Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

TV & Film

‘Never Let Go’ (2024) Review: Pray Before You Watch This

The “Never Let Go” 2024 film is a horror movie directed by Alexandra Aja. It plots the survival struggles of a family cult living in pure isolation from the world.

The three main characters of the movie pose on the porch steps with their pet dog.
Alexandra Aja, Never Let Go 2024

I watched the new horror movie in theaters and I am here to tell you how great it is! Never Let Go is directed by Alexandra Aja and stars Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B Jenkins as the main actors.

What’s it about?

At the start, you are introduced to a woman and her two sons who live isolated in the woods. Momma and her twins Nolan and Sam. Nolan narrates to us about the world he and his brother were raised in, a post-apocalyptic world killed off by a presence called Evil. According to their Momma, Evil took advantage of everyone’s vulnerability and forced people to kill each other off.

However, their grandma and now even Momma have the special ability to see the evil. Together with the grandfather building the “blessed house” that they now live in, their family has been able to survive. Whenever they venture out for food or play, they have to wear a rope around themselves that extends the protective powers of the house.

They say chants and prayers to reinforce the house’s protection and “purify” themselves. It’s a reference to knocking on wood, you could say.

Momma is overprotective of her sons, going to extreme measures to ensure their survival. They’ve followed her rules up until now.

The three main characters of the movie pose on the porch steps with their pet dog.
Never Let Go (2024) is starred by Halle Barry as the “Momma” taking care of her sons Sam and Nolan (Alexandra Aja)

This time, things take a turn when Nolan reaches his rope’s limit, just as potential food is beyond his reach! He and Sam argue about whether it’s worth the risk of obeying Mother’s words. Nolan hears Sam mutter, “She loves me more.” This is what starts the conflict of the story, as Sam’s refusal to acknowledge his hurtful words causes Nolan to lash back and cause his brother to get hurt.

Scare Factor

I rate this movie very highly in horror effects. I was absolutely terrified while watching it. During the most intense scenes, I clenched my hands together and prayed for the characters. They had a prayer that they recited to their house throughout the film. Meanwhile, I was reciting the names of the Holy Trinity, Mary and Joseph, and all 12 disciples!

Fearing the worst, I genuinely longed for it to end sooner. The scariest scene to me was when the mother was about to kill the dog. I did not want to watch a dog die and I’m not a fan of gore. This made it difficult to watch when the mom killed herself.

Momma (Halle Barry) is hinted to be trapped in her own delusions. (Alexandra Aja)

Despite this, I loved it! It had a good amount of horror for me, and the plot twists were thrilling. It was exactly what I was looking for, an actual scary movie.

Themes

The movie seemed to focus on themes of generational family trauma and cult practice. The Mom’s childhood is not explained, but it is implied to not be innocent. Surprisingly, she had a rambunctious life before she settled down with her isolated family, as shown by her tattoos and a past picture of her. The evil incarnation of her husband calls her out for killing him and her parents, and the secret that she has something sinister in her.

IN a dark room, a lady sits with her wet back to us, revealing her snake tattoo.
Nolan calls his mother out for having a snake tattoo when she had said the Evil is a snake. What is she hiding? (Alexandra Aja)

If her mother and father were diligent to protect their family inside this house, how did the evil get in them? Why did she kill them? These questions are never answered.

Violent Abuse

When her “monster” mother shows up to possess her, it exclaims, “Bad lil’ goat, for sitting in my chair!” Supposedly, her mother would get aggressively angry for minor acts like sitting in a specific chair without permission. This hints at possible abuse that she suffered while growing up with delusional parents.

Nolan has artistic interests, being shown drawing lots of animals and even a map of their surroundings. (Alexandra Aja)

Now, she passes on this trauma to her children. She’s been raising them as a cult, having them pray to their house and live very isolated and strict lifestyles. Despite loving them, she actively hurts them as she forces them to accept starvation as their fate. Her fear of the worst happening has kept her in such a tight box that she believes there is nothing good out there for them in the rest of the world.

