Never Let Go
review by Bobby Blakey
Director Alexander Aja is one of my favorite horror directors with films including Crawl, The Hills Have Eyes remake, Horns and High Tension being one of my all-time favorites. Now he is back with his latest film Never Let Go starring Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV, and Anthony B. Jenkins. Could this be another great horror thriller for Aja or should they have cut the rope early on?
Never Let Go follows an Evil that takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond. Needing to stay connected at all times – even tethering themselves with ropes – they cling to one another, urging each other to never let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival.
As a big fan of course, I was excited to see this film and the trailers leaving a lot of mystery made it more intriguing. The film is compelling on numerous levels of the story it is telling, but the overall result is a mixed bag of emotions on what it gives us. I will say that the lingering mystery to what we are dealing with is the strong part of the film, but it is also saddled with an element that kind of lets you know early on what is likely going on.
I had the exact theory early on and ended up being spot on, but they do a good job of adding a side element that could have you still question it depending on how you read into it. The film builds plenty of tension and does a great job of keeping you on the edge of your seat waiting for that next thing
to happen. There are some great visuals and usages of characters that are often gross and creepy without them ever being scary.
The forest itself becomes a character making for a great backdrop and uses to explore the depths of this story is perfection. This gives it the seclusion it needs to succeed while offering numerous ways to reveal and expose insanity all around. The small cast works well to keep it feeling smaller while the scope of the locale makes it still massive. The rope element keeps it anchored, but also had me constantly waiting for it to get caught on something as it would any other time. For a long time it never does and was just frustrating me, but then when it finally does it seems to all the time.
The cast all do a great job with Berry leading the charge. She brings a deep emotional performance that is layered with so many different personas that she pulls you in. As the film moves along her own decent and paranoia grows with it in the performance that weaves between love and fear with the boys. Both boys hold their own and have to carry some elements of the film and do a good job bringing their own depth to their performances.
Where the film struggles is the pacing at times and its final impact. There is a deeper message here that I think is well crafted and executed, but also felt it could have been more nuanced or finite. I know it was likely meant to leave some to your own thoughts and fine with that, but thee are also some very specific moments put in to make a point that is almost lost on the final moment unless you catch the reasoning behind it all that some might get lost with.
In addition to the film this release offers bonus content including trailer, deleted scenes, featurettes and more. Grab your copy of Never Let Go available now on digital, Blu-ray and DVD from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.