Never Let Go

Film: Never Let Go

Year: 2024

Director: Alexandre Aja

Writer: Ryan Grassby and Kevin Coughlin

Starring: Halle Berry, Anthony B. Jenkins and Percy Diggs IV

Review:

This was a film that popped on to my radar I'm guessing through trailers at the theater. I don't watch them, as you may know, but I will look up at the screen and then figure out the name of what is being shown to see if it is horror. This one didn't come to the theater that I'm a member at, but I had a cheap trial to get MoviePass back. I decided to see this at the theater close to my house. What sealed me seeing this was realizing that this is the new film from Alexandre Aja, a director I'm a fan of.

Synopsis: a family that has been haunted by an evil spirit for years. Their safety and their surroundings come into question when one of the children questions if the evil is real.

We start this with an effective opening scene to get your attention. This follows a mother, played by Halle Berry, and her two sons, Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV). They live in a cabin in the middle of the woods. We can see that it is weathered but built well. Food is scarce so they try to grow what they can and scavenge for the rest. Winter is coming as well. This is a problem though, like the synopsis says, mother raised them to fear the evil that lives in the forest surrounding them.

To stave this off, they must stay tied to the house. It seems to have been blessed so if they are connected to it, the house protects them. This limits how far they can go and they must be strategic in how they use their slack. Their mother is almost touched by an entity and we also see her talk to the father of the children, he is played by William Catlett. He wants to see his boys. She believes he's possessed by the evil.

There is a dynamic that I need to bring up here. Samuel listens to mother more and he scolds his brother. This is building resentment where Nolan thinks that she loves his brother more than him. Nolan is like his mother growing up as he's defiant. He questions if there is something truly in the woods, holding them there. This causes him to assess his boundaries. This also leads him to be scolded by her and his brother.

The first stressful part is when Nolan thinks he hear his brother say that their mother loves him more under his breath. He then steps on Samuel's rope, tripping him and causing it to untie. He hurt his ankle in the process. Nolan blows his whistle to alert their mother. She comes to help and Nolan has removed his rope to help his brother. She then sees the evil after them, taking the form of her mother. They can't see if though. They get back to safety. She needs them to prove that they weren't touched by praying to the house, which should reveal if they've been possessed.

This is just the start of Nolan continuing to press his mother about what she claims. He doesn't believe and she is worried it will jeopardize their existence forever.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start then is that this is using a similar story that we've seen before. What I like here though is that we're playing with expectations and knowing if we can trust someone we love. This felt in the vein of It Comes at Night or even this year's Arcadian. Did the world end like mother is claiming? Or is she being overprotective to keep her children alive?

I think that is where I want to start is with our mother character. Berry is great, I want to lead off with that. You can feel that she loves both of her sons. She is also doing what she think is right in protecting them. She does favor Samuel, but I get the idea that he's more obedient. I don't think she loves him more. It is just that she doesn't scold him like she does Nolan. She also sees more of herself in this other boy and it stresses her with their situation. Something that we will learn is that her mother was hard on her so she fled to the city. It is here where she met evil.

Now I want to continue this idea but needed to separate it here. This film leaves it up to the viewer to decide if you think there is an evil around them or did something happened to the mother character so she is isolating her sons to protect them. The boys don't see the evil, it is only her. That would be a red flag where I'd side with Nolan. There is this idea that she's been touched by it where the boys are still innocent. That makes me think you need to have faith in what she's saying. It isn't until later that they start to see, but they've suffered trauma. There is a concept here of how life experience takes away that innocence, mother has fled to a safe place and now is sheltering them. I'll end this section by saying, as a parent, this is a difficult thing. You want to protect your children, but they also need to experience things for themselves. How far do you go with this balance?

I did want to include what I thought here as well. I'll also credit the story and how it is presented because I went back and forth. Things we see in the beginning made me think there was an evil that mother is protecting her family from. Then for a good part, I'm with Nolan. I thought that she was shielding them from the world. In the end, I believe there is an evil here, but I fall into the middle. I think this evil is society and how trauma corrupts us to become who we are.

Since this is truly a character study and how their world influences them, that is where I'll go next. I've already said that I thought Berry was great here. She seems like this stern mother doing what she can while being calculated by Nolan. Jenkins and Daggs are both fine. They fit what was needed to be these two sheltered boys that are trying to figure out their place in the world. It is limited due to their life situation. I do like Catlett, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Stephanie Lavigne, Cadence Compton and Mila Morgan as these potential corrupting forces. That is good to challenge what they think. The performances fit to bring their characters to life.

All that is left then is filmmaking. The best part of this is the isolation of this cabin. We see that it is in the middle of the woods. It is a hike to a road, but even then, they only have enough rope to get to its edge. They feel like they're trapped in the middle of nowhere. Winter is coming and they're limited in food available. That raises tension. It also makes me side with Nolan in the what-if mother is lying. I'll also credit framing here. Shifting to the effects, when they're done practical, they look good. The blood and look of wounds were solid. There is CGI here. Since we don't know if what we're seeing is real, I'm more forgiving there. Other than that, the music and sound design was good. It adds creepiness with the latter when it comes to the voice of those possessed by the 'evil'. They also say hurtful things that adds to the atmosphere.

In conclusion, this is a solid film that I'm glad that I checked out. The best part of this is the set up and seeing how these characters decide what to do. I can see the side of the mother, having the faith she does and protecting her children. There's also Nolan, who needs to see to believe. Berry is great as the mother while Jenkins and Daggs are solid as those effected by her decisions. This is well made. The setting, cinematography, framing, practical effects and sound design leading the way there. I don't think this is a great film, but it is worth a watch if you like stories like this or your fan of the director.

My Rating: 7 out of 10