If You Go Down to the Woods Today

At first glance, Never Let Go appears to be the story of Halle Berry (simply referred to as Mother) and her attempts to keep her two boys safe in a post apocalyptic world where evil stalks the woods outside their family home. It is really, however the story of the boys, their bond and the choices they must make.

Said boys are twins Samuel and Nolan (played by Anthony B.Jenkins and Percy Daggs IV respectively). They live in a wooden house that they are told by Mother they can never leave unless tied to a rope that anchors them to their home, the only thing keeping them safe from a great evil that has ravaged the rest of the world. Should they fail to heed her advice, the evil will enter them and gain access to the homestead where it will kill them all. The only one allowed to roam free of a tether is their faithful dog Coda (the evil has no interest in animals) and if there is any suspicion one of the boys' faith is wavering it's into a compartment in the floor with them, where they visualise the evil and pay thanks to the house. As accidents happen and a harsh winter makes their quest for food more and more desperate, Nolan begins to doubt their mother's stories while Samuel remains devoted.

That's more or less it for story, a handful of events testing the family bonds and the three protagonists are the only real characters. The minimalist set up paves the way for an intimate story of creeping dread and a family unit under pressure. Director Alexandre Aja is a horror veteran with an up and down CV but he creates a fantastically grim atmosphere here, whether it's evil or simply starvation, you can feel the vice tightening on the trio. It helps that it's easy to get on board with the family. The child actors are a revelation, carrying the emotional weight of the roles easily, and Berry gives her all as the stern and troubled but clearly loving matriarch. It is a little distracting that the children don't share their mother's strong accent (who else did they learn to talk from?) but that's a minor quibble when the performances are this good.

The script does struggle in a couple of places. It does it's best to add in some twists (and there is one shocking moment that comes out of the blue) but you will make your mind up fairly early on as to what is real and imagined and its unlikely you'll change your mind once you have. Stories like this are also tricky to satisfyingly wrap up and not everyone will be on board with the ending here.

Never Let Go is far from the first film to mix horror and mental illness and it certainly isn't the best but it's a well acted and focused piece that will have you invested in two brothers beating ever increasing odds.

7 tattoos from the before times out of 10.

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