Spooky stuff led the pack at the box office last weekend with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Speak No Evil, and on Friday they’ll be joined by a couple of other upcoming horror movies for those hoping to stay in the spirit of the season. Halle Berry stars in Never Let Go, and critics had the chance to screen the movie ahead of its September 20 release on the 2024 movie calendar. Let’s take a look at what they’re saying.
The survival horror sees Halle Berry as the mother of twin boys in a world that’s supposedly been taken over by a malicious spirit. The family’s bond is broken and their lives become at risk when one of her sons begins to doubt the evil’s existence. In CinemaBlend’s review of Never Let Go, Eric Eisenberg says Berry gives a great performance that will keep audiences guessing throughout the disturbing adventure. He rates it 4 out of 5 stars, writing:
Halle Berry delivers what is a truly ego-less performance, as June is not a caring mother of the heartwarming variety. Her version of caring is based in ensuring the survival of her boys, and that takes some harsh forms. Her intensity and the measures she is willing to take can be accepted when balanced against the evil she says is waiting in the woods to take her children, but fractures in the veracity of her claims provides a very different kind of light, and it makes Berry one of the substantial sources of scary in the horror film.
Bill Bria of SlashFilm also praises Halle Berry, rating the movie 8.5 out of 10 and saying that while Never Let Go has vibes of A Quiet Place or something from M. Night Shyamalan, director Alexandre Aja’s fractured fairy tale continues to reveal new layers as it unfolds that will stick with audiences after the lights come back up. Bria writes:
If you meet the film halfway, Never Let Go becomes enjoyably compelling and eerie. Yes, there are a good amount of scares to be had here, as Aja has only perfected his sense of jumpscare timing as well as his knack for finding collaborators who can conjure up some truly unsettling demonic zombie creatures … Of course, your mileage may vary, but Never Let Go feels like the type of film which only grows in one’s estimation long after it’s ended. It has its immediate, visceral pleasures, to be sure. But as the title suggests, it may stick in your mind for days (or longer) afterward, as it has done in mine.
Mae Abdulbaki of ScreenRant gives the movie 3 out of 5 stars, saying the flick’s engrossing premise keeps moviegoers engaged even through its lulls. Halle Berry is great, as expected, but child actors Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins steal the show. Abdulbaki continues:
The film also flirts with the idea of what evil truly is. Is it something we can see and that can take us over, or is it something that already exists within us, preying on our most troublesome thoughts and fears? It leaves the answers up to us, but the filmmaking team does a great job of establishing a sense of eerieness that never lets up, and the ending especially leaves us guessing and questioning everything that came before. Split into three distinct segments, Never Let Go can be captivating as it strips its characters down to primal instincts.
The critics seem to agree that the performances sell this story, but William Bibbiani of The Wrap still feels that Never Let Go is grasping at straws. Halle Berry is perfectly matched by the young actors, who play her twins as “desperate and haunted,” the critic says. Bibbiani continues:
Never Let Go takes the promise of a scary and challenging film about believing in evil, believing in your parents, believing in your parents’ beliefs, and believing what we can actually prove, but it’s a promise half-fulfilled. Aja’s eerie direction and the truly superb cast elevate the material but they can only take this story so far because it is — ironically (again) — tethered to a frustrating tale. Never Let Go wants to do everything and winds up accomplishing very little. It may freak you out a little bit, and that may be enough for some people, but it only briefly grabs hold of something significant. Then it lets go.
David Rooney of THR says Never Let Go starts out intriguing enough and provides a few jump scares, but the critic says there’s only so much mileage the film can get out of making us wonder if Halle Berry’s character is sane or not before it becomes monotonous. Rooney continues:
Berry, who’s also a producer through her HalleHolly company, gives it her all. De-glammed almost to a feral degree and slipping in and out of a Southern accent, she deftly blurs the lines separating fiercely protective from paranoid and unhinged for much of the duration. But all her conviction can’t breathe substance into a story that’s way more complicated than complex and a movie that takes itself far more seriously than the material merits.
The critics may not be completely satisfied with all aspects of Alexandre Aja’s latest venture, but they mostly agree that there are scares to be had and that the three leading actors are up to the task. Will you be supporting Halle Berry’s new movie on opening weekend? If the critics above have piqued your interest, Never Let Go will be in theaters on Friday, September 20.