Those who’ve played Nintendo games where protagonists are speechless other than grunts should find themselves in familiar territory with this mostly dialogue-free film.
Kaitlyn Dever stars in the picture, now on Hulu, as Brynn, a young woman living in a rural house near a small community. Brynn lives a simple, quiet life, appearing to be trying to recover from a trauma in her past.
After a fairly typical day, she goes to sleep, but is woken up by noise in and around her home. The intruder, though, is no burglar, but rather an extra-terrestrial, and there’s not just one that Brynn has to escape from.
“No One Will Save You” may be low on dialogue, but it’s fairly high on suspense. The first act is especially thrilling, as it’s a simple but effective game of hide and seek, with Brynn trying to hide and protect herself from the alien intruder.
Not only does it play on the fear of a one’s home being broken into, it’s compounded by the intruder being an alien force beyond human understanding. It heightens the stakes, and Brynn having to think quick, be resourceful and often barely survive keeps a person on edge.
The next two acts increase the scale of the alien situation, showing an escalating threat that Brynn has to deal with, as the intrusion isn’t limited to her own home. As this is taking place, Byrnn not only has to face the external threat, but confront her own past problems internally.
It is during the midway and latter parts of the movie, though, where the lack of dialogue does begin to be a double-edged sword. While the filmmakers make clever use of the setting, sound and camerawork to ensure thrills keep happening, there are scenes where the absence of speech feels too awkward and unnatural.
It somewhat makes sense to be clear of dialogue since Brynn is on her own so much, and in fairness, Dever is rather effective in getting a lot across without words. Yet it’s still a fact that most people will say things to themselves or exclaim about something, and Brynn only making grunts feels off.
With that said, the suspense is still there in the second and third acts. There are different types of aliens that are part of this invasion, too, making the threats varied and keeping the fight for survival from being too repetitive.
The movie’s dedication to slowly revealing Brynn’s source of trauma and how it coincides with the escalating threat gives the movie a compelling reason to stay engaged on top of the suspense. While It does ultimately lead to a finale that doesn’t quite work, but the character background still adds intrigue and personality to the protagonist.
“No One Will Save You” is another example that small-scale alien invasion movies can make for effective thrillers, the other recent example being 2020’s “The Vast of Night.” The no-dialogue bit detracts at times and the ending is questionable, but the movie still keeps a person hooked from start to finish. 3.5 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 
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