NEVER LET GO : Tuesday 1st October 2024.

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'NEVER LET GO' earlier this week at my local multiplex, and this American survival horror film is Directed by the French filmmaker Alexandre Aja who made his English language Directorial debut in 2006 with 'The Hills Have Eyes' and which he would follow up with 'Mirrors' in 2008, 'Piranha 3D' in 2010, 'Horns' in 2013, 'The 9th Life of Louis Drax' in 2016, 'Crawl' in 2019 and 'Oxygen' in 2021. The film was released in the US in late September, has so far grossed US$10M from a production budget of US$20M and has generated mixed or average reviews.  

Here then, a woman known to us as only 'Momma' (Halle Berry) and her two young children Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) and Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) live in a cabin in a remote wilderness. Momma, tells her children that a supernatural force known as 'The Evil' spread across the world, causing it to end and leaving them as the only survivors. Momma is plagued by visions of supernatural entities while she sleeps and during her waking hours, that her sons cannot see, yet which they believe to be real. The family spends their days foraging and hunting for food. To prevent the Evil from touching them, which Momma says ensures possession, the family tether themselves with long ropes when they leave the house, connecting them back to the building. The boys must also chant a daily prayer to the house in thanks for it keeping them safe from the Evil.

One day, while out searching for food, Samuel and Nolan get into an argument and Nolan steps on Samuel's rope, causing Samuel to fall, get disconnected from his rope, and break his ankle. Nolan unties himself in an attempt to rescue Samuel before the boys are rescued by Momma, who encounters the Evil in the form of her mother although the children do not see it. As Samuel recovers from his fall, Nolan, who has started to disbelieve his mother's claims, questions him on what he saw but Samuel quickly dismisses his suspicions. Nolan's doubts continue to grow.

A brutal winter of heavy rains and bitter cold forces the family to use up just about all of their stockpiled food, resulting in them being unable to grow or hunt for any new food. Meanwhile, Momma's visions intensify, including seeing the boys' father and her husband, whom she killed, along with her own mother and father as well as that of a mutilated Nolan. Sensing discontent from her sons, Momma tells them about her old life in the city and shows them two old Polaroid photos she retained, and an old Polaroid Instamatic camera with one single photo left.

Now having completely run out of their reserves of food and forced to eat thinly shredded tree bark which Momma seasons with salt, pepper and maple syrup, she then states that they need to kill and eat the family dog. Nolan is horrified and, when Momma takes the dog into the greenhouse to kill him with her crossbow, he cuts Momma's rope and locks her inside, believing that she will see the Evil is not real. Instead, Momma encounters the Evil in the form of her mother, and so slashes her own throat with a shard of glass and commits suicide in front of Nolan. Samuel blames Nolan for causing Momma's death. As they continue to starve alone, Samuel's behaviour becomes more erratic and threatening.

Using the extra free rope from his mother, Nolan travels further out of the woods and comes across a deserted stretch of road. He screams for help. Returning to the house, he later encounters a hiker (Matthew Kevin Anderson) who has heard his calls for help. As the hiker grows increasingly concerned over Nolan's story and living conditions, Samuel confronts him with his mothers crossbow. Although Nolan and the hiker try to defuse the situation, Samuel shoots the hiker. Nolan follows the hiker as he calls 911 and succumbs to his wounds before retrieving his backpack filled with food. That night, a young girl (Mila Moragn) arrives at the property claiming to be the hiker's daughter and confronts Samuel. Noticing that Samuel has her father's torch, she flees as he chases after her, but Samuel's rope gets tangled around some trees, and so he untethers himself. The girl reveals herself to be the Evil and touches Samuel, as he becomes instantly possessed.

Back at the house, Samuel, now exhibits the same erratic behaviour as Momma had, and tries to kill Nolan. Samuel sets the house alight as Nolan is confronted by the Evil in the form of Momma. Nolan drags Momma into a small underfloor bunker in the house that gives shelter to the pair of them from the fire. The Evil sheds Momma's skin to reveal a snake-like creature that dissipates as Nolan clings on to it. The fire burns the house down and Samuel takes the last photo with the Polaroid with him in the foreground and the burning cabin in the background. Paramedics arrive and retrieve Nolan from the burnt out remains of the house. As he is flown away in a helicopter, Nolan asks where Samuel is and sees that he too has been rescued. The helicopter reaches a nearby town, revealing that Momma had been lying to them all along. Samuel quietly whispers to Nolan 'She loves me more' as the Polaroid he took is shown, revealing the Evil with its hand resting on his shoulder.

