Gothika star Halle Berry returns to the world of horror (and finds much more success) with Never Let Go, a new survival horror movie from Crawl director Alexandre Aja. The reviews for Never Let Go are now in, and it looks like we could have a promising new addition to the survival horror genre on our hands as the movie debuts with a solid score of 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. So, let’s check out what some of the critics had to say…
Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting commends Never Let Go for having “sharp teeth” and offering a “refreshing” new horror tale.
“While it is lean in plotting, Never Let Go becomes a vicious little bedtime story with sharp teeth in Aja’s hands, one that refreshingly doesn’t handhold.”
Variety’s Courtney Howard found much to enjoy, and praised Never Let Go for doing what the best horror movies usually do – tackle universal themes with a terrifying backdrop.
“Its thematic ruminations on grief, sanity, rebellion and redemption are intrinsically intertwined to harrowing, claustrophobic effect, heightening the hallucinatory horrors and dread-soaked atmospheric pull.”
MovieWeb’s own Will Sayre, meanwhile, heaped praise on Halle Berry in the lead, calling her performance “nuanced, layered, and arresting.”
“And just because Halle Berry’s physical demeanor might call back to the critically panned Gothika (2003), fret not because Aja guides a more nuanced, layered, and arresting performance by the Oscar winner with Never Let Go.”
Never Let Go Lands in Theaters on Friday
Echoing these sentiments, Bill Bria of Slashfilm calls Never Let Go a “fractured fairy tale” that will leave a lasting impression.
“Aja never presents the movie as a twisty “gotcha!” or as a morose “elevated” horror movie, but rather as a fractured fairy tale that keeps unfolding and revealing new layers, all of which give the film an eerie and powerful hold.”
As the Rotten Tomatoes rating reveals, not everyone was as enamored with Never Let Go. David Rooney of THR praised Halle Berry but concludes that 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.” Likewise, William Bibbiani of TheWrap says, “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.”
But, back to the positives, Pete Hammond of Deadline declares that Never Let Go “grabs you by the throat.” In a good way, of course, and even concludes that it’s “the best horror film” this year. Which, considering the competition, is quite the claim.
“Cinematography by Maxime Alexandre and editing by Elliot Greenberg really add to the lush remote look of this film set in the middle of nowhere. It all grabs you by the throat — the best horror film I have seen this year.”
From visionary director Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, Crawl) and executive producers of Stranger Things and Arrival comes Never Let Go. Starring Academy Award winner Halle Berry alongside Anthony B. Jenkins and Percy Daggs IV, the survival horror follows a mother and her twin sons struggling to survive in a world that has been taken over by a great Evil.
Needing to stay connected at all times – even tethering themselves with ropes – they cling to one another, urging each other to never let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival.
Never Let Go
is scheduled to be released by Lionsgate on September 20, 2024.