Yahoo Movies Halle Berry's horror movie debuts with fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating
Halle Berry's new survival horror Never Let Go has opened to mostly positive reviews, earning a fresh Rotten Tomatoes score.
Directed by Alexandre Aja — who helmed the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes as well as gator horror Crawl — the film currently sits at a 74% critics' score on the review aggregator.
Judging by the trailer (which you can watch at the top of the article), Never Let Go is one of those films whose title is repeated in the movie. A lot, in fact.
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In the clip, Berry's character makes sure her two twin sons understand how crucial it is to not let go of the rope keeping them all connected to their isolated house in the forest.
"That rope is your lifeline. Never let go," she says at one point.
The trailer later reveals what happens when the cord breaks and the characters are left to fend the evil creatures inhabiting the woods.
Ahead of the film hitting US cinemas on September 20, critics who saw the film at Fantastic Fest praised its hallucinatory visuals while acknowledging the flimsy plot stretches its own logic in favour of jaw-dropping twists.
AV Club
"It's refreshing to encounter genre fare that is equal parts original and entertaining."
Bloody Disgusting
"Never Let Go elevates a barebones, well-trodden concept. It’s unafraid to get dark and mean, removing the safety net for all, and refuses to overexplain its themes or the evil itself. It’s a smart approach when tackling a horror movie, asking questions about blind faith and belief."
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Variety
"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."
The Hollywood Reporter
"[Halle] Berry, who’s also a producer through her HalleHolly company, gives it her all. De-glammed almost to a feral degree and slipping in and out of a Southern accent, she deftly blurs the lines separating fiercely protective from paranoid and unhinged for much of the duration. But all 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."
IndieWire
"Never Let Go should resonate with both horror junkies seeking fall escapism and parents looking to see their struggles visualized."
The Daily Beast
"Never Let Go feels half-baked, especially as it wends its way past its central catastrophe and toward its end game. Having deftly set up their scenario, [director Alexandra] Aja and screenwriters Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby don’t bother to thrust their protagonists into enough peril — a decision that’s undoubtedly driven by their desire to keep viewers guessing about the evil."
TheWrap
"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."
Slant Magazine
"As the film goes on, it stretches its own internal logic and, following a genuinely shocking third-act twist, renders the world that it's created virtually incoherent merely in a ploy to keep the audience on the edge of their seats."
Never Let Go is released in US cinemas on September 20 and in UK cinemas on September 27.
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