After watching a movie that sends its protagonists through the wringer, you cannot help but ask yourself, “Would I have been able to survive that?” Do you think you’re tough enough to survive the wastelands ofMad Maxor escape one of theJurassic Parkislands? Do you have the tenacity of aFinal Girl in a horror movie, or are you likely to be just another one of the killer’s body count? While it’s an exciting prospect to imagine that one might be the unexpected hero, capable of overcoming all obstacles, the harsh but realistic truth is that most peopleprobablywouldn’t make the cut.
But of course, nothing is guaranteed, and this movieasks what an ordinary person, more versed in email etiquette than survival skills, might do at the end of days.Released in 2020,Save Yourselves!is an alien invasion movie unlike any other. Following the most unprepared and unlikely protagonists, the film is a hilarious sci-fi comedy that balances both absurd humor with surprisingly genuine reflection about self, one’s place in the world, and living a life that actually means something in the vast expanse of the universe.
Save Yourselves!
‘Save Yourselves!’ Is Simple and So, So Weird
Save Yourselves!has an unconventional yet tremendously relatable set-upthat initially feels out-of-place in the sci-fi genre. It follows a Brooklyn-based millennial couple, Su (Sunita Mani) and Jackie (John Paul Reynolds) who feel aimless and long for more purpose. After experiencing burn out from their lives and hoping to develop some sense of self-worth and direction,they take some time off and decide to unplug from the world, cutting themselves off from their phones and the internet while staying in a friend’s cabin. However, while Su and Jackie try to develop more meaningful connections to each other and to themselves, they accidentally remain completely oblivious to a brutal alien invasion happening right around them.
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“In case I don’t see ya: good afternoon, good evening and good night.”
Keeping with the lighthearted and silly tone of the movie, the aliens invading the planet are also quite unexpected. The pouffes, as Su dubs them, are fur-covered spherical aliens that otherwise appear to be an avant-garde piece of furniture. However, despite their cuddly appearance, the pouffes are exceptionally lethal. They are capable of moving surprisingly quickly and have an unending appetite for ethanol, drinking up everything from alcohol to gasoline with its long tentacle-like appendage. And despite not being depicted in the film, writer-directorsAlex H. FischerandEleanor Wilsonhilariouslydeveloped intricate backstories for the pouffes, giving each colored fuzz ball its own personality and backstory. Once Su and Jackie discover a pouffe in their cabin, they turn their phones back on to alarming news. While they were disconnected,the pouffe invasion of Earth had begun.With a number of harrowing and frantic messages from people back in New York, the two learn that the pouffes are utterly deadly, and destruction has already been wrought around the country.
‘Save Yourselves!’ Is a Sci-Fi Comedy Overflowing With Personality
Despite being an alien invasion movie,Save Yourselves!feels much more like an introspective character piece than one might expect. More of a slice of life and relationship story as it is a sci-fi adventure, Su and Jackie spend the majority of the film alone together, carrying the weight of the narrative through their interactions. The movie includes even the briefest interactions, such as their quick checklist before closing the apartment, that would otherwise be unnecessary in a sci-fi movie. Instead of being superfluous,these moments serve to show the depth and complexity of the two characters through their quirks and oddities.Jackie is an atrocious listener who has trouble sharing his emotions, but it’s later revealed that it stems from his own insecurity about his masculinity. Su is constantly overwhelmed with work and tries too hard to facilitate meaningful connections, but it’s rooted in her own worrisome fear about her future and worth.
But in addition to the quieter emotional moments, Su and Jackie are both uproariously funny from start to finish.Their reactions to the pouffe invasion balance the line betweenrealistic and utterly absurd; they earnestly try to be intelligent about survival, which reminds the audience that life sometimes just feels like a comedy. They’re smart enough to close all the windows and keep watch through the night to avoidclassic horror movie tropes, but they’re also both sorely unprepared with their limited survival skills. The couple lampshades their lack of knowledge early on, noting that they wanted to go offline partially to learn some more tangible skills, feeling inadequate with their lack of other skills. It’s an experience unique to a more tech-savvy generation that has lost touch with physical labor. Seeing people fumble through survival with the best intentions and ideas, but total lack of preparation, is as funny as it is relatable.
‘Save Yourselves!’ Is a Blunt Reflection of Modern Society
Films can be timeless, but they can also be preciselyofthe time.Save Yourselves!falls into the latter camp, as it feels like this movie is a strikingly realistic representation of millennial life, and the worries that come with it.The desire to find purpose is a universally human experience,but it’s presented through a distinctly 21st century lens. No other time period has had to deal with the often overwhelming hyper-connectedness that modern technology brings. As with most protagonists, the stressors of a challenge force them to improve beyond their current state, forcing them to rely on no one but themselves in order to save, well, themselves.
Ultimately, the ending ofSave Yourselves!is left open-ended, with questions somewhat answered, but perhaps not completely.Su and Jackie both toughen up, finding their strength in trying times, and even developing a sense of purpose and responsibility when they rescue a baby whose parents were killed by pouffes. However, the fate of the couple and the future of humanity are left uncertain. It’s in that uncertainty that the movie punctuates its unique creative direction.Save Yourselves!barely feels like analien invasion movie, but that’s entirely the point.Su and Jackie are time capsules of this era and are brilliant characterizations of what being in your early 30s is like.The comedy of a pouffe invasion is an utterly absurd premise, and it never hesitates in embracing that oddity, making the film one of the most memorable sci-fi films in recent years.
Save Yourselves!is available to watch on Max in the U.S.
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