No One Will Save You
There is more to the story than just aliens, as the thematic elements deal with Brynn's trauma (such a hot theme right now) after the death of her mother and her childhood friend Maude. We don't know the details of Maude's death right away, but we see that it's clearly somehow Brynn's fault and the town has not at all forgiven her for it. Byrnn is shunned by the townspeople to an extremely high degree, to the point where she spends her days in complete solitude inside her isolated childhood home, sewing and selling dresses online for money and constructing an elaborate model town in her living room.
And then suddenly: aliens. Late one night, Brynn awakens to the noises of an intruder in her home, quickly discovering it's an intruder of the non-human variety. Even though we've seen the same scenario in countless other movies before, this initial 10-15 minute scene is absolutely gripping, thanks to wonderful camera work, tremendous sound design, and appropriately terrified desperation shown by Dever. After Brynn escapes the situation purely by luck, she heads into town only to discover the invasion is much larger than it initially appeared, and she is completely alone in trying to fend off even more aliens as they come after her with a vengeance.
This isn't one of those movies where the aliens are hidden from view for suspense or budgetary reasons: they are on screen quite a bit, which is part of the fun. Their design here is similar to the classic depiction of aliens that you might see in the X-Files or the earliest UFO movies: tall, slender, with long limbs and big round eyes. There's a decent amount of effects needed in a movie like this, and given the relatively meager $20 million budget, adjust your expectations accordingly. That being said, the alien designs and UFO effects are corny in a delightfully nostalgic way. Even though the movie's tone is taking itself very seriously, the B-movie visual elements balance things out by injecting a dose of fun, producing a vibe very similar to the summer blockbusters of the early 2000s (which for me is a positive; you might feel differently).
The movie ultimately lives or dies on how much fun you're having with the many chase sequences, as Brynn is basically running nonstop from one crisis to the next. We are slowly drip fed information about Brynn's past, which is eventually revealed (somewhat anticlimactically) and haphazardly tied into the invasion plot. The last 20 minutes or so really asks a lot of the audience, as some truly bizarre twists might leave people scratching their heads. I think they are twists that make sense after some thought, but let's just say Byrnn makes some decisions that don't exactly fall in line with the typical hero's journey.
Dever (one of the breakout stars of 2019's "Booksmart") is asked to basically carry the entire movie (without saying more than a few words, no less), and she does so impressively, even if most of what she is doing is running, hiding, and being scared out of her mind. Her big, expressive face is perfect for the kind of emotions needing to be conveyed in a role like this, and she is more than game for the many physical challenges required of her as things explode, ignite and generally devolve into mayhem within a few feet of her person. We want to root for her almost immediately, which unfortunately makes her final decisions particularly hard to stomach. Nevertheless, it's another progression in the career of an impressive young actress that hopefully continues on to bigger and better projects.
I hate to say it again, but "No One Will Save You" is really the kind of movie that is perfectly suited to seeing in a crowded theater; it's classic summer blockbuster action with visual flair and popcorn-dropping horror moments, all while providing a fun remix to the classic alien invasion genre. Pop it on with the family and you'll have a good time hiding under a blanket and yelling at the screen.
