Format: Streaming video from Hulu Plus on Fire!
Genre mashups always have the potential to be interesting. That’s especially the case with subgenre mashups, at least in my opinion. No One Will Save You is just such a case. To say that this is a horror/science fiction film is to name it in a group of hundreds and thousands of other films. More specifically, though, this is an alien invasion movie and a home invasion movie. It’s like the final confrontation from Signs mixed with Mike Flanagan’s Hush, with a bit of Invasion of the Body Snatchers tossed in for good measure. That’s a combination that has a lot of potential.
The reality of No One Will Save You is that it lives up to at least some of that potential, although not all of it. There are some really interesting ideas presented in this, but there are some serious questions that are left unanswered. I don’t always mind a few unanswered questions, but in this case, those are very plot-central. Because of this, the film feels oddly unfinished and unsatisfying.
We are introduced to Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever), a seamstress who lives on the outskirts of her small town. We learn that her mother has recently died and she is also missing her best friend, Maude. We also learn, importantly, that Brynn is an outcast from her town and is regularly shunned by everyone. Just as we’re getting used to this reality, Brynn’s home is invaded by a sort of classic grey, big-headed alien that attempts to subdue her through telekinesis. Brynn manages to kill the alien in self-defense and survive the night.
The next morning, Brynn discovers that the equivalent of an EMP has rendered her electrical devices, phone, and car completely useless. She uses her bike to ride into town to discover that it seems virtually everyone has been attacked by the aliens, although the town seems largely unaffected. Brynn sees this as an opportunity to flee the town, but after she boards a bus to leave, she learns that the other passengers appear to be controlled by the aliens thanks to some sort of parasitic creature in their throats. Brynn escapes again, and discovers that a good percentage of the town has become controlled by the aliens as well.
Much of what happens from this point forward isn’t going to be a huge shock. We’re going to get more attacks on Brynn by the aliens, more people being controlled by them, and eventually abduction as Brynn is pulled into their ship. This is where we are going to find out exactly why Brynn is an outcast in her town, and that’s going to take us to the end of the film…and that’s where I really have issues with No One Will Save You. Because this covers the end of the film, it really needs to be handled in a spoiler tag, so if you don’t want this spoiled, skip a bit.
* * * HERE COME THE ALIENS * * *
What we learn is that when she was a child, Brynn had an argument with her friend Maude. Maude pushed Brynn to the ground and Brynn retaliated by striking Maude with a rock, killing her. This explains why the townspeople treat her as a non-entity, but it doesn’t explain why she’s bothered to stay in town instead of moving away.
More importantly, it doesn’t explain the aliens’ actions toward her after this revelation. We see the aliens have some sort of conversation. Eventually, they decide to leave her alone, uncontrolled by one of their parasites. This is despite the fact that the other townspeople, at least many of them, are overtly controlled by the aliens. Why leave her free of influence? I genuinely don’t get it.
* * * AND THE ALIENS ARE GONE * * *
This weird disconnect at the end is pretty off-putting for me, and it’s a shame because a lot of what happens up to that point is good. The actual alien attacks are appropriately scary. This is much more a home invasion story in that respect, and the relative isolation of Brynn does make it feel like both Hush and Signs, and in the most positive way possible in terms of Signs. Brynn’s backstory, though, adds nothing that I can see to the actual plot of the film. Having her simply live out in the country achieves the same thing and doesn’t leave the ending that feels like it doesn’t make sense with the rest of the film.
Ultimately, No One Will Save You does a lot of things right, but it does a large driver of the plot’s resolution in a way that doesn’t make sense, and that’s hard to forgive.
Why to watch No One Will Save You: Is it a home invasion movie? Is it alien abduction? It’s two great tastes that taste great together!
Why not to watch: The ending feels unresolved.
