Having captured the claustrophobia of Covid with *ahem* breathless 2021 chiller Oxygen, Alexandre Aja — whether intentionally or not — iooks set to head into agoraphobic horror territory with his follow-up Never Let Go, a film in which Oscar winner Halle Berry and her kids literally bind themselves together with rope to face the evils that lay beyond their own doorstep. But if the atmospheric first trailer for Aja's post-apocalyptic psychological thriller is anything to go by, then we suspect the danger facing Berry and her brood may well reside a little closer to, well, home. Check it out below and you'll see what we mean:
"Life's been tough on you boys since the world ended," admits a visibly fraught Berry at the beginning of this foreboding latest look at Never Let Go — and honestly, it does seem like it. Set in a distinctly The Road/A Quiet Place evocative slab of post-apocalyptic rural Americana, the trailer for Aja's new movie is all biblical mantras, (quite literal) fraying familial threads, suspicious shed skins, bloody-mouthed woodland ne'er-do-wells, and other such potent folk horror imagery. Perhaps most concerningly however, given Berry's big protective momma bear energy when it comes to her kids (newcomers Percy Davis IV and Anthony B. Jenkins), is the sight of a decidedly less-momma-bear looking Berry — taking a rare turn into horror territory here — stood in a burning doorway with a demonic look on her face. We're sure it'll all work out just fine though, right? Right?
Here's the official synopsis for the movie, whose screenplay comes from Mean Dreams scribes KC Coughlin and Ryan Grassby: "As an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother (Berry) and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond. Needing to stay connected at all times – even tethering themselves with ropes – they cling to one another, urging each other to never let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival."
With Aja at the helm, Berry tying everything together (again, quite literally) in front of the camera, and the creative teams behind Stranger Things and Arrival also aboard Lionsgate's latest chiller, there's plenty of promise surrounding this one. Will Never Let Go's tantalising threads all come together in the final cut though? Or will Aja and co wind up tying themselves in knots? We'll find out when the film hits cinemas on 20 September.