'Never Let Go' is not a horror film in the pure sense of the word, more of a taught and tight psychological thriller that delivers few jump scares or truly horror inducing moments, but there is nonetheless a sense of dread and fear woven into the atmospheric storyline. The film is however, saved by three stand out performances from Berry, Jenkins and Daggs, and when the ending comes it feels rushed and incomplete leaving the viewer with more questions than answers. That said, as recently as last month, Halle Berry confirmed the studio's plans to develop the film into a horror franchise, with the Actress expressing interest in the idea, while confirming that stories for a prequel and sequels had been written. 

'Never Let Go' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 26th September 2024

The 32nd edition of the FilmFest Hamburg takes place this year from Thursday 26th September through until Saturday 5th October. Every year the festival attracts over 50,000 cinema fans. Over ten days, 124 national and international feature and documentary films from fifty-five countries are shown on fourteen screens as world, European or German Premieres. The programme in ten sections ranges from cinematically sophisticated arthouse films to innovative mainstream cinema. It is the third-largest film festival of its kind in Germany after Berlin and Munich.

This years Opening Gala film presentation is 'Holy Cow' from France and is Co-Written and Directed by Louise Courvoisier in her feature film debut, with the Closing Night film being 'The Room Next Door' from Pedro Almodovar in his English language full length feature debut and stars Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, John Turturro and Alessandro Nivola. 

There are a number of competitive film and television strands, with this years Hamburg Production Award for International Cinema Co-Productions centering on six films with an award of €25K as follows :-

* 'Armand' - from Norway, Netherlands, Sweden and Germany and Written and Directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tondel in his feature Directorial debut. After an alleged fight between two 6-year-old boys, the parents and school staff are called in to clarify the incident.

* 'Happy Holidays' - from Palestine, Germany, France, Italy and Qatar this family drama film is Written and Directed by Scandar Copti, and won the Award for Best Screenplay at this years recent Venice International Film Festival.

* 'Spirit in the Blood' - from Germany and Canada and Written and Directed by Carly May Borgstrom. This thriller tells the story of how after a young girl is found dead in a secluded religious mountain community, a pack of teenage girls decide to fight against the evil spirits they believe killed her by embracing their own dark nature.

* 'The Assessment' - from Germany, the USA and the UK and Directed by Fleur Fortune in her feature length debut and starring Elisabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander, Minnie Driver and Himesh Patel. In the near future where parenthood is strictly controlled, a couple's seven-day assessment for the right to have a child unravels into a psychological nightmare.

* 'The Vanishing' - from France, Germany and Tunisia and Directed by Karim Moussaoui. Reda seemingly has a life of privilege in Algiers, in his late twenties still living at the family home, with a father who has arranged a job and a fiancee. Reda is eager to please, yet the more he tries the more he veers off course

* 'Transamazonia' - from Brazil, Germany, France, Switzerland and Taiwan and Directed by Pia Marais. As a young child, Rebecca is rescued from a plane crash in the Amazon rainforest by a member of a nearby Indigenous tribe. Now a teenager, she is well known in the area as her father, an American missionary, claims that she is a faith healer. Rebecca's misgivings about her situation are compounded by the arrival of illegal loggers poised to disrupt the local way of life.

In addition the Douglas Sirk Award will go to British Director Andrea Arnold and French Director Jacques Audiard. The award ceremonies will take place on the occasion of the German Premieres of their current films 'Bird' and 'Emilia Perez' respectively, and is presented to those personalities who have made a special contribution to film culture and the film industry.

For the full details and the line up of the other competitive film and TV strands being showcased including The Hamburg Production Award for German Cinema Productions, The Arthouse Cinema Award, The Young Talent Award, The Critics Choice Award, and a whole lot more other good stuff worthy of your attention, you can go to the official website at : https://www.filmfesthamburg.de/en/

