No One Will Save You

This is a deeply odd movie. Almost a Name That Tune challenge that said, “I see you A Quiet Place and I can tell that story in two words!” Because that is literally all you get in this film. I get it. I do. But at some juncture you watch Kaitlyn Dever running around not uttering a single sentence and wonder if, perhaps, she’s mute. And an interesting thought experiment — or at least an interesting filmmaking experience — starts to turn into a gimmick. Something that, in its uniqueness, eventually starts to detract from the film because you just start watching it to see if she’ll ever say anything. To herself. To other people. That conscious choice, I imagine, was made to enhance the character’s feeling of isolation and ostracization and put us inside her head, but nobody — not a single human being – runs from aliens and gets all sorts of messed up without uttering even a single “Holy shit!” or “Oh, fuck!” It’s just not a thing. Or is, but only in movies.

So, yes, there is no talking until the one-hour-nine-minute mark. Where Dever’s character says, “I’m sorry.” That’s all you get. So don’t go looking for it. Otherwise there is a lot of Signs in this movie. Other than the aliens, of course. But there is a person who is isolated from their community — not in grief as the family is in Signs, but in ostracization for some mysterious reason. She is a woman alone in an old farm house type place — just like Signs — with little, to no, connection to the outside world when an alien shows up. And this ain’t E.T. No, it’s a malignant alien who seemingly wants to do some sort of body snatcher thing on her. Luckily, this woman, who is shunned by her town, is quick on the draw and manages to kill the alien home invader after getting absolutely pummeled. As if Dever is her character from The Last of Us and not a shut-in who builds models and maybe does some knitting. I’d say Dever probably weighs 90 pounds soaking wet, so it’s a bit of a stretch. More than a bit. But nobody in the history of the world has ever fought an alien, so who knows if perhaps a scrappy, scrawny young woman could totally take one down. Despite its telekinetic powers and powerful frame.

The rest of the movie entails Dever running around trying to alert people to the alien takeover (without actually talking) and avoiding said aliens. All while the enduring mystery of why she’s been shunned by the town to begin with boils in the background. Including a scene where she finally makes it to a police station, only to have a woman spit in her face. Giving us a clue of sorts. There’s no indication in what what year this is taking place, but all things point to it being modern day (a headstone, for instance, marked with a 2019 death year). Which makes it super-odd that she doesn’t have a cell phone. Something that would have caused some plotting issues for our writers. Since, you know, she could have just called someone when the alien showed up in her house. And would have actually had to talk. Which, again, isn’t something the script supported. I get it that she’s supposed to be isolated — and may not have anyone to actually call — but it just felt too convenient that a phone wasn’t an option for her.

Eventually there is an awkward dream sequence of sorts involving some sort of alien parasite and probing that reveals the reason for this woman’s exile. And, let me tell you, I don’t blame them for their anger. Though the aliens are a little more forgiving. These aliens that at different points of the movie are seemingly blood-thirsty monsters? Who are now empathetic creatures who want to dole out their form of restorative justice? To this one woman? It’s a confusing message. And, ultimately a confusing film. And, look, it’s tough to tell a story with no dialogue. But they made that bed. And if their message gets garbled because of it, that’s just a stubborn choice that cost you. It’s just not as deep as they hoped it would be.