ALIEN HORROR SUMMER - NO. 12: NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU (2023) MOVIE REVIEW

Aside from an amazing title, Brian Duffield’s 2023 film is a remarkable and fairly dialogue-free home invasion thriller that takes very unexpected turns in presenting alien horror elements in very fresh and inventive ways.

by Nate Lemann

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In what feels like a crime, this latest entry on our list never got the big screen treatment (it won’t be the last time that complaint will be leveed in this series). It is quite the shame as this film has thrills and scares that would’ve play well with a large audience. Duffield has crafted a really tight and extremely well-constructed alien horror thriller, evolving the typical grey man alien tropes with some impressively gnarly new creature elements.

The film is anchored by Brynn (a truly transcendent Kaitlyn Dever), an idyllic, Etsy girl living on one hell of a property (multiple times in the film’s opening act, I asked myself how she scored a home so lovely). Her life is far from perfect, though: It becomes clear that she is a town pariah (for reasons we will come to learn later on). In spite of her social status, Brynn has carved out a wholesome routine for herself. That all changes one fateful night…

Waking up to odd sounds from downstairs, Brynn discovers her front door is open. Before we can even start to contemplate the home invasion horror, Brynn hears unnatural scurrying around downstairs. She can get little glimpses that this not your typical robber. Brynn tries to hide but makes too much sound for this strange creature. We are treated to an expertly crafted game of cat-and-mouse as Brynn tries to stay one step ahead of her pursuer throughout her home.

Without getting into spoilers, Brynn eventually gets back into town but comes to find that most people won’t bother to help her. She also finds certain townsfolk seem to be acting very oddly, under some seeming spell. Brynn comes to find that her encounter the night before was just phase one of these creatures’ grand plan; dark skies start to form with circular objects viewable once the lightening strikes. The rest of the film becomes a very enthralling battle for survival as Brynn must contend with many more variants of her first night visitor.

The most impressive aspect is how there is basically only two lines of dialogue in the whole film, letting Duffield flex his skills as a visual storyteller (there may be more sound overall but there is less actual talking here than in any of the “A Quiet Place” films). Nothing is lost by that choice and makes Brynn one of the more believable final girls you will find in film. Dever is just beyond exceptional in this. She has always been a very good physical performer but the amount of emotion and history she can convey with the most nuanced of looks is profound.

The creature design in this is on another level. Duffield leans on the grey man designs of old but evolves them in fantastic ways. For one, they are multiple variations, not just a homogenous species that all look identical. It makes for an escalating tension as we get hints of new forms of alien she must contend with. Aside from varying limb sizes and crazy, lifeless black eyes, the most disturbing element for me was the toe/fingers. It is a small addition but that is so uncanny and off-putting, setting the stage for the creature features to come.

I don’t want to ruin parts of the final act for others but there are some of the creepiest and most disturbing sequences I have seen thus far in this series (screenwriters on Twitter/X who were following the film around the release know about the one-pager that circulated that completely throws convention out the window to deliver something wholly unique and terrifying). The film also boasts an ending the great Rod Serling would be very proud of.

This film is right there for streaming on Hulu now; go see it and hopefully we get to experience this one day in a theater.

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FINAL RATING: 4.5/5 Stars (Extremely impressive alien invasion thriller with a powerhouse performance and flawless script)