Never Let Gois a post-apocalyptic horror movie that centers on a mother and two sons who live in a cabin in the woods. The family has been haunted by an evil spirit for years, finding sanctuary only in their home and each other. However, when one of the brothers begins to question the existence of the evil a terrifying fight to survive ensues after the family’s bond is broken.
Halle Berry delivers a haunting performance, becoming more intense and menacing as the movie plays out. Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins are brilliant as her twin sons who begin to question the reality of their world. Alexandre Aja brings his directorial expertise toNever Let Goas the tension and horror escalate with the question of whether the evil is real or in the mother’s head permeating the entire movie
Never Let Go Trailer: Halle Berry Protects Her Sons In Post-Apocalyptic Horror Movie
Lionsgate releases the official trailer for Never Let Go showing Halle Berry protecting her twin sons in a post-apocalyptic horror movie.
Screen Rantinterviewed Halle Berry about hernew horror movieNever Let Go. She revealed what drew her to the script and how she immersed herself into her character. Berry also praised her costars, Daggs and Jenkins, and explained how she collaborated with Aja.
Never Let Go Gave Halle Berry A Chance To Step Outside Herself
“I always love playing a character where I get to disappear into a role.”
Screen Rant: At the heart of its story,Never Let Gois an incredible family drama with universal themes, while still being a brilliant horror film. You’ve done just about every genre there is to do, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen you in a horror film. What drew you to the role and what spoke to you about the script?
Halle Berry: Oh God, that’s loaded. Well, I always love playing a character where I get to disappear into a role and play something so far away from myself that people wouldn’t expect me to do it. Sometimes I wouldn’t expect me to do it. The challenge of that is what I live for. So there was that.
But also this was a world when I read the script, I had never seen this world before, right? I was intrigued by it. I thought as a mother, what would it be like to give birth in a house and raise my children for a decade and see no one but them and have no outside help and be in the middle of the woods? Would we survive? How would we live?
All of these questions, I couldn’t let go of. I couldn’t let go of those questions. And also the idea of was Mama really suffering from mental illness or was there an evil really that she felt was there? What was real about this character? I love the idea of walking that line and creating a character that hopefully audiences at the end would say, I don’t know. Or there would be debate about it. That we would think more deeply.
When I watch this film, I feel like every minute my mind would change on what was happening or wasn’t happening. You really immerse yourself into the role of mama from biting your fingernails down to growing out your body hair and eyebrows and staining your teeth. How did that level of immersion help you get into the character of Mama?
Halle Berry: All that helps. Every time we put it on that wig and you stain the teeth, they blew hair under my armpits, putting on those tattoos, the spiders, the snakes, all of that stuff just really helps sink yourself into the world. And without it, I think our job would be so hard because we have to look at ourselves.
That’s part of how you get into the character. We had to look at each other all day. And the boys and I stayed in our accent as much as we could. We really tried to immerse ourselves in the world.
Halle Berry Credits Alex Aja’s Collaborative Spirit For High Points In Never Let Go
Can you talk about the dynamic between Mama and her twin sons? Nolan played by Percy Daggs IV, and Sam played by Anthony B. Jenkins. They are incredible in this film.
Halle Berry: They are so formidable. I knew as a producer in the beginning, my producer hat was on and I said, we have to get the right boys. The success of this film hinges on who they are because there are moments when they have to go it alone and we have to really believe them. They have to be able to carry it, right? Carry those moments.
So it was paramount we get the two boys. And these boys, I kid you not. I’ve worked with many people in 30 years. They’re up on the top of my list of actors that I have worked with, mainly because they were always on time. They knew all of their lines. They worked really hard with their acting coach.
They were 100% committed. They were fearless. They did everything asked of them. You can’t ask for more than that in a scene partner. And they’re wildly just innately gifted and talented. I mean, it doesn’t get better than that.
When you watch a horror movie sometimes you may see the scares coming, but what makes me scared is seeing them scared and they sold it. I was afraid for them. Now, Alex Aja is an incredible visionary horror director, and I think he has such a great eye and vision for horror telling a story. Can you talk about working with him as a collaborator on this film?
Halle Berry: He was top notch, and he’s one of the reasons I wanted to do it too, because I knew I would be in safe hands. I’ve been a fan of his work fromThe Hills Have Eyesand the latest Crawl. I just knew that he cared so much about story building and the world that we would be in. I knew that he would put a lot of detail into making that world come alive and making that house be a character of its own.
I understand that he understands horror. We had lots of conversations about where the scares should come and why they should come in certain places and not in others. So I got to prick his brain and really understand how you really put a horror film together. There’s a lot to think about at every turn. And I loved watching him figure that out.
I also love that he let me collaborate. I had certain things that I felt had to be true about these characters from a female point of view, and he allowed me to have my point of view. He incorporated my ideas, which was very meaningful to me.
About Never Let Go (2024)
A family that has been haunted 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.
Check out our otherNever Let Gointerviews here:
Never Let Gohits theaters September 20 after premiering at Fantastic Fest on September 19.
Never Let Go
Cast
A mother and her twin sons are trapped in their house by a malevolent force, relying on their familial bond and physical connection for safety. When one son questions the reality of the evil, their unity unravels, leading to a terrifying battle for survival in this psychological thriller/horror.