Turning the focus back to this weeks five new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we launch with an epic Sci-Fi set in the city of New Rome where the main conflict is between a brilliant artist and architect in favour of a utopian future, and a greedy Mayor, and between them is the Mayor's daughter whose loyalty is divided between her father and her beloved architect. Then we have a horror thriller in which a family that has been haunted by an evil spirit for years, but their safety and their surroundings come into question when one of the children questions if the evil is real. Next up is a French comedy offering about two swindlers, who deep in debt, infiltrate a group of climate activists when they are attracted to the free food and drinks they are offered. This is followed by an American drama about a failing father who attempts to salvage some semblance of paternal standing while being rapidly exposed for the fraud he is; before closing out the week with a Vietnamese film about a man who becomes a 'God of Gamblers' suddenly with the help of a female Ghost.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'MEGALOPOLIS' (Rated M) - is an American epic Sci-Fi fil Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, whose previous film making credits take in the classic 'The Godfather Parts I, II and III' in 1972, 1974 and 1990, 'The Conversation' in 1974, 'Apocalypse Now' in 1979, 'The Cotton Club' in 1984, 'Peggy Sue Got Married' in 1986, 'Gardens of Stone' in 1987, 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' in 1992, 'The Rainmaker' in 1997 with 'Twixt' in 2011 his most recent film before this one. Coppola spent US$120M off his own money to fund the production of this passion project which he first began considering in 1977 and for which he began script ideas in 1983. Production of the film has been on-again off-again over the years with him returning to the film in earnest in 2019. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at this years Cannes Film Festival, where it Premiered in mid-May this year,  and has proven divisive amongst critics with mixed or average reviews. It is released in the US this week too.

In a decaying metropolis called New Rome, idealist architect Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) is granted a license by the federal government to demolish and rebuild the city as a sustainable utopia using Megalon, a material that can give him the power to control space and time. His nemesis, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), remains committed to a regressive status quo. Torn between them is Franklyn's socialite daughter and Cesar's love interest Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), who, tired of the influence she inherited, searches for her life's meaning. Also starring Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwatrzman, Kathryn Hunter, James Remar, D.B.Sweeney and Dustin Hoffman. 

'NEVER LET GO' (Rated MA15+) - this American survival horror film is Directed by the French filmmaker Alexandre Aja who made his English language Directorial debut in 2006 with 'The Hills Have Eyes' and which he would follow up with 'Mirrors' in 2008, 'Piranha 3D' in 2010, 'Horns' in 2013, 'The 9th Life of Louis Drax' in 2016, 'Crawl' in 2019 and 'Oxygen' in 2021. Here then, after an unspeakable evil has taken over the world, the only protection for a mother (Halle Berry) and her twin sons Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) is their house and strong bond. Needing to stay connected at all times, to the extent that they even tether themselves with ropes, they must cling to one another and never let go. However, 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. The film was released last week in the US, has so far grossed US$4.5M from a production budget of US$20M and has generated mixed or average reviews. 

'A DIFFICULT YEAR' (Rated M) - is a French comedy film Written and Directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. This story centres on Albert (Pio Marmai) and Bruno (Jonathan Cohen) who are both heavily in debt and so have turned to a community worker (Mathieu Amalric) to try and help get a grip on their lives. However, at one of their group sessions they instead stumble into an adjoining meeting room hosting a gathering of young social activists, led by a vivacious organiser Cactus (Noemie Merlant). Attracted more by the free beer and chips than the group's struggle against consumerism and protection of the environment, Albert and Bruno join the movement without any particular conviction, but soon sense an opportunity . . . if they don't get arrested first. The film was released in its native France in mid-October last year having screened initially at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. It has received mixed critical acclaim and has so far grossed US$7M. 

'NOTICE TO QUIT' (Rated CTC) - this American drama offering is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Simon Hacker in his feature film Writing and Directing debut. Here, Andy Singer (Michael Zegan), an out-of-work Actor now struggling as a New York City Real Estate Agent, finds his world crashing down around him when his estranged ten-year-old daughter, Anna (Kasey Bella Suarez), shows up unannounced on his doorstep just as he's to be evicted from his apartment. The film is released Stateside also this week.

'BETTING WITH GHOST' (Rated M) - is a Vietnamese comedy horror film Directed by Nguyen Nhat Trung in his screen debut and tells the story of Lanh (Tuan Tran), the son of a funeral director (Hoai Linh), who finds himself trapped in a downward spiral due to his gambling addiction. On the verge of losing everything, fate leads him to encounter a mysterious female ghost (Diep Bao Ngoc). United by their mutual desperation, they strike an unconventional deal, using each other to fulfil their hidden desires. The film was released in its native Vietnam earlier this month and has so far grossed US$4.7M at the Box Office. 

With five new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-