Save Yourselves!

When you hear “alien apocalypse movie," you typically think of a blockbuster dripping with effects, action, and toxic masculinity. Even if comedies like The World’s End or This is the End come to mind, both are loaded with more crude, slapstick humor. Save Yourselves! instead goes for the heart and slice‑of-life approach, leaving the alien takeover as the backdrop. In reality, the movie is about a couple in their early thirties seeking to shake up their routine by unplugging and going on vacation. Jack (John Reynolds, Stranger Things) and Su (Sunita Mani, GLOW) head off to a cabin in the woods for a temporary escape from their lives (No it’s not a limerick.). Their trip coincides with an invasion of homicidal aliens in the shape of large Koosh balls, if I can date myself with a reference. With their retreat now upset, they must flee their getaway home for survival.

The film, as you may have guessed, has much more to do with the couple than the situation they find themselves in. Jack and Su are both likeable and relatable; they deal with problems that young people and couples of all ages deal with. Over the course of an hour and a half, the audience hears them bemoan feelings of inadequacy, frustrations with each other’s quirks and flaws, and where they are at their age compared to their parents. Nonetheless, they love each other, and you never sense that their relationship is on the rocks.

Perhaps what is refreshing about Save Yourselves! is its ability to address imperfection and insecurity in a real way rather than bury the emotions of its main characters under clichés or gunfights. While our leads could be classified as a coastal hippie couple, Reynolds and Mani possess charisma and great onscreen chemistry. Several times during the film, I nodded my head at the sentiments each of them conveyed. The film subtly expresses two major points: wherever you are in life is okay as long as you keep going, and it never hurts to be honest. Though the timing of their retreat seems ill-fated, Jack and Su are fortunate enough to speak their minds and improve their relationship in ways that could help them survive.

As for the invasion itself, please do not tune in just for this. The nature of the invasion or the psychology of the Koosh ball aliens is not at all delved into, and even their behavior is inconsistent. Multiple times, the first aliens that Jack and Su encounter could easily kill them and just don’t. This is never truly explained, so if you are more of the District 9 type, the ambiguity may frustrate you.

Nonetheless, Save Yourselves! is a pleasant couples comedy with enough heart to push the common “alien apocalypse” subgenre to the background. Witnessing a young couple work out their issues with honesty and a little technological detachment is a refreshing break from adrenaline-filled blockbusters.