Sci-fi movies are everywhere these days, and the streaming era has made it easier than ever to unearth many of the genre’s latest and greatest offerings. Sure, there are plenty of older sci-fi movies everyone should watch at least once, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy new cinema. For those in search of a masterful sci-fi/home invasion thriller with minimal dialogue and an excellent lead performance, look no further than “No One Will Save You.”
Written and directed by Brian Duffield, the Hulu exclusive premiered on the streaming platform on September 22, 2023, and fans of “The Last of Us” series on HBO Max will recognize the star of the film as Kaitlyn Dever, who portrays Abby in the second season of the series (a character slated to return for the show’s third season).
In “NOWSY,” Dever stars as Brynn, a seamstress living a reclusive life in a quiet town. One night, an extraterrestrial with telekinetic abilities descends upon Brynn’s property, and she’s forced to defend herself from what turns out to be a massive alien invasion. Running 93 minutes and produced for $23 million, the film only features five spoken words. If you were to combine “A Quiet Place” and the 2016 film “Hush,” you’d be more than halfway to “NOWSY.”
When silence speaks volumes
Critics praised “No One Will Save You” when it hit Hulu’s streaming library, particularly for Kaitlyn Dever’s performance and the film’s clever reworking of the home invasion sub-genre. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie is Certified Fresh at 83% on the Tomatometer, and it scored a 60 out of 100 rank on Metacritic based on 16 critic reviews.
The most positive reviews call attention to Dever’s acting, though some viewers took issue with the film’s divisive ending. It’s definitely a sci-fi movie that demands a grounded and relatable lead character — and while Dever delivers next to no uttered words, the actor’s expressionistic chops propel the film, even when it’s not moving forward at a breakneck pace.
Can “NOWSY” go toe to toe with some of the best sci-fi movies of 2025? “Bugonia” and “Mickey 17” are tough competition, but the now-two-year-old Hulu film is an unpredictable force to be reckoned with. And even if you’re not the biggest sci-fi fan to begin with, Duffield’s inventive script and confident directing allow “NOWSY” to transcend typical genre expectations and tropes. “No One Will Save You” is streaming on Hulu right now, alongside other sci-fi favorites like “Prey” and the FX-produced Noah Hawley series “Alien: Earth.”
