Save Yourselves!

Directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, Save Yourselves! follows hipster couple Jack (John Reynolds) and Su (Sunita Mani) as they decide to reconnect by heading to a remote cabin and unplugging their various devices – with problems ensuing as it becomes increasingly clear that something fairly catastrophic is occurring within the outside world. Filmmakers Fischer and Wilson, working from their own screenplay, deliver an off-kilter comedy that ultimately fares best in its more low-key first half, as the bulk of the picture’s opening stretch is devoted to the protagonists’ subdued exploits and conversations – with the engaging atmosphere certainly heightened and perpetuated by Reynolds and Mani’s thoroughly appealing work as the entirely likeable and sympathetic central characters. And although the movie benefits from its undercurrent of suspense (ie just what’s going on out there?), Save Yourselves! admittedly does falter in the immediate aftermath of the reveal involving the threat’s true nature – with the movie, in its struggle to sustain its quirky sensibility, becoming just a little sillier than one might’ve preferred (ie it’s difficult to swallow that Jack and Su would, on occasion, be so blasé about a seriously dangerous situation). The ensuing hit-and-miss vibe is alleviated by a handful of engrossing sequences (eg Jack and Su stumble upon a baby), and although the film ends on a frustratingly ambiguous note, Save Yourselves! is generally a rewarding experience that bodes well for Fischer and Wilson’s future endeavors.

*** out of ****