PLOT: A mother (Halle Berry) and her twin sons (Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins) are tormented by a malicious spirit. They can only survive if they remain connected to their home, a remote cabin in the woods. But when one of the sons starts to question whether or not the evil really exists, the family finds itself in greater danger than ever.
REVIEW: Alexandre Aja has easily established himself as one of the most unique voices in horror, famously willing to try his hand at just about every aspect of the genre. He’s made hardcore horror (High Tension), funny horror (Piranha 3D), contained horror (Crawl – which is getting a sequel) and even romantic horror (Horns). With Never Let Go, he dips his toe into the elevated facet of the genre, weaving a highly allegorical yarn that ties in themes of motherhood, brotherhood, repressed trauma, and more.
As such, Never Let Go might not have the same kind of easy mainstream hook some of Aja’s other movies have had, but kudos to him for never repeating himself. Aja has a superb cast in this one, written by Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby. It is mostly a three-hander surrounding Berry’s character and the two actors playing her sons.
In it, Berry’s character keeps her sons, Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV), safe from an evil spirit who torments her by taking the form of her dead parents and husband. They show up to mock her constantly, warning that if they somehow make contact with the boys while they’re not connected to the home (mostly by long ropes_, it will get into their heads, and the family will descend into madness. However, only Berry can see the spirits and her sons start to wonder whether or not this is all in her head.
Of the two sons, Daggs’s Nolan is the more rebellious one. He is convinced his mother prefers the quieter Samuel, who never questions her. But Nolan wonders whether or not there’s a world around them, and once they begin to starve due to a lack of food and his beloved pet dog becomes a potential source of nourishment, he starts to rebel.
To Aja’s credit, the film takes a big twist about an hour into the movie that I didn’t see coming, and Never Let Go’s last act is the best part of the film. You assume it’s going in one direction, but then it takes a risky left turn, allowing the director to play with genre expectations. If you’ve seen the trailer and think you have it all figured out, think again.
Berry anchors the movie in a typically excellent performance. Berry doesn’t make a ton of horror movies, but when she dips her toe into the genre (such as with The Call and Gothika) she tends to deliver A-level work, and certainly that’s true of this one. In it, she has to walk a tightrope in some ways, as she has to be convincing as both a devoted mother and leave some element of doubt in there for the audience as to whether she’s mentally ill or not.
The two youngsters playing her sons deliver outstanding performances, with Daggs especially good as the rebellious Nolan. Much of the film revolves around them, and Daggs and Jenkins, despite their young ages, deliver utterly convincing and grounded performances. It helps that they play off Berry so well, whose affection for them is never in doubt.
As usual, Aja also made Never Let Go a great-looking film, although the darker lensing was seriously marred in the screening I attended, where the lamps on the projectors seemed to have been too dim. This is sometimes an issue in run-of-the-mill theatres, so you might have to hit up a premium screen to see Never Let Go looking its best. The soundtrack by Robin Coudert (billed simply as ROB) is also a treat, with him quickly becoming one of the genre’s most prolific composers.