'No One Will Save You' review: A home invasion thriller with an extraterrestrial twist
Courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Hulu
The home invasion genre is getting a makeover with “No One Will Save You,” writer-director Brian Duffield’s 90-minute thriller that could probably be described as “Signs” meets “Home Alone.”
Slick in its execution and efficiently paced and thrown together, ”No One Will Save You” is a daft little chiller where the viewer finds themselves asking the question: “What would I do if an extraterrestrial intruder broke into my home?” At least, that’s where my head was watching Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever), who lives in a secluded farmhouse miles from civilization, waking up in the middle of the night to discover an alien rummaging through her kitchen.
That’s the ingenious concept Duffield has cooked up that, on the surface, can occasionally struggle to maintain a consistent rhythm, yet “No One Will Save You” has a deeper core and more unearthly secrets not just about this unwanted house guest, but the population of the nearby town. There’s more than meets the eye and Duffeld, who’s last directorial effort “Spontaneous” was a real head banger, takes the low-fi premise and gives it a larger than life feel. Sure, it’s made for streaming, but there’s no reason this couldn’t play on the big screen with its impeccable sound design, decent visuals, and great lead performance.
This is the Dever show and though she doesn’t speak much throughout the movie, her physicality and facial expressions are never held back. She plays Brynn with just enough mystique, you feel sympathetic to her situation, especially after she wanders into town and the locals are disgusted by her presence. Suddenly, you can see why she’s anxiety riddled and is content in her solitude. That is, of course, until these aliens start poking around and testing both her mental state and agility. Based on what I saw, it’s conceivable she could give Kevin McAllister a run for his money.
It’s an interesting character study as much as it is a taut thriller. Duffield enjoys playing with shadows and wide angle shots to ratchet the tension and catch audiences by surprise in effective ways rather than opt for the cheap, predictable jump scares. The decision to unravel the creature design within the first 25 minutes was initially a head scratcher (I always find ambiguity is a stronger narrative device), but the reveal ends up serving a bigger picture to the story and recontextualizes half the movie. It might not always be a smooth ride, but a tight 90-minute thriller is hard to resist and “No One Will Save You” is tons of fun.
Grade: B
NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU is now streaming on Hulu.
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