'No One Will Save You' Spoiler-Free Review: Uniquely Terrifying and Exhilarating Sci-Fi

As we continue another great year of horror films, Brian Duffield’s sophomore film, No One Will Save You, is an absolute triumph for the genre and one of the best of the year. Kaitlyn Dever in the leading role (essentially a one woman show!) with limited dialogue delivers an incredibly well acted and immersive turn as the protagonist, Brynn. With mostly facial expressions, she shows the pure dread her character is going through as the events start to unfold. Dever puts you straight into her shoes, having no one to help when you need it most.

The surface story is built around an alien invasion of a small, rural town from the point of view of one woman’s home in particular. At its core however, which to me is where the movie is at its best, this film has an incredibly emotional story about grief, regret and loneliness. Brynn as a character is deeply flawed and tragic but relatable and ends up being a complete bad ass. She uses a fight or flight mindset throughout the night, using her quick thinking and desperation to her advantage. As she does, using her own personal tragedy may be her biggest asset in her fight for survival.

The tension and anxiety Duffield delivers with Dever not even saying a word for about 90% of the film is impressive. Starting right off the bat with utilizing fantastic sound cues that make you feel uneasy in the dead of silence of the country side. As we go scene by scene with Brynn realizing that the aliens are inside her house, Dever gives a hauntingly accurate portrayal of the events if it were you in this scenario. Breathtaking fear and dread as she hears the footsteps and clicking alien voices come after her throughout her home, it continues throughout the film and very rarely lets up. Which was one of my favorite aspects of the film, how unrelenting it was and really dove into that terror aspect that pushes this to legit horror and not just sci-fi.

Now, let’s get to the creatures themselves. I absolutely loved the designs of the aliens, with multiple variations throughout the film and a few being quite terrifying, especially when they start moving and chasing. A few of the aliens were Grey Aliens, that seemed like a nice call back to the 40s and Roswell conspiracies and sightings, but then they expanded on the idea with some that ranged from primate like, to giant spiders with their movements.

From the technical stand point, Duffield and cinematographer Aaron Morton delivered some beautiful shots throughout the film, specifically the night time sequences. Without delving into major spoilers, there are a handful of gorgeous window shots with impeccable lighting from the UFO beams. Also as I talked about a little bit earlier in the review, the sound cues from start to finish were incredible. Along with a solid score from Joseph Trapanese, who understood the assignment with quite a few eerie tracks throughout the film.

There are twists and turns that you would never guess or straight up shock you and how it unfolds, you will be thinking about it for days on end. Duffield uniquely crafts a movie that doesn’t follow past tropes to get to it’s end game here. It has jump scares, but it doesn’t rely on them. Where the horror aspect is best is the tension building that stays throughout the film. With a huge emotional payoff it comes together both beautifully and tragically with a brilliant third act and an ending you’d never see coming. I Highly recommend to turn the lights off and pump your volume up with whatever you’re watching on. You won’t regret it.