Never Let Go [Blu-Ray]

Director: Alexandre Aja

Cast: Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV, Anthony B. Jenkins

Release Date: December 3, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:

From visionary director Alexandre Aja (Crawl) and the creative minds behind “Stranger Things” comes this psychological horror-thriller. As an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, a mother (Halle Berry) and her twin sons find their only protection is their house and their deep-rooted family bond. Needing to stay connected at all times — even tethering themselves with ropes — they urge 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’ tells the haunting tale of a mother and her twin sons who live a life of seclusion, literally tied to their house in the middle of the woods believing it to be their one source of true protection against an evil force that has run rampant throughout the world. Certain that if they stay connected to their blessed home that the evil won’t be able to touch them, the family spends their days hunting within range for food to eat that night and enjoying the company of family when darkness falls. But when one son begins to question the validity of the evil seen only by Momma and food starts to run scarce as winter approaches, tensions begin to boil and the evil becomes more aggressive as it tries to pull the family apart.

Directed by Alexandre Aja (Crawl, High Tension) from a screenplay written by KC Coughlin & Ryan Grassby (Mean Dreams), Aja does a wonderful job at the helm of ‘Never Let Go’ creating and maintaining an eerie and uneasy atmosphere that keeps the viewer on edge and uncertain throughout. The film’s limited cast includes Halle Berry (Moonfall), Percy Daggs IV (TV’s The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey), Anthony B. Jenkins (The Deliverance) and William Catlett (Abigail) who each offer capable and in most cases fairly impressive performances in their respective roles that help the film tremendously.

‘Never Let Go’ is a haunting, often tense and uncertain ride with a gloomy atmospheric aura always looming over the struggling family as things become more dire and they must begin to tackle difficult decisions that could mean the difference between their death or survival. With a shapeshifting evil lurking everywhere and darkness permeating the forest and the family’s surroundings, it soon begins to lead the tightknit family to a rift that they may not be able to return from should they give in to the dark.

The film does an impressive job of crafting a bleak and uneasy tone that lingers throughout its duration and often tends to leave the viewer as much in the dark as the characters within, something that works for good and bad to some degree at one point or another. Unfortunately, the film does become somewhat lost in its lore of the evil and there are times where it feels almost as if it’s contradicting something that was implied otherwise earlier on, but the impressive tone and uneasy vibe that lingers throughout does a great job of keeping the viewer invested nonetheless.

Director Alexandre Aja is no stranger to horror and always manages to craft an appropriately tense and well-balanced style that rarely disappoints and ‘Never Let Go’ is certainly no exception to that, but as the film progresses and more questions continue to be presented, too few of them seem to be accompanied by answers or anything concrete to help the viewer become grounded in regard to what’s actually occurring. In addition to Aja’s capable guidance, the film benefits immensely from a trio of outstanding performances by Halle Berry and young stars Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins who all shine and do a marvelous job. If you’re a fan of Aja or Berry’s filmography or if you’re simply drawn in by eerie, potentially supernatural genre films that keep things contained and secluded, then ‘Never Let Go’ is well worth taking the time to give a whirl and is recommended.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Never Let Go’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with a 2.11:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks very nice and provides a sharp, clean and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that holds up well throughout without succumbing to any noticeable issues along the way. Detail is solid across the board with everything from the grimy appearance of the characters to the expansive forest surrounding the home and the interior of the cabin looking sharp and clean, while colors hold up capably and black levels remain clean, deep and largely problem-free, even during the extremely dark moments. Overall, this is a solid high definition presentation that doesn’t disappoint and should satisfy fans as well as first time viewers.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack sounds great and repeatedly enhances the eerie atmosphere and tone of the film. It takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, creepy sounds and nature effects, plus plenty more overtaking the various speakers throughout while never contradicting with or negatively affecting any simultaneously occurring dialogue or other audio elements. Overall, this is a wonderful Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that consistently immerses you in the terror.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Never Let Go’ offers a few entertaining extras including some ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the film (running approximately 7 minutes in length altogether), along with a couple of Behind the Scenes Featurettes including ‘Making Never Let Go’ (running approximately 12 minutes) and Creating Momma’s House’ (approximately 6 minutes). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (2 minutes) is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 7/10

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‘Never Let Go’ is Now Available to Own on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Lionsgate

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You can purchase ‘Never Let Go’ on Blu-ray at Amazon HERE!

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