Hey, it's Gannon.
This week's pick is an alien movie with one line of dialogue, and it still made my skin crawl.
Plus a rewind that makes me tear up every time, and our first Member Rewind from a fellow club member: Coby, making his case for The Monster Squad.
Let’s get into it!
🍿 My pick
No One Will Save You (2023)
Directed by Brian Duffield
Sci-fi · Horror
Runtime: 1h 33m
Starring Kaitlyn Dever
I first watched this one three years ago this week, and it landed on my top movies list for 2023.
It’s a really tight 90-minute flick that moves like a freight train! It has A Quiet Place vibes, which is tremendous. Kaitlyn Dever is amazing, and she’s in almost every frame.
If you’re not familiar with this one, here’s the gist:
Brynn lives alone in her childhood home, shut out by the rest of her small town. One night, strange noises wake her up, and whatever’s in the house isn’t from around here.
Two things to watch for:
Almost no dialogue. The first and only line of dialogue is spoken an hour and nine minutes in. Love that! Everything you learn about Brynn comes from what Dever does on screen, not what she says.
The score and sound design. Sound design is every creak, footstep, and strange noise you hear. With nobody talking, it does a lot of the storytelling. The score and sound design play a major part in this film, and they’re terrific.
There’s a scene towards the end, out in the street at night. I won’t say what happens. I just remember my skin crawling.
It was executed and shot so well!
⏪ The rewind
Warrior (2011)
Directed by Gavin O’Connor
Drama · Sport
Runtime: 2h 20m
Starring Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy
From one movie with almost no words to one about a family that can’t find them.
I’ve seen Warrior four times. I caught it in a theater when it came out, then couldn’t wait to watch it again once I could buy it at home. It hits a little differently (no pun intended) every time.
This movie has a whole lot of heart! It’s an incredible story about family, brotherhood, and pride.
Nick Nolte makes me tear up every time. Such a vulnerable performance. (It earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.)
There’s a scene in a casino hotel room between Paddy (Nolte) and his tough-as-nails son Tommy (Hardy). Tommy finally breaks and comforts his dad as he weeps.
Ugh. Wow. So heavy.
And the final fight tears me up too.
📼 Member Rewind: Coby C.
Vernal, UT · @raisedbyvhs on Substack
Where I watch
In the living room, and my wife is on the couch with me for sure.
My comfort movie
I have a few comfort movies for when I really need to chill: Back to the Future (1985) and The ‘Burbs (1989).
A scene I’d rewind forever
100% it’s the opening sequence of Back to the Future. It’s PERFECT. And when he skates off into Hill Valley while “The Power of Love” drops… AMAZING!
My hidden gem
The Monster Squad (1987) · Directed by Fred Dekker · Horror · Comedy · 1h 22m · Starring André Gower and Robby Kiger.
My October hidden gem has to be The Monster Squad.
If you grew up loving The Goonies but wished it had Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, this is your movie.
It was directed by Fred Dekker and co-written by Dekker and Shane Black. Somehow it completely bombed at the box office, then spent the next few decades becoming the cult movie it probably always deserved to be.
It feels almost genetically engineered for kids who grew up in the ‘80s. Bikes, walkie-talkies, treehouses, monster magazines, kids wandering around town without their parents knowing where they are, and actual monsters that are allowed to be scary.
And it has one of my favorite versions of Frankenstein’s monster. Tom Noonan makes him genuinely sympathetic and gives the movie way more heart than you expect going in.
It’s funny, weird, occasionally surprisingly dark, very ‘80s, and only about 80 minutes long. If you’ve somehow never seen The Monster Squad, October is the time.
And yes, Wolfman’s got nards.
My top 5 of all time
Back to the Future (1985)
The Lost Boys (1987)
The Monster Squad (1987)
Signs (2002)
The ‘Burbs (1989)
My movie collection
My current top four and my latest four watched.
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🎟️ Club picks
Thanks to everyone who told me what they’ve been watching this week.
The Death of Robin Hood (2026) · 2h 3m · Where to watch
Corbin (The Autourist): Went to it in the theater. I'm a huge Pig fan, willing to commit two and a half hours to anything Michael Sarnoski directs. The gnarly violence, quiet deconstruction of mythos, and Jackman x Comer performances are astounding.
Two Club members picked Van Helsing this week, for two different reasons. What are the odds?!
Van Helsing (2004) · 2h 12m · Where to watch
Jon McBrine (Substack): An arbitrary watching of vampire movies for Halloween led me to this mid-aughts, fun-filled fang flick. What kept me coming back for more of the wacky wire work and blood-sucking CGI was the fun factor. I scoffed at it when it first came out, but with age comes wisdom, the kind that helped me embrace the goofiness and roll with it.
Hellish Views (Substack): My sister used to watch it when I was a kid, and the camp performances, wild mishmash of monster lore, and truly excellent score made it an instant favourite. Richard Roxburgh as Dracula: what a wacky casting choice, but it really works. His performance is great.
It’s October, so let’s turn the lights off for this one.
🎬 Your turn: What’s the scariest movie you’ve watched alone?
Drop a comment below with the title and one sentence on why, or send it through here. You can also drop it in the Club chat, where I’ve started a thread. The best picks land in next week’s issue.
Until next Thursday, be kind, rewind.
— Gannon