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Save Yourselves! (2020) movie poster

Plot Summary

Save Yourselves! (2020) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
2020 · 93 min · English
Echo score 75
Directed by
Alex Huston Fischer, Eleanor Wilson
Starring
Sunita Mani, Stephen Koepfer, Amy Sedaris, John Early, Ben Sinclair, Gary Richardson

Jack and Su, a couple living in Brooklyn, decide to unplug from their devices and escape to a remote cabin for a digital detox. As they disconnect from technology, they discover that the world has been overtaken by aliens. Now, isolated and facing an extraordinary threat, the couple must navigate a rapidly changing landscape while also reevaluating their relationship and discovering the importance of genuine connection.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 What happens: full plot
  3. 3 Plot questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Save Yourselves!
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Save Yourselves! (2020)

Where can you watch Save Yourselves!? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Hoopla, Kanopy and Fandango at Home Free: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in Save Yourselves!: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of Save Yourselves! (2020) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

A prologue reveals that this marks the year when Earth was lost. In a bid to escape their internet-obsessed and superficial lives in Brooklyn, a Millennial couple, "Su" (played by Sunita Mani) and "Jack" (portrayed by John Reynolds), decide to unplug for a weekend at a friend's cabin in the woods. As they drive away, strange objects begin to fall from the sky.

Once at the cabin, the couple attempts to reconnect, discussing various aspirations to "become better people," from baking bread to adopting a vegetarian lifestyle or even starting a community garden. Jack's attention is caught by a peculiar fuzzy object resembling an ottoman in the den. Curious, he asks Su if it was there upon their arrival; however, she dismisses his inquiry and urges him to partake in exercises she found online to help boost their motivation as a couple. This frustrates Jack, leading to an argument where he angrily exits to chop wood. Upset, Su secretly turns on her phone to listen to a series of strange voice mails from her mother concerning "giant rats" that consume ethanol and are overrunning New York. Just as she starts to delve deeper into the voicemails, Jack returns, prompting Su to quickly switch off her phone.

In a moment of vulnerability, Jack confesses to Su that he feels inadequate as an adult but is determined for them to become closer. They reconcile, only to discover the next morning that their sourdough starter and whiskey bottles have mysteriously emptied, and the fuzzy object they nicknamed "pouffe" has inexplicably shifted positions. Realizing both the starter and whiskey contain ethanol, Su recalls her mother's ominous messages and admits to breaking their no-phone agreement, speculating that the voicemails might tie into the strange events. They retreat upstairs and turn on their phones to learn the disturbing news: the pouffes are alien invaders attacking New York, igniting a mass evacuation while they feast upon ethanol.

When they try to confront the pouffe, it escapes using its long, projectile proboscis. Stunned at the turn of events, the couple finds that their phones have lost signal, prompting them to devise an escape plan back to the city in their car, hoping to regain signal and gather more information about the alien threat. Upon reaching their vehicle, they discover that the pouffes have punctured the gas tank to consume the ethanol-based fuel. Left with no choice, they resort to using the farm's gasoline-tank car, although they struggle with the manual transmission.

As they navigate through the woods, they witness a stranded couple meeting a grisly fate at the hands of a pouffe. They manage to distract the creature by tossing a bottle of wine off the road. To their shock, they find a baby left behind in the stranded car. Despite the danger, they cannot leave the infant behind, but just as they gather the baby, a woman emerges from the woods, holding them at gunpoint, and steals their vehicle, leaving them stranded.

With limited options, Su and Jack gather supplies from the abandoned car and trek into the woods. Su becomes despondent, worrying about her family and the couple's lack of survival skills as they confront an alien invasion. They come upon a pouffe, and in an act of selflessness, Jack shields Su from the creature as it attacks him. The creature's proboscis gets stuck in the baby harness Jack wears. Summoning her courage, Su uses a knife to sever the proboscis, killing the alien creature. Jack discovers that he remains unharmed due to his cell phone acting as a makeshift shield.

