Never Let Go (2024)

​"Never Let Go" stars Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV, Anthony B. Jenkins, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Christin Park, and Stephanie Lavigne.  Released on September 20, 2024, the film has a mother protecting her twin sons from a malicious spirit.

The film is directed by Alexandre Aja, who also directed films such as "Furia", "The Hills Have Eyes", "Horns", and "Crawl".  A mother's love for her kids is strong enough to protect them from the dangers of the outside world, especially an evil entity.  But what if that isn't always the case?  What if the person responsible for providing warmth and nurture is just as distrustful as the invisible force outside the comfort zone?  Sounds like someone might be in the running for "worst parent of the year".  The month of spooky chills continues with another horror movie where survival isn't the only thing we should worry about, and it comes to us from the same studio that struggles to make back its money.  Seriously, I've never seen a studio struggle this hard with its back-to-back flops since Disney last year, let alone a small one.  This film doesn't appear to be the one to break this unfortunate streak.  However, what really matters is whether it provides another solid, unsettling thrill ride for those uninterested in seeing a major animated film this weekend.  With that said, let's head into the forest and see if it can survive its simple narrative trappings.

The story centers on a mother (Berry) residing in the cabin in the woods with her two sons, Sam (Jenkins) and Nolan (Daggs IV).  She's been protecting them from an unknown spirit that ended their world by enforcing her rules and conditions.  One of them is staying close to the cabin and keeping the ropes secured to them tight.  However, when Nolan accidentally breaks one of her rules, he discovers that not everything is what it seems.  This leads to the boys questioning their mother's intentions and the so-called "evil" that resides in the forest, putting them in a dangerous fight for survival.

The only reasons for my intrigue in "Never Let Go" are Alexandre Aja and one of its producers, Shawn Levy.  While I didn't watch many films by Aja, I only saw enough to know his intent to provide some surprisingly effective horror aspects.  The one movie I remember the most from him was "Crawl", which I thought was a good creature feature that combines suspense, gore, and survival horror.  As for Shawn Levy, he has provided plenty of solid hits as a director and producer, especially ones involving horror like "Stranger Things".  Of course, there's also Halle Berry, who never fails to make an impression on screen, even in recent movies that failed to match her talents.  These three people make for a pair that could make this film more than what was advertised.  The trailers made it seem like another supernatural horror movie with the survival elements thrown in there.  While that is the case in the final cut, the film offered enough in its story to grasp my intrigue, even if it doesn't provide much else to make it stand out.

"Never Let Go" may have been one of the many moments that got me thinking longer than I should have.  On the one hand, the film is a solidly crafted survival horror experience that benefits from its suspense and eerie frights.  It also has a small amount of jump scares, but not enough to overwhelm the tension or annoy its audience.  On the other hand, "Never Let Go" provides some ideas in the story that are quite ambitious in the film's suspense and themes of love over doubt, especially in the second half.  I was pretty surprised at the direction they went for the rest of the movie based on the trailer I watched.  Unfortunately, I can also see the execution being a bit divisive regarding the audience's expectations.  Those who go into this movie expecting something from the trailers may feel disappointed by the result, mainly when referring to Halle Berry's character.  But, they may get some enjoyment from its grisly frights.  

Personally, I thought the second half was admirable in allowing the young actors to carry the movie and heightening the phobia of isolation and trust.  The film's focus on the two sons evoked a sense of loneliness and vulnerability, likely sending more shivers on people's spines than an invisible specter.  However, it also ran the risk of falling into familiar territory within the supernatural sub-genre, lacking enough surprises and memorable scares in its screenplay to make its twist stand out.  That's not to say that the second half is more problematic than the first since both have enough merits to make the overall experience enjoyable, including the direction.  

Alexandre Aja had been known for balancing violence and gore with effective scares and suspense in his movies, especially in "Crawl".  However, "Never Let Go" has Aja focusing more on psychological tension and visual frights than using gore to entice his audience.  It's far from perfect, with only one or two frightful moments that got me, but Aja should deserve credit for not leaning into using many jump scares to make it frightening.  It's not as scary as his approach in "Crawl".  However, it's enough to say he's another director who can effectively give me goosebumps without resorting to too many cheap tactics.  The cinematography by Aja's collaborator Maxime Alexandre was also surprisingly good in capturing the isolated forest and characters through its wide-angle and panning shots. 

Another element I enjoyed was its cast, with the three main leads being the best parts of the film.  As mentioned earlier, Halle Berry never fails to shine in her movies through her talent, even when some were complete misfires or were just okay.  Unsurprisingly, her performance in "Never Let Go" is no exception, delivering a chilling and unnerving portrayal of a desperate mother attempting to protect her boys.  Despite her role being smaller than I anticipated, Berry astonishes in every scene, marking another example of a star's talents compensating for a project's issues.  I would also credit the young actors Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins for their commendable work as Nolan and Sam, respectively.  They were tasked to carry the movie alongside a well-known actor like Halle Berry, especially in the second half.  It wasn't an easy feat for this pair of unknown child actors, but they managed to come out on top in the end.

Overall, "Never Let Go" doesn't fully grasp onto its storytelling hard enough, but it's able to grab hold of its chilling atmosphere and isolated aesthetics and never lets go until the end.  This is one of the experiences that left me feeling conflicted on my trip back home after viewing it.  It has plenty of merits that make the film one of the more tolerable horror movies this year.  Halle Berry was once again magnetic regarding her performance as the mother, and the two child actors were commendable in following suit as her sons.  Alexandre Aja also delivered some uneasy frights without relying heavily on jump scares and excessive gore.  However, its screenplay, mainly in its second half, made me hesitant about my overall feelings toward it.  While admirable in its direction, the execution falls short of delivering a bonkers thrill ride because of its familiarity and lack of strong scares.  So, I can't say it's good or another horror flop.  However, I will say it was a pleasantly fine experience that'll likely satisfy some fans of Halle Berry and survival horror films.

C+