Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for the movie “No One Will Save You”

No

In a letter to her friend, protagonist Brynn wrote, “I don’t think I can ever forgive myself.” It was a subtle clue to the deeper look at grief and blame in the alien-home invasion movie “No One Will Save You”

Brynn was seemingly forced into a reclusive life. She lived alone and avoided interacting with the public as much as possible. Years before, Brynn accidentally killed her childhood friend, and she either never faced criminal charges or never admitted her actions. Ever since, her life was led by grief and guilt. 

Brynn wrote a letter expressing her guilt to her dead friend every day, yet she never took responsibility for her actions. In a scene where Brynn was face-to-face with the mother of the friend she killed, the mother spat in her face. 

Though most audience members might have been sympathetic toward Brynn, I felt for the mother. Had Brynn admitted her actions, both women would have faced terrible grief, but the mother would have answers and could begin healing. Brynn would still hold the blame, but she would not have to live with such a terrible secret.

Near the end of the film, Brynn faces an alien replica of herself. The replica stabbed her in a metaphoric act of self-sabotage, but Brynn killed the replica and wept over its body. Brynn knew that she caused the problems in her life, which was why she curated a safe space in her home. If she never had to leave, she never had to face her actions. 

As the film ended, Brynn returned to her life surrounded by townspeople working on her property. She smiled and waved and they returned her pleasantries, revealing they were controlled by the aliens. 

Brynn’s choices isolated her for the rest of her life. She felt alien and excluded in a world where she did not face her actions, so the only place she felt at home was among the aliens.

Yes

In the new horror movie “No One Will Save You,” Kaitlyn Dever played Brynn, a girl who had been isolated by her entire community. When aliens invaded her home, she fought back, but not without revisiting her past.

It was impressive how strong Brynn remained during social isolation. At the beginning of the movie, she is attacked by an alien but manages to kill it with a piece of the bell tower from her model town. 

Anxious, she went into her real town to ask for help at the police station. However, she ran into the chief of police and his wife, who also happened to be the parents of her deceased best friend, Maude. 

Not even a minute after she walked in, the couple looked at her with contempt, and Maude’s mother spat in her face before leaving the station with her husband. 

To make matters worse, the officer behind the desk had a look that mirrored the departing parents, so Brynn decided to leave. She then hopped on a bus to skip town, attempting to leave everything behind.

Instead of breaking down and crying in the police station, Brynn chose to regain her composure and take the bus. She realized there was nothing she could really do to make it up to Maude’s parents, but what she needed to do then was keep herself safe from the alien invasion and get help if she could. 

Brynn realized that she was wasting time trying to converse with a hateful police officer, so she took her leave from the station instead of lashing out at the officer for his judgment.

An earlier scene showed Brynn in her car dropping off packages to her clients. She drove by a neighbor, looked out the window, and waved hello. Her gesture was not reciprocated, and she received a cold and empty stare as the neighbor retreated into his house. 

Brynn drove away and finished her errands. Afterward, she cooked herself dinner while playing a song, attempting to make herself happier.

Again, Brynn could have defended herself to the police officer, but she went ahead with her errands instead of becoming upset by the incident. She understood that she had to move past that moment and focus on what she could change instead, emphasizing the strength of her character.