Moved by their mutual willingness to protect one another, Su and Jack ascend to a lookout point with the baby, feeling a deeper sense of maturity and connection than when they first arrived at the cabin. They commit to marrying each other and raising the baby in the woods, planning their next steps into adulthood.

Curiosity piqued, Su investigates a bizarre translucent structure growing from the ground; although it looks like a force field, Jack examines it as well. Suddenly, they realize their phones have inexplicably regained signal and excitedly check for updates. So engrossed in the online content, they fail to notice the force field has encased them in a bubble. As they become engulfed, the bubble ascends, transporting them upwards through the sky. As they rise beyond Earth's atmosphere, they see other bubbles filled with people like them. Initially laughing, they wonder whether this means they have been saved, yet as they drift further into space, uncertainty fills their expressions.

Last updated: November 03, 2024 at 22:27

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Plot questions answered

Save Yourselves! Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about Save Yourselves! (2020): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why was the pouffe already at the cabin when Su and Jack arrived?

The pouffe was already at the cabin because the alien invasion had begun before they even left Brooklyn. When they drove away from the city, strange objects were already falling from the sky. The pouffe had likely been sent to the remote location as part of the initial invasion wave, and it was there waiting when they arrived. The aliens weren't following them specifically, they just happened to choose a cabin that was already compromised by the invasion.

Foreshadowing: Strange objects falling from the sky are visible as they drive away from Brooklyn, hinting the invasion has already started.

  • pouffe alien cabin arrival invasion timeline
Q2

What do the pouffes want and why do they consume ethanol?

The pouffes are alien invaders that feed on ethanol. They drain any ethanol-based substance they find, which explains why they emptied the sourdough starter (which contains yeast and alcohol) and the whiskey bottles. They also punctured the car's gas tank because modern gasoline contains ethanol. Their hunger for ethanol appears to be their primary motivation for invading Earth.

Foreshadowing: Su's mother's voicemails mention "giant rats" consuming ethanol and overrunning New York, which directly describes the pouffes' feeding behavior.

  • pouffe aliens ethanol consumption fuel food
Q3

Why did Su and Jack's phones lose signal during the alien invasion?

The phones lost signal because the aliens or their technology somehow disrupted cellular networks. This was a deliberate aspect of the invasion, the pouffes' presence interfered with communications, preventing people from warning each other and coordinating a response. The timing of the signal loss forced Su and Jack to make decisions without reliable information about the broader crisis.

  • phones signal loss communication disruption aliens
Q4

How did Jack survive the pouffe attack?

Jack survived because his cell phone acted as a makeshift shield against the alien's proboscis. When the pouffe attacked him, the creature's projectile tongue got stuck in the baby harness Jack was wearing. More importantly, the phone he was carrying absorbed or deflected the attack, preventing serious injury. This moment highlights the irony that the device they were trying to disconnect from ultimately saved his life.

  • Jack survival phone shield pouffe attack baby harness
Q5

What happened to the baby that Su and Jack rescued?

After Su and Jack rescued the baby from the stranded car, they took it with them throughout their ordeal. The baby survived the pouffe attack and was with them when they reached the lookout point. At the end, they committed to raising the baby together in the woods, viewing it as a catalyst for their decision to grow up and commit to each other. The baby's fate after they were engulfed by the bubble remains unclear.

  • baby rescue adoption commitment parenthood
Q6

What was the translucent force field bubble at the end of the movie?

The translucent structure was an alien capture device, a bubble that ensnares humans and transports them upward, presumably to be taken elsewhere. As Su and Jack examine the strange growth from the ground, the bubble engulfs them and carries them through the atmosphere alongside other bubbles containing other people. This ending suggests the aliens are collecting humans rather than simply destroying Earth.

Foreshadowing: The prologue states "this marks the year when Earth was lost," indicating the invasion had a specific purpose beyond destruction.

  • bubble force field alien capture ending space translocation
Q7

Why did the woman with a gun steal Su and Jack's car?

The woman held them at gunpoint and stole their vehicle because she was desperate to escape the alien threat and reach safety. She left them stranded in the woods with the baby, taking their only means of transportation. This encounter demonstrates how the alien invasion brings out both selflessness and desperation in people, the same situation where Jack would later sacrifice himself to protect Su.

