Never Let Go

Alright, so there’s this wooden house tucked away in the woods where a family’s hiding out because they’re supposedly among the last folks left on Earth. They’re avoiding this creepy evil thing that can disguise itself as a human and mess with your head. Touch it once, and you’re toast. To get stuff from the forest, they have to use a rope that starts in their basement.

The mom’s constantly drilling her kids, Nolan and Samuel, about all this. But here’s the kicker: only adults can actually see this evil thing. Naturally, skeptical little rebels Samuel and Nolan start questioning if it’s even real because they’re super hungry and notice their mom isn’t exactly keeping it together like she used to.

Imagine vibes similar to “The Village” with some “Bird Box” edge-of-your-seat moments. It’s directed by Alexandre Aja, so it’s got this spooky atmosphere with some neat surprises thrown in, though sometimes the plot’s kinda all over the place.

Like something straight out of Shyamalan’s playbook, “Never Let Go – A step away from Evil” could be peeling back layers on themes like motherhood or clashes between nature and society—or maybe there are hints at issues around race or mental health too. The movie takes a serious tone; there’s even this weird nursery rhyme about wood getting repeated endlessly. Some scenes are more gross-out than scary (ever seen someone eat a live frog? Ew). Even amidst all intense bits, Aja sure knows how to keep things gritty when needed.
Alright, so this movie kicks off with a jump scare in the prologue—like it’s trying to get you ready for a ride that might be more complicated than it needs to be. It doesn’t totally nail that deeper meaning it’s aiming for, nor does it go all out as a thriller. Still, it’s got its share of creepy monsters and some gross-out body horror moments.

By the time you reach the end, all those tips on surviving don’t seem too useful because when things get wild, nobody follows them anyway. You’re left scratching your head why these plot twists didn’t pop up earlier. Director Aja loves throwing surprise after surprise at you, but after a while, everything gets a bit mixed up—if everything is shocking, does anything really shock anymore? There’s one big twist near the end of act two that hooks you again but also makes what comes next feel kinda blah—the final part struggles to match up.

The movie’s kind of like reading a book split into chapters with this repetitive nursery rhyme vibe sung by a super worried mom that’s stuck in your head. The setting’s this mysterious forest that’s full of threats from start to finish.

And when touching on motherhood… Never let yourself think it doesn’t try hard enough!
“Go” doesn’t quite stack up against thrillers like “Babadook.” The storyline gets a bit messy, but there are still some standout performances. Halle Berry shakes things up, taking on a grittier role than usual and really giving it her all. The kids in the film also bring a lot of energy and tension.

However, they probably deserved a stronger script to showcase their talents. It’s entertaining in parts, but likely forgettable unless you’re someone who loves to keep track of every horror movie that crosses your path.