One Can Never Let Go (FANTASTIC) of the Binds of Family and Trauma
Title: Never Let Go
First Non-Festival Release: September 18, 2024 (Theatrical Release)
Director: Alexandre Aja
Writer: KC Coughlin, Ryan Grassby
Runtime: 101 Minutes
Starring: Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV, Anthony B. Jenkins
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
This film’s review was written after its screening at the Fantastic Film Festival in 2024.
June (Halle Berry) lives in the woods with her sons Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) and Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) after the world was taken over by a powerful evil that possesses humans. After a particularly rough winter, food is scarce, and time is running out for the family to figure out a plan for survival. Things get worse when Nolan begins questioning his mother’s warning to never let go of his connection to their home.
A perfectly fine supernatural horror film, Never Let Go gets lost in the weeds despite great performances.
Told like a fairy tale, the loss of innocence plays out in the most destructive ways as Nolan begins to question his mother’s word on whether the world has ended or not. The violent, post-apocalyptic landscape of the empty forest and scarcity of resources demonstrates to the children that life is difficult and that strict adherence to their mother’s rules and loyalty to their house will protect them. When Nolan starts thinking more for himself, it not only goes against his old worldview but works as a direct attack on his mother’s authority. June desperately tries to reign in Nolan’s wavering faith, but his thirst for independence is stronger. Each deviation from her dogmatic beliefs is met with passionate anger and love from June, who believes she is doing nothing more than keeping her children safe. His coming-of-age moment arrives when he is forced to make a difficult choice that changes his family’s lives forever.
Elements of family trauma and mental illness creep through the story as June desperately attempts to hold on to her kid’s trust. Before the world fell apart, it’s clear that June had a rough life. Grasping at a story to affirm her worldview to her kids, June recounts life in the city. The trauma of this life is evident in her insistence that life in the forest is better. Alone, except for her sons, trapped in a house that gave her so much grief as a child, slowly starving. Her old life must have been harsh to prefer this.
Of course, her insistence on the apocalypse gives her a solid reason to choose familiarity. But Nolan’s doubts begin to seep into her subconscious. Is everything she seeing real or is it some sort of inherited condition from her mother forcing her to believe in a fantasy? While Nolan doesn’t have the benefit of omniscience like the audience, he begins to question his own reality when he starts seeing the figures too. Both Nolan and the audience are left to decide what is real as clues seep in to give credence to both possibilities. Unfortunately, Never Let Go loses its way once it hits its third act, getting caught in the twisted web of its own reveals that blunt these conversations.
The small cast keep the film from going fully off the rails with their impassioned performances. Halle Berry is exceptional, of course. She plays June with strength and vulnerability as she struggles to deal with her world crumbling around her. Never defaulting to the obvious choices, Berry keeps audiences on their feet, switching up the intensity in her attempts to bargain with Nolan on their safety. Young actors Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins convincingly play alternate signs of the contentious trio. Daggs brings the electricity to Nolan; his impassioned pleas to search for a better life silenced by the relative comfort of the other two. Jenkins’s Samuel is tasked as peacemaker, which he does a wonderful job playing both sides as necessary. Without the command demonstrated by the young actors, Never Let Go would fall apart.
Never one to skimp on scale, director Alexandre Aja maximizes the scare factor through moody set design and violent imagery. Becoming a character of its own, the house creaks and moans under the weight of the history of trauma that unfolds within it. Achieving this feeling of being lived in, it adds an element of comfort for the characters, which makes losing their physical ties to the house so terrifying. The beautiful forest isn’t just home to animals and plants to eat, but a source of danger, as it obscures vision between the family members and their home. Aja toys with the perceptions of both the family and audience, giving just enough glimpses into the vastness to make them question what they see. Shuffling corpses, trees lined with disembodied arms, and manipulative doppelgängers provide plenty of unsettling images that heighten the isolation of the woods.
When all is revealed, Never Let Go may disappoint those seeking more straightforward answers. The gimmick behind its premise reminds audiences of the power of family and love to prioritize safety over truly living. Star power propels the film into solid territory even when its story wanders into the wilderness of the third act. Overall, Never Let Go is a solid familial horror that offers enough creepy moments and interesting ideas to satiate viewers.
Overall Score? 6/10
