‘Never Let Go’ Movie Review: Halle Berry captures the middle thriller of living together

Halle Berry in ‘Never Let Go’

That the apocalypse will not be kind to vegetarians — cannibalism or frog-eating and family pets not being an option — is the most important lesson to be learned from the rash of post-apocalyptic thrillers in cinema. Maybe the mother (Halle Berry) and her twin sons Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) survive on berries and tree bark… fried insects, bugs and leathery amphibians.

The family is so protected by the rambling farmstead that the trio go hunting and gather ropes from the house. Mama tells the boys that they should “never let go” because that’s how Evil (Stephanie Lavigne) arrives. Through the movie we get to know the back story — how evil turned people into monsters by wearing the faces of loved ones, and how Mamma’s father built the house and gave protection to guard them.

Early in the movie, when a boy loses his rope, Mama rushes to their rescue and tells them not to look at the evil look on Mama’s face. He asks them to place their hands on the wooden floor of the house and repeat the prayer to the house to protect them. A harsh winter threatens the family’s survival, as does Nolan’s suspicions about his mother’s insistence on a ruined world outside their home and the possibility of evil taking over if they let go.

A difficult choice forces the moment to its crisis. When a stranger (Matthew Kevin Anderson) comes calling, does he represent salvation or destruction? After watching Nicolas Cage raise his twin sons in a troubled world ArcadianIt’s time for another Academy Award winner to do the same. Alexander Aza, who gave us horror The mountain has eyes Remakes and hilarious, teeth-grinding fun Piranha 3Dhas created a vaguely unsettling movie that shows what happens when trust and family ties turn on themselves. Do they help you or bring you down?

Halle Berry’s performance, full of warmth and terror, keeps us invested and searching for the meaning of letting go. Berry also makes us question what is real and what is a phantom conjured up by a sick mind. That’s the real fear—not being able to trust yourself. And best of all, the dog lives – smart boy.

Never Let Go is currently playing in theaters