As we head into the fall season, I’ve got high hopes for horror/thriller movie selections.
So much so that I snagged a seat to see “Never Let Go” over the weekend.
Overall, the storyline is pretty weak despite an A-list lead like Halle Berry at the helm.
Plus, it relies mostly on jump scares in a remote forest setting with an evil entity that spreads its influence by touch.
I would have preferred a storyline more fleshed out than what was on screen – that’s for sure.
Never Let Go is a survival horror thriller film directed by Alexandre Aja and written by Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby.
The film stars Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV, Anthony B. Jenkins, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Christin Park, and Stephanie Lavigne.
It’s rated R for strong violent content and grisly images and comes in at 101 minutes long.
Fraternal twins Nolan (Daggs) and Samuel (Jenkins) live with their Momma (Berry) in a remote woodland area somewhere in British Columbia.
The three of them have been tormented by an unseen entity that caused an apocalyptic event four years ago – or at least that’s what Momma says.
Momma calls it “The Evil” and explains that it has been tormenting their family for decades.
To protect themselves when venturing beyond their house, they use a supply of ropes so that the entity will not catch them as Momma believes, “one touch without a rope on, is all it takes.”
She even spends time reminding her sons that the rope is their “lifeline” and that the house keeps them safe at night from “The Evil.”
As the movie progresses, Momma talks about the different forms the entity takes in order to deceive their family members into getting close enough to be touched and therefore infected.
The lasting hang-up is that Momma is the only one who can see the entity and like her mother before her, she seems genuinely unsettled and borderline crazy to the audience.
Momma briefly mentions having ventured into the outside world before to escape her mother because she doubted the presence of The Evil, but brought her sons back to the remote cabin when the apocalypse happened.
This so-called apocalypse isn’t explained with much detail at all and the trio scavenge the woods daily for food due to their greenhouse garden underperforming.
Nolan doubts his mother’s claims regarding the entity and tries to convince his brother that the entity isn’t real.
Unfortunately for him, Samuel believes Momma without question and refuses to run away as winter looms and the trio’s pantry staples run dry.
The small family turns to eating tree bark to make it through the springtime before Momma decides they need to kill their family dog for meat to make it a few weeks more.
And that’s when things get worse!
Overall, the movie straddles the line between a mother’s protection and possible madness while making audience members completely aware of the entity she sees.
I don’t think the movie is for everyone and I found the ending totally lackluster, but it is deeply unsettling despite using mostly jump scares to instill fear.
