‘Never Let Go’ Review: Do the Woods Have Eyes?

Morbid moments are frequently the bread and butter of horror movies, but “Never Let Go” serves them up in helpings that become repellent. It’s directed by Alexandre Aja, whose past work, including a remake of “The Hills Have Eyes,” is also as crass and pretentious in almost equal measure.

Halle Berry, the star of “Never Let Go,” plays the mother of two young boys, Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV), who all live in a cabin in a forest clearing. The surrounding woods are tangled and dark. She and the kids have to tie thick ropes around themselves when they leave the cabin to forage for food. According to Berry’s matriarch, “the Evil” is in those woods, and one touch will infect a family member, who would then bring it back to the house. So they all hold onto the rope to stay safe.

The movie plays peekaboo with its central conceit — is “the Evil” real, or is mom just off her rocker? There are some jump scares at the outset, followed by a series of nonsensical plot turns that may annoy viewers.

After one of the boys does something unspeakably stupid (he’s a kid, yes, and an ostensibly brainwashed one, yes, but still), it’s hard to keep caring. Berry is drained of glamour for her role here, and she performs with fierceness; the two boys are also stalwart, but what the movie asks these child performers to do doesn’t add up to effective horror — it’s just opportunistic and gross.

Never Let Go
Rated R for language, grisliness and morbid imagery. Running time: 1 hour 41 minutes. In theaters.