Never let go is a new horror thriller starring Academy Award winner Halle Berry. The story is set in the woods, where Barry's character lives in a secluded cabin with her two sons. Barry's character - who is unnamed - is certain of an evil lurking in the forest and believes that only by tying herself to the wood of the cabin with a rope can she and her family stay safe. The unique premise was adapted into script form by KC Coughlin and Ryan Grassby, whose previous work as a writing duo includes The King Tide And mean dreams.
Screen Rants Never let go Review called the film a fascinating psychological thriller, and the success of its execution fell in large part to director Alexandre Aja. The French director is a horror veteran, having made his mark on the genre in part with The hills have eyes (2006) and crawl (2019). for never let go, Aja leans in family drama elements to create a captivating watch that focuses on the relationship between Barry's character and her children.
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Screen Rant Interviewed Aja to talk about the process of bringing Never let go to the big screen. During the conversation, Aja discussed working with Halle Berry on the movie that would earn Berry's highest Rotten tomatoes Score in years. Aja also spoke about what drew him to the film and the layers of symbolism behind its unique concept.
Alexandre Aja on the tones and themes that drew him to never let go
The movie felt to Aja as "a classic fairy tale."
Screen Rating: Never let go is absolutely phenomenal at its core. It's an incredible family drama with universal themes while still being a brilliant horror film. I feel like audiences will get a lot more than they expect with this film because it will keep them on the edge of their seats and keep them talking after they've watched it. When you first read the script, what spoke to you about it?
Alexandre Aja: Everything you just said. The experience of reading it was quite an intimate one. I was scared, but I wasn't scared in a way [where] I was picturing a graphic, gory moment. This was not that kind of movie. It was way, way more sophisticated and way more interesting, and maybe more scary, because of that. The theme - the reflection on what it is to be a parent, what it is to be a child, and what it is to protect, or overprotect, your children - was something that was handled in a way I did not expect. The mind game about guessing what is really happening and the story about the two kids, one who believes everything his mom says and the other questions everything... [there were] Just so many layered themes that I wanted to explore to try and create a movie that wasn't anything you'd seen before.
I feel like every 30 minutes or so, I felt like I had the movie figured out, and something new happened. I was like, "Man, I thought I had this." The idea that a family is physically attached with a rope is intriguing. Can you talk about what that symbolizes in the context of the film?
Alexandre Aja: In this movie, the world is gone, as some evil force possessed the people and made them kill each other. There is the blessed house where our characters live deep in the forest, away from the grid, and as long as they stay in the house they are safe - which is the opposite of the usual scary movie where the house is usually where the bad are. Things are happening. But [here,] This is not the case. The house is actually the safe place for them, and as long as they stay connected to the house with the rope they are safe too.
The evil cannot touch them, the evil cannot go to them, but the evil is patient and will do everything to make them let go of the rope. The rope is also a really limited amount of length that brings their world into the desert [on a] Very, very small [scale]. It is just like a hundred yards rope that allows them to just look for food and come back home, but the world for them ends at the end of the rope. And for me, the rope symbolized so many things. Of course, it symbolized the bond to the house.
The original title of the movie is Motherland, and I think it's really about that. It is about being attached to the motherland and being able to, at some point, let go of that rope or cut that rope and be able to be free. This is what the movie is really playing out - are we really protecting the kids from evil, or are we just keeping them prisoner? That's really what the theme is, in, I feel, the same way as a classic fairy tale.
We all go through the same exact experience about, "When do we need to cut the cord? When do we need to accept or embrace our parents' legacy, or generational trauma? How can we not repeat the same thing that we were repeated from Son to father to son to father and mother, [and so on?] How can we be free from this? How can we do the job? ” These are all questions that I felt were very, very written into the story of the script. In the same way [that] A dark fairy tale will reflect our own darkness and the monsters that live among us, I felt that the movie was a very similar thing.
Halle Berry is "everything in this movie," says Aja
The star and director collaborated closely to strike the right tone for her character
Halle's level of immersion in the film is absolutely incredible for Mama. She grew out her fingernails, her body hair, and stained her teeth on the stand. How did that level of immersion help Hale get into character, what made her the perfect choice for Mama, and how did her performance shape the film?
Alexandre Aja: She is everything in this movie. She really gave us the direction. I remember the first time we met, she said, "I just want to make sure that we don't want to compromise on any layers of the character - that we don't want to try to make her just a hero, make her. Just love, not going to give up on all the darkness she carries, the troubled past she has, [or] All the mystery that surrounds you. It was music to my ears.
That's exactly the way I saw the movie. That's the way I read it, and together we just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to even go further into that duality. Yes, there are two kids who are fraternal twins who are opposites, but she is also dual. She also has a darker side as well. So, that was it [an] Exciting creative process—[getting] To push and be sure that we are going and embrace this direction too.
More About Never Let Go (2024)
A family that has been possessed by an evil spirit for years. Their safety and their surroundings come into question when one of the children questions if the evil is real.
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Never let go Will hit theaters on September 20.