Halle Berry plays a mother with twin sons battling an evil spirit approaching their desert home after a world-ending event in the trailer for the Lionsgate film Never let gowhich fell on Thursday.
Director Alexandre Aja (The hills have eyes, Crawl) in the horror-thriller has his remote home in the woods equipped with long ropes so that mother and sons can stay connected at all times as an unseen danger approaches.
“The evil outside is clever. Just one touch without a rope,” Berry’s character tells her sons at one point in the trailer as they commit to holding on to the ropes for safety and connection. But when demonic forces consume their off-grid home, one of the twins wonders if evil exists.
This breaks the family bond and begins a total fight for survival. “This rope is your salvation. Never let go. Say it,” a terrified Berry, brandishing a long knife, warns her sons at one point.
Earlier, Berry praised Never let go at CinemaCon.
Berry said she took the role because she is a “true adrenaline junkie” who has always loved these kinds of movies. “These boys never left the house where they were born for 10 years,” Berry continued. “It was immediately a terrifying environment. I was challenged to present reality as it would be. What does motherhood look like in a house in the forest, where no one is around?
She learned survival skills in the role and stated that there was “a bit of method acting going on”. “There was no electricity, no lights, my character was skinning squirrels and they were eating worms and frogs – raw frogs – in the forest,” Berry said. “I had to really skin the squirrel. These things presented a huge challenge to me, to create some reality in this world that seemed so alien.
She also said that as a mother of two, she stepped back from her own life to announce her performance: “Since becoming a mother 16 years ago, I have been extremely excited to play these kinds of roles. This movie reminded me that I would protect my children at the cost of my life. We often say, “I would take a bullet for my children.” Would you take a knife for your children?”
The film also stars Anthony B. Jenkins, Percy Daggs, Matthew Kevin Anderson, Christin Park and Stephanie Lavigne.
Never let gofrom producers Stranger things AND Arrivalhas its cinema premiere on September 27. Lionsgate, in cooperation with Media Capital Technologies, releases a horror-thriller.
Aja directed the horror film from a script by Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby. He also produced alongside Dan Cohen, Dan Levine and Shawn Levy, and executive produced by Berry, Dan Clarke, Connor DiGregorio, Holly Jeter, Emily Morris and Christopher Woodrow.
