Halle Berry has had a relatively quiet few years but returns to the fore here in her second full-on horror turn after 2003’s Gothika .
She’s picked a top genre director to collaborate with in Frenchman Alexandre Aja (High Tension , The Hills Have Eyes remake, Crawl ).
Berry plays Momma who, along with her two young sons Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) and Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins), live in the woods and don’t venture too far due to the “evil” that surrounds them.
Co-writers KC Coughlin and Ryan Grassby keep the audience guessing as to the true nature of the threat posed to the central trio.
Never Let Go is a film open to interpretation as it packs in religious themes, mental health, isolation, fear and mistrust.
Berry’s striking performance assists the ambiguity as her wide-eyed mania and terrified concern for her sons’ safety could be either paranoia or well-informed caution.
Daggs IV and Jenkins are even better as two youngsters pushed to their limit physically and emotionally; you don’t see child performances this good very often.
Samuel is more loyal to Mommy and her beliefs, while Nolan starts to question whether she is telling them the whole truth.
Aja uses the woods to pose constant potential threat – even when there isn’t any – and there a few chilling visual encounters between Mommy and her parents and former partner.
A jaw-dropping shock two-thirds in leaves you wondering where things can possibly go from there and the clever climax, reminiscent of The Village and Us , sticks to the cryptic and inconclusive framework.
Some of the jump scares are lazy and unnecessary given everything else going on, though, and the CGI used looks quite cheap.
But Never Let Go leads to a satisfying amount of chair-arm gripping anchored by three performances teetering on the edge of greatness.
● What films and TV programmes are you looking forward to watching in 2025?
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Geoff Lyle contacted us to say: “I started watching From on Amazon Prime Video just before Christmas and have nearly got to the end of season three; it is amazing.”
● Never Let Go is available on DVD and Blu-ray now.
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