Never Let Go(2024)(Review)

As a huge Alexandre Aja fan, my jaw dropped when I heard only a few weeks ago he had a new film coming out. Previously loving “The Hills Have Eyes” remake, “High Tension”, and “Crawl”, I just had to see it opening night.

Halle Berry stars as a widowed mother of 2 young twin boys. They live, completely isolated, deep in the woods in a beautiful wooden house. Apparently, not all that long ago, a sinister presence simply referred to as “the evil” has devastated the world and wiped out humanity. So this family lives in the woods, forages for bugs and frogs to eat, and struggles to survive. The catch is that, in order to be safe, they must all remain tethered to the foundation of the home at all times. So they wrap long ropes around themselves for protection as they forage. If you remove the rope, the evil can get you.

This film does a lot of things right, and some not so much. All the acting is realistic and feasible, the cinematography is gorgeous, and the evil (when it reveals itself) is genuinely creepy. I wasn’t a fan of how physically dark the entire film is – seemingly relying on mostly natural light – and the pacing is a little clunky at parts, but overall it achieves the goal.

It is a paranoia creature feature involving a shape-shifting entity. At its core, it feels like a spiritual hybrid of Cabin Fever, The Watchers, and a bit of The Evil Dead. It plays into the idea of questioning if this entity exists at all, crumbling family dynamics, and legitimate struggle. While it is slow for the first half, the final half is chock-full of very effective scares, creepy images, and twists that feel right at home in a Shyamalan flick.

My theater, on opening night, was completely empty. I was all by myself. But this film does deserve your time, because its well made and thoroughly interesting.

When comparing to the director’s previous efforts, it’s not gritty like “High Tension” or as smooth as “Crawl”, but it definitely is nothing to scoff at.

3.5/5
“Never Let Go” is currently playing in theaters.

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra

The Gruesome Gazette

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