‘No One Will Save You’ Director Brian Duffield Explains The Twist Ending Of His New Alien Movie

It seems like once you do something wrong in the real world No One Will Save You, but then again — maybe aliens would?

(It’s worth noting here that what you are about to read is going to spoil the ending of the new Hulu film No One Will Save You, so avert your eyes if you must. Consider yourself warned!)

This new alien invasion movie revolves around the character of Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever), a young woman who lives in a remote house far, far removed from human contact. As the movie progresses, we learn why she’s shunned (and been shunned by) her community — because we learn that she accidentally killed her friend as a 12-year-old. The movie takes place a decade after this incident, and as we meet Brynn, it’s clear that she has been living an isolated life in a small community ever since. We don’t see her go through the consequences of being locked up in juvie for her crime, but Brynn clearly experiences being shut out from the human world.

This leaves us wondering about how Brynn’s character was inspired and how humans can be so cruel to a child, especially one who did something wrong on accident. The Hollywood Reporter interviewed film’s director, Brian Duffield, about the twist ending of No One Will Save You, as well as the deeper meaning found in this largely dialogue-free film. In this expansive Q&A, Duffield mentions a school shooter, the Slender Man stabbing, Heavenly Creatures, and in his film he answers the question of “So how do you live the rest of your life after that?”

Brynn is seen coping with crafting dioramas, cooking, and sewing clothes until an alien invasion comes into town. Unfortunately, she accidentally kills again but this time it’s an alien. Duffield depicts the aliens as a “hyper-intelligent species” who peak a curiosity in Brynn, which he styles as “I want to see the next YouTube video about that.”

The film has to show a lot through actions and emotions for it to make sense since there are less than ten words in the entire script. One takeaway, Duffield says, is that “she and the aliens have a lot in common, and they can benefit each other a lot.” It might be true that aliens might seem like violent creatures at fault, but it doesn’t mean they intentionally cause harm. That tells the same tale of Brynn.

As for the ending of the movie — you should check out Decider Sr. Reporter Anna Menta’s No Will Save You Ending Explained essay, too — here’s what Brian Duffield had to say about the film’s “happy ending,” which sees Brynn dancing in a field while UFOs whir in the skies above.

“[Brynn] finally gets something that she didn’t think she would ever deserve, and I like the idea that this kid who has gone through so much had a really happy ending, as strange as it may be,” Duffield tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I love horror movies that have a real slap-in-your-face ending, but I liked Brynn too much to slap her in the face.”

He adds, “I don’t know that she’s the only one out of seven billion people to still be themselves and be okay, but I like the idea that she is as far as she knows. She finally gets something that she didn’t think she would ever deserve, and I like the idea that this kid who has gone through so much had a really happy ending.”