Picture this: there’s this old wooden house out in the forest, and it’s supposedly “blessed,” acting like a safe haven for probably the last few folks left on earth. A family hides there, dodging some mysterious evil that can look human and mess with your thoughts. One touch, and you’re marked for good. When they gather supplies from the woods, they have to keep hold of this rope that leads back to their basement. That’s what the mom keeps drilling into her kids’ heads—Nolan and Samuel—but apparently only grown-ups can see this creepy force.

So Nolan and Samuel start thinking something’s fishy about these terrifying tales because they’re running low on food, and it seems like their mom isn’t up to taking care of them anymore.

Think a mix between The Village and Bird Box. This film by Alexandre Aja serves up some spooky vibe and a nice plot twist but also gets kinda messy in terms of story and themes.

Just like Shyamalan’s movies, there’s an obvious symbolic layer here with Never Let Go. It’s definitely got a motherhood angle but also teases ideas about nature vs. nurture or even racial separation and mental health issues. It takes itself quite seriously too. There’s this constant nursery rhyme about the blessed wood house that’s drilled into you throughout—plus scenes that are kind of gross instead of scary (someone munches on a live frog!). Despite all that seriousness, Aja throws in some surprising moments too.
Right from the start, this movie throws in a jump scare, as if it knows things are a bit confusing and needs to jolt you with some good old-fashioned frights. It’s kind of stuck in the middle though—it doesn’t quite reach that artsy, symbolic level it’s aiming for, and it’s not a full-on thrill ride either. But hey, there are some really creepy creatures and cool body horror moments sprinkled about.

There’s this list of survival rules throughout the movie that’s supposed to keep everyone on their toes. By the time we hit the third act though, those rules just get tossed out like they never mattered. Parts of the story start making you wonder why stuff didn’t happen way earlier in “Never Let Go.” It’s all over the place, trying to keep up surprises but ends up pretty confusing—when anything can happen or not happen, nothing’s really surprising anymore. Plus, Aja drops this major shocker near the end of act two that perks things up again after slowing down a bit; it’s so big that by comparison the ending feels kinda flat—not “Wow, they were bold to do that;” more like “Oh… okay then.”

You’ve got all these rituals going on with mom passing down survival tips through rhymes repeated over and over till you’re blue in your face! The movie breaks into chapters too as characters plow through scary dark woods filled with dangers at every turn.
“Never Let Go” tries adding a fairytale vibe and some folk horror to the whole post-apocalyptic setting. The atmosphere is cool, sure, but honestly, there are way better woods-based stories out there, like “Gretel & Hansel” or “The Witch.” When it comes to the theme of motherhood, it’s just not as gripping as movies like “Babadook.”

What makes the movie kind of work is the effort from the cast. Halle Berry steps up big time and isn’t playing it all glamorous. And those two kids in there? They bring some real intensity too. Still, they all deserved a stronger story.

Overall, while it’s kinda fun in parts, “Never Let Go” probably won’t stick with you much—unless you’re one of those die-hard horror genre collectors out there.