Brynn leads a withdrawn, rural life in her parents’ home. Between a visit to the local cemetery and looking tearful at the sight of an old photo, we can imagine the young woman haunted by a painful memory. However, Brynn’s problems are not yet over because one night she becomes a victim of a break-in by an intruder… alien. The film No One Will Save You (Hunted), which offers no dialogue to its frightened but resourceful heroine Kaitlyn Dever, is forced to deliver an almost silent performance. The Booksmart star is excellent. The film, however…
However, everything starts off promisingly. In barely ten minutes, the orphaned protagonist’s isolation becomes clear, as does her obvious discomfort with going into the city, where she avoids meeting the gaze of others. We visit the house during Brynn’s daily activities. Knowing the geography of the place, we can later follow with increased attention the movements of the hostess as she tries to avoid the visitor from elsewhere.
Unfortunately, things start to go wrong shortly after this game of cat and mouse. Brynn goes to get help and then she leaves town… Oh, and then why doesn’t she go home instead? Halfway through the film we are treated to an almost identical repetition of the first attack.
Brian Duffield wrote and directed No One Will Save You, and the result is more like an episode of August’s The Twilight Zone than a feature film. There was obviously a lack of material, which gave the impression of narrative filler. Equally problematic: we guess from the beginning the nature of Brynn’s “difficult secret”, the contents of which are revealed with theatrical force during the denouement, as if it were a major revelation.
And as long as we bet on not having a dialogue, why haven’t we taken responsibility until the end? Brynn’s only words during a key scene are completely unnecessary: Kaitlyn Dever’s look and expression say everything there is to know.
False ambiguity
The film also likes to leave things unclear here and there about the heroine’s mental health (is this alien invasion real or the fruit of psychotic delirium?). Is the vague era with relatively new vehicles but a retro vibe in the protagonist, not to mention the lack of a smartphone, an indication that we are actually “inside Brynn’s head”?
At the end of the analysis, too many contradictory elements undermine this interesting reading. In fact, the film leaves several ideas open.
On the visual level, however, “No One Will Save You” is a success: expressive compositions and unusual shots follow each other. The special effects that merge the physical and the digital are also effective (the sounds of the intruders help a lot). However, this is not enough. As it stands, the film proves to be more irritating than exciting.
Nobody will save you (VO)
★★ 1/2
Science fiction by Brian Duffield. With Kaitlyn Dever. United States, 2023, 99 minutes. On Disney+.