There’s a creepy old house in the middle of the forest, and it’s the last refuge for a family hiding from something called “the Male.” This thing can take the form of people and mess with your mind. If it touches you, its dark energy stays with you forever. To grab supplies from the forest, the family has to stay connected to a rope that leads back to their basement—it’s the only safe way!

There’s this stressed-out mom who keeps warning her sons, Nolan and Samuel, about this strange evil outside. But here’s the kicker: apparently only adults can see it. So naturally, the kids start getting skeptical. Plus, they’re starving because Mom’s not exactly winning any parenting awards right now.

The movie kind of feels like a mash-up of *The Village* and *Bird Box*. Alexandre Aja directed it, throwing in surprises left and right but leaving some parts of the story a little messy.

It’s got some Shyamalan-esque metaphorical stuff going on—like talking about motherhood on one hand but hinting at topics like nature vs. nurture or mental health too. It leans heavy on the serious side and doesn’t shy away from gross moments (like someone nibbling on a live frog—yikes). Even though it’s dealing with all this intense stuff, Aja definitely puts his unique spin on things.

Right off the bat, there’s a jump scare as if it’s making up for being too mysterious or puzzling at times. You go in expecting something deep and full of meaning but somehow it never quite lands there.

the mark. Sure, it’s got some creepy monsters and neat but brief body horror moments that might make you jump a bit. But here’s the thing: this movie sets up all these survival rules throughout, and in the end, it feels like those rules just get tossed out the window. You might find yourself thinking, “Wait a minute—if they could break these rules so easily, why didn’t they do that sooner?”

The director, Aja, likes to throw in lots of twists which can mess with your ability to really buy into what’s happening because when anything can happen at any time, nothing’s truly surprising anymore. There’s a huge twist near the end of the second act that pulls you back in if your attention was wandering—not bad for sparking interest again—but it’s such a big twist that everything afterward seems kind of blah in comparison.

Throughout it all, there’s this constant theme where survival rules are taught by a mom using these repetitive rhymes over and over again. The story is broken up into chapters with this spooky forest filled with all sorts of dangers—definitely keeps things tense!

“Never Let Go” tries blending post-apocalyptic vibes with dark fairy tale and folk horror stuff. It sort of works? But honestly, if you’re after creepy forests or tales about motherhood done super well, there are better options like “Gretel & Hansel” by Oz Perkins or “The Witch” by Robert Eggers. This film doesn’t quite nail those themes as sharply.

“Never Let Go” tries hard but doesn’t quite hit the intensity of movies like “Babadook.” The actors definitely put in a ton of effort. Halle Berry shows a different side, leaving behind her glamorous image, and those kids really bring it. Honestly, they all deserved a better script to work with. In the end, it has some standout moments but likely won’t leave a lasting impression unless you’re super into horror films and keep tabs on everything out there.