  • woman thief carjacking desperation survival
Q8

What did Su's mother's voicemails about giant rats mean?

Su's mother's voicemails about "giant rats" consuming ethanol were her distorted description of the pouffe aliens. Since the aliens were a completely unknown threat, she couldn't properly identify them and described them as giant rats that were overrunning New York. Su initially dismissed these messages as her mother's usual exaggerations, but they became crucial evidence that something catastrophic was happening in the outside world.

Foreshadowing: The mysterious events at the cabin, the emptied sourdough starter and whiskey, directly correlate with the ethanol-consuming creatures described in the voicemails.

  • voicemails giant rats mother warning misinterpretation
Q9

Why were the sourdough starter and whiskey mysteriously emptied at the cabin?

The sourdough starter and whiskey were emptied because the pouffe alien consumed the ethanol in both substances. Ethanol is the pouffe's primary food source, so the alien drained these containers while Su and Jack were sleeping. This was one of the first signs that something was wrong, and Su correctly connected it to her mother's warnings about creatures eating ethanol.

  • sourdough starter whiskey ethanol alien feeding
Q10

What happened to Su and Jack at the end of the movie?

Su and Jack were captured by an alien bubble while checking their phones at the lookout point. The bubble transported them upward through the atmosphere alongside other captured humans in similar bubbles. The ending is ambiguous, they initially laugh thinking they might be saved, but as they drift into space, their expressions turn uncertain. It's unclear whether they're being rescued, harvested, or relocated.

  • ending fate capture bubble space aliens ambiguity

Movie threads

More Movies Like Save Yourselves!, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Save Yourselves! tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies about couples surviving the apocalypse like Save Yourselves!

World-ending events seen through the intimate lens of a relationship. If you enjoyed the dynamic of a couple facing an alien invasion in Save Yourselves!, explore these movies where relationships are tested against a backdrop of global chaos. These films blend survival tension with poignant character studies, offering a unique and intimate take on disaster scenarios.

  • anxious
  • isolated
  • relationship-focused
  • survival
  • dark humor
  • intimate
  • Tone: tense, character-driven, darkly comedic
  • Pacing: steady, focused
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Narratives in this thread typically follow a linear path where a cataclysmic event interrupts a couple's ordinary life. The story unfolds primarily from their isolated viewpoint, contrasting the massive scale of the disaster with their personal struggles. The central conflict is dual: surviving the external threat while navigating the friction and growth within their relationship.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here for their shared focus on a romantic partnership as the primary unit of survival. They share a balanced tone mixing genuine tension with character-driven humor or drama, a steady pacing that allows for relationship development, and a thematic interest in how crisis reveals character.

Satirical comedies about modern anxiety like Save Yourselves!

Modern life anxieties are magnified into a surreal and threatening reality. Fans of Save Yourselves! will appreciate these witty and anxious films that satirize modern life before throwing characters into extraordinary circumstances. Discover movies that blend sharp social commentary with sci-fi or horror elements, creating a uniquely tense and darkly funny viewing experience.

  • satirical
  • witty
  • anxious
  • darkly comedic
  • unprepared
  • social commentary
  • Tone: witty, tense, satirical
  • Pacing: steady, deliberate
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives often begin by establishing characters deeply embedded in, and often crippled by, modern conveniences and neuroses. A sudden, surreal incursion—be it alien, monstrous, or systemic—forces them out of their comfort zone, making their personal anxieties manifest as literal threats. The journey involves a painful, humorous, and ambiguous maturation process.

Why they belong together: This thread connects movies through a specific tonal blend: a witty, satirical look at contemporary culture combined with a genuine sense of tension and threat. They share a medium intensity that balances laughs with dread, a straightforward narrative that allows the satire to shine, and an ambiguous or bittersweet ending that reflects the unresolved nature of modern life.

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Every angle

Save Yourselves! (2020) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Save Yourselves! in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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