No One Will Save You is a must-see home invasion thriller with a twist
Even though we've all become used to watching brand-new movies at home, there's still a stigma attached to streaming movies. They've become the modern era's 'direct-to-video' release, one that clearly wasn't good enough for the cinema and is probably a bit rubbish.
And sure, we've endured plenty of new streaming movies that fit this bill, but not every new release in the cinema is a winner either. You can't just dismiss streaming movies out of hand as otherwise you'll miss out on movies like No One Will Save You.
Written and directed by Brian Duffield (Spontaneous), the movie has now debuted on Disney+ in the UK and Hulu in the US. It's a home-invasion thriller with a sci-fi twist: the home invaders are aliens. And it's also one of the best surprises of the year.
If talking about aliens sounds like a spoiler, it's not. The aliens – pleasingly designed in an old-school 'grey alien' style – make their presence known less than 10 minutes into the movie, rather than them being held back as a last-act twist.
No One Will Save You doesn't need to tease the aliens for a surprise as it has plenty of others up its sleeve. You might think you know what you're in for from the trailer, but there's a particular storytelling device that marks the movie out and we won't spoil that for you here.
Even just to call it a home-invasion thriller is to do it a disservice. It delivers tense home-based set pieces, but the movie also morphs into a bigger 'aliens attack' sci-fi, while also being an examination of how grief and trauma can stunt your life and trap you in your past.
The glue holding it all together is Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart, Unbelievable) as Brynn, who has been shunned by her community and forced to live in isolation. It's a more physical role than we've ever seen from Dever, as well as being one where she's largely alone on screen, and it marks another excellent performance in an impressive growing catalogue.
No One Will Save You is so expertly crafted, especially in its sound design and score by Joseph Trapanese, that even without a strong central performance it would work. But it's Dever's performance that helps paper over its relatively thin plot.
The circumstances of Brynn's alienation are hinted at throughout, but the destination is obvious so it doesn't pack as much of a punch that the revelation could have. Duffield does finds an affecting way for Brynn to deal with her trauma though and Dever pitches the moment perfectly, not overplaying it.
Despite this slight issue, No One Will Save You is so effective and innovative in its approach to a classic home-invasion thriller that it's a must-see movie. Like Prey last year, it deserved a big-screen release, so all we can recommend is you turn the lights off and the volume up (with courtesy to any neighbours, of course) to best replicate the cinema experience.
There are plenty of streaming movies that you'll watch once, enjoy and instantly forget; No One Will Save You is not that movie. It's something that you'll want to experience again and again.
No One Will Save You is available to watch now on Disney+ in the UK and on Hulu in the US.
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