Never Let Go review: "Halle Berry's new horror is a taut exploration of fear and paranoia"

Not everything seen is to be believed in Alexandre Aja’s (Switchblade Romance, Crawl) psychological thriller, a fairy tale of sorts in which the wolf at the door may be already inside the house. Or is there even a wolf at all? That’s the central mystery in a film whose grisly scares might be little more than figments of its protagonist’s imagination.

That person is Momma (Halle Berry), a single parent living in the woods who keeps her two young sons in check with petrifying stories about a soul-sucking entity that has taken over the world beyond their isolated cabin home. So long as ropes connect them to their ‘blessed’ abode, no harm can befall them. But that also means they can only venture so far for much-needed provisions, with only their wits and a pet pooch for company.

Youngest son Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) believes his mother wholeheartedly. Yet his twin Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) is beginning to have nagging doubts that manifest in deviations from her stern edicts. Things start to sour when Samuel takes a tumble that he blames on Nolan’s negligence. Then again, could the zombie-like ghouls that Berry professes to see in the trees really be out to get them?

Hair matted, features dirtied and sporting several eye-catching tattoos, the star immerses herself fully in the role. As impressive as she is, though, it’s the kids who shine brightest in a drama whose iron hold on the audience’s attention can withstand the odd dip into credulity-stretching implausibility.

Never Let Go is in US theaters now and is released in UK cinemas on September 27. 

For more, check out our guide to all of the upcoming horror movies on the way in 2024 and beyond.