David Farnor | On 25, Sep 2023

Director: Brian Duffield
Cast: Kaitlyn Dever
Certificate: 16+

Don’t you hate it when you’re watching a scary film and someone talks all over it? There’s no chance of that happening in No One Will Save You, an alien invasion flick that unfolds with almost no talking whatsoever.

Kaitlyn Dever stars as Brynn, a lonely young woman who is living on her own in the woods. The brief times that we see her with other people, she’s shunned to the point of hostility – and that isolated feeling sets the tone for the rest of the production, as we find ourselves joining Brynn in a world lacking in connection and conversation.

Company, though, soon intrudes in the form of an extra-terrestrial – one that Brynn soon realises has hostile intent. What ensues is a hushed cat-and-mouse chase through her creaky home, and No One Will Save You’s inspired move is to make sure that chase never ends. What begins as a home invasion thriller slowly builds and expands into the surrounding estate and ultimately the community, with the aliens escalating in size when needed to keep the threat high.

The aliens themselves are suitably 1950s in style, bringing a cheerfully cheesy touch to the eerie, old-school genre thrills. Director Brian Duffield conjures a spooky atmosphere with a low-key charm, relying on inventive lighting and camerwork to keep us on the edge of our seat while Brynn is peeking round corners and ducking under objects. The sound design, unsurprisingly, is impeccably deployed, from scuttling feet to gurgling growns, each unfamiliar noise sending a shiver up the spine with an unnerving precision – punctuated only by our protagonist’s gasps.

The result, of course, recalls A Quiet Place, but misses some of its ingenious world-building – the lack of talking, there, was integral to its own universe and plot. No One Will Save You is so good at lining up streamlined set pieces, however, that a final act in need of some in-world logic is easily forgiven.

Needless to say that all this wouldn’t work without a committed cast, and Kaitlyn Dever is superb as the regret-filled loner. She delivers what is essentially a bravura one-woman show. Her face is wonderfully expressive, capable of conveying fear, determination and guilt – and, occasionally, a flicker of hope – with a wide-eyed sincerity. If the conclusion doesn’t work narratively, Dever makes sure it does emotionally, and that’s all that this low-budget rollercoaster needs to keep you hooked – and not saying a word until the end credits.

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