The sci-fi horror Stephen King called one of a kind: “Brilliant, daring, involving, scary”
From the blood-soaked coming-of-age horror of Carrie to the murderous Saint Bernard in Cujo, Stephen King has been terrifying readers and moviegoers since the 1970s. Many of his novels have been adapted into feature films—some wildly successful, others less so. Still, it’s safe to say King is a horror expert, cementing his place as a leading figure in the genre with iconic works like The Shining, It, and Misery.
Killer clowns, a lawnmower with a mind of its own, and supernatural creatures hiding behind mist can all be found in King’s evocative world where nothing is as it seems. Objects become sentient, ghosts and otherworldly forces wreak havoc on individuals, and the fears that humans attempt to suppress float to the surface, forcing readers to confront the things that scare them most.
King isn’t just a horror genius, having written books that have been transformed into movies like Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile. However, it’s the spooky genre that he remains best known for, with his stories arguably becoming responsible for various collective fears, like clowns, or even cinematic tropes, like proms gone wrong.
Thus, if anyone has some authority to discuss good horror movies, it’s probably King. The filmmaker has a long list of his favourite horror movies, including Village of the Damned, Les Diaboliques, and The Blair Witch Project, but he’s always down to watch the newest releases in the genre. In 2024, he shared a post on Twitter/X recommending a Hulu original movie, No One Will Save You, released the year prior. The film went relatively under the radar when it hit theatres shortly before becoming available on the streaming service, but King is adamant that it’s a film not to be missed if you’re of the horror movie persuasion.
Directed by Brian Duffield, whose previous writing and producing credits include Cocaine Bear, Love and Monsters, and Skull Island, the film contains hardly any dialogue, instead crafting a tense atmosphere. No One Will Save You stars Kaitlyn Dever as a solitary young woman suffering from the grief of both her mother and her best friend, who becomes the victim of a group of hostile aliens. She must fight them off herself, with the townspeople seemingly unphased by her character’s declarations of an alien attack.
Talking to his social media account, King wrote, “No One Will Save You: Brilliant, daring, involving, scary. You have to go back over 60 years, to a Twilight Zone episode called ‘The Invaders,’ to find anything remotely like it. Truly unique.” If King is bringing The Twilight Zone into his praise, then you certainly know how serious he’s being. The author is a huge fan of the series, and it significantly inspired his approach to writing, showing him how horror can appear in various relatable forms.
No One Will Save You received relatively good reviews upon its release and earned various nominations from institutions like the Writers Guild of America Awards and the Critics’ Choice Awards, but it’s arguably King who has championed the modest horror film the most.
