• Director: Alexandre Aja
• Screenwriter: Kevin Coughlin, Ryan Grassby
• Cast: Halle Berry, Percy Daggs IV, Anthony B. Jenkins
• Cinematography: Maxime Alexandre
• Editing: Elliot Greenberg
• Score: Robin Coudert
• Genre: Survival horror thriller
• Runtime: 101 minutes

There’s often rules in horror movies that you have to follow in order to live. In ‘A Quiet Place’, you survive by not making a sound. In ‘Bird Box’, you commit suicide if you see the creatures so must remain blindfolded. In ‘Never Let Go‘, it’s by touch that ‘they’ get you, if they do you’ll turn against your family in a murderous rage.

After society apparently collapses, a mother (Halle Berry, doing a poor attempt at a Southern accent) and her two young sons live in a cabin in the woods, surviving in their remote locale by foraging for food and hunting animals. But there’s ‘evil’ lurking in the surrounding forestry (taking various forms, among them; Berry’s late husband and a zombified, serpentine version of her mother) so when venturing outside, the trio must tie ropes around themselves – thus remaining connected to their home – as these seemingly magic ropes (yes, really) have the power to protect them from these malevolent forces (initially only witnessed by Berry’s character).

There’s little to no threat – you won’t be left with a knot in your stomach. Despite the ropes being bound tightly, the tension is lax while the dialogue is ropey at best. It keeps you guessing whether it actually is the end of the world or not (similar to last year’s ‘Knock at the Cabin‘- what is it with apocalypses and cabins?) but that only depends if you haven’t already given up and let go.

Even so, the verdant cinematography is the movie’s saving grace, creating a natural, environmental feel and featuring arboreal set pieces.

My rating: 4 / 10