NEW YORK (OSV News) — As allegorical horror films about woodland isolation complicated by demon-infestation rate, “Never Let Go” (Lionsgate) checks off all the unpleasant boxes.
Momma (Halle Berry) and her young twin sons Sam (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) are eking out an existence in a remote cabin haunted by demons – Momma’s mother and her husband, both of whom she killed.
She has told them from infancy that the woods are full of evil forces, and no one leaves the house without being attached to long ropes which are anchored in the cabin foundation. Otherwise, the demons will get them.
“It’s either the house, or evil,” Momma tells them. “That’s it.”
That’s the analogy for family preservation – strong ties. But the story, as directed by Alexandre Aja from a script by Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby, veers from protective mothering into what can only be called child abuse, with punishments ranging from withholding of the meager food supply to being shut away in a closet.
Additionally, Momma instructs the boys to pray each night a blessing to “This house of sacred wood” which provides “heaven on earth.”
Their food supply quickly runs out after an attempt at growing vegetables fails, and they are reduced to eating grubworms and tree bark.
So it’s not surprising that Momma, in her desperation, appears to be hallucinating, and soon enough, the boys are left to fend for themselves and figure out whether what Momma told them was real or if they’re just cut off from the outside world.
Along the way, they make far worse decisions than Momma ever did. What’s real? What’s a hallucination? Viewers will grow numb trying to care.
Questionable values combined with gross-out scenes and violence makes this worth staying out of the forest.
The film contains an occult theme, a scene of suicide, a scene of murder, children in frequent mortal peril, pervasive gore and fleeting rough language. The OSV News classification is O – morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R – restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.