while forcing her to deal with her past.
One of the things about this film that immediately stands out is the interesting decision to not include dialogue. It’s likely not something a wide audience will typically enjoy, but in this film, it works. Much of the movie consists of tense, hide-and-seek scenes that don’t require and speaking, and the scenes that typically would are carefully handled to give Brynn and those around her a reason not to speak. It gets the audience itching to hear the voice of its main character and that’s just one of the many ways this film draws its audience in.
No One Will Save You wastes no time getting into its horror side. The film definitely starts out with some very creepy vibes and pushed the envelope of what you might expect from an alien-focused movie. The creatures, while very familiar, possess an uncanny valley feature that will make the audience uneasy throughout. However, while it does come back to those same tense vibes again and again, the creepiness eventually wears off as the film turns a corner.
And that’s where the film may be a bit too ambitious. This is not necessarily an indictment of this film specifically, but rather of a recent trend in horror films: not everything needs to be a metaphor for some aspect of the human condition. Sometimes, including in some moments of this film, those clever, symbolism-driven moments just don’t fit into the otherwise very entertaining horror story. Unfortunately, No One Will Save You does dip its creepy alien toes into that trend just a bit too much.
That being said, the film does also succeed in telling a heartbreaking tale of Brynn and how she has been dealing with her grief. While much of this film is telekinetic powers and hiding from extraterrestrials, there is also this very human story that allows the audience to connect with its main character. The lines of these two stories blur together for much of the film, there are just some spots where they don’t quite mix.
The biggest reason both of those stories work though, is without a doubt the film’s lead. Kaitlyn Dever is brilliant as Brynn. Her portrayal of the constantly panicked horror victim is second only to that of the grieving girl, shunned by everyone around her. It takes only minutes for her to get the audience invested and before the end of the film, you’re ging to want to reach into the screen to give her a hug and tell her everything is going to be okay.
Unfortunately, this film does hit on one more element typical of horror movies: the missed ending. While this film will keep you guessing, its conclusion certainly leaves something to be desired. Of course, a full explanation is difficult in a film the includes (almost) no dialogue, but some more answers would have been nice. It also delivers enough false endings to make you question if the 93-minute runtime is actually a lie.
Overall, No One Will Save You is an enjoyable new horror movie that scratches that itch for fans of the alien subgenre. It tries to do just a bit too much at times, but thanks to an incredible performance from its lead, the audience will be hooked from start to finish. If you’re looking for something to watch this Halloween season, you can certainly do worse than this new sci-fi film.
No One Will Save You premiere tomorrow, September 22 only on Hulu.