Sam carries this sentiment after his mom dies. He shoots a real man who was just offering help and refuses the food Nolan stole from the man, believing it to all be evil. At the end of the movie, Nolan excitedly tells Sam the good news. Sam responds with the negative statement, “She loves me more.” Apparently, this is to show how Sam still has some of the “Evil” in him. He has yet, and might never, let go of the rope keeping him tied to his mother’s trauma.

Favoritism

The two sons of the movie sit at the dinner table and stare at each other.
Nolan and Sam have somewhat of a strained relationship, causing their “protective family” cult to fall apart. (Alexandra Aja)

Of course the conflict of the movie kicked off with a sibling fight. It’s inevitable that siblings clash sometimes. Yet, the repetition of “she loves me more” calls into question the family dynamic of these characters.

Sam was the more obedient son of the two, and he believes Momma favored him. Maybe, to stay on her good side, he stayed unwaveringly loyal to stay protected. After all, she did terrify both of them when she pointed her knife and yelled at them to chant the house’s prayer. It was then that Nolan started to question their life more.

Often, parents are the reason behind the strife between siblings and child misbehavior. However, they don’t realize it, or they ignore the truth and instead blame the child. The Evil mother does this, blaming Nolan for his family falling apart at the climax of the movie.

But unlike Sam, Nolan refused to let fear control him and fought back against it with the love in his heart. He chooses to be free from the generational trauma.

Hope and Fear

There were so many good plot twists that kept me at the edge of my seat with my heart racing! I found it kind of ironic that the more obedient son Sam got corrupted before his rebellious brother did. Nolan was the one who kept pushing the idea of taking off the rope, but the evil never came directly for him.

Halle Barry (Momma) stares menacingly at us while fire blazes behind her.
Momma (Halle Barry) now re-manifests as the Evil herself and attempts to haunt Nolan. (Alexandra Aja)

Imagine how traumatizing it would be to find out the evil is indeed real as you watch your family get hurt! But at the same time, it’s being proven that the evil is not all-powerful or as wide-spread as his mother claimed. The hiker and his food is real, and the people saving them are taking them to a city vibrant with life and normalcy.

It is because of Nolan’s persistent hopefulness and curiosity that he was able to see past the boundaries of darkness. But this raises the question, what is the evil? Without the origin story of his mother and grandparents, viewers can only speculate their own theories.

The Ending

I left the theatre with alot of questions after hearing Sam’s last words, “She loves me more.” That was such an inappropriate response to Nolan’s hopeful exclamations! Momma is dead, what does her affection have to do with anything anymore?!

How do they adjust to modern life after this, and who adopts them? I would love a sequel narrative of the challenges of whoever adopts these two boys with a strange, almost supernatural past and the boys’ adaptiveness to living in a society.

According to some “…Ending Explained” articles I read, the end of the film is supposed to be left open for interpretation. This is the only thing I really dislike about the movie! I hate ambiguous endings! I prefer to know exactly what things mean and exactly why they ended the way they did. The thought-provoking questions itch my brain!

Besides that, I highly recommend this movie to fellow horror fans! It got the right amount of terror and a great plot.

Avatar photo
Written By

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement

You May Also Like

Images of a girl sitting against a wall of graffiti and girl ready to attack with gauntlets sit behind the Arcane logo.Images of a girl sitting against a wall of graffiti and girl ready to attack with gauntlets sit behind the Arcane logo.

TV & Film

It’s time to gear up (with Vi’s gauntlets or Jinx’s rocket launcher, your choice) for Arcane's second, and final, season. Here’s everything you need...

An ugly doll sits eerily of the counter.An ugly doll sits eerily of the counter.

TV & Film

Looking for some thrilling spooky series to binge this October? Maybe you want true story horror or something comedy-scary. I suggest 5 unique horror...

Sweeney Todd, Beetlejuice, and Emily. Credit: Warner Bros.Sweeney Todd, Beetlejuice, and Emily. Credit: Warner Bros.

TV & Film

Here are five of the most spook-tacular films from the ghoulishly gothic filmmaker.

TV & Film

FX’s The Bear is a successful portrayal of the cutthroat culinary world. But does its success translate to the real chef experience?