Autumn is the best time of year for horror lovers, though it won’t be easy to top the scary movies that have already made their way onto streamers and into theaters in 2024. Longlegs, MaXXXine, The Deliverance and Apartment 7A have all set the stage, but there’s still a lot to come. On Friday, Sept. 27, Halle Berry’s Never Let Go debuted, and already, viewers have so many questions about the movie’s ending. The Oscar-winning actress plays Momma, the mother of twin boys Nolan and Samuel on-screen; while she appears to have their best interests and safety in mind, a leap of faith from her sons reveals the truth behind her visions of “the Evil.”
As the movie begins, we learn that Momma is desperate to protect her children from a mysterious force that’s seemingly taken over the world. She insists that her family stay tethered at all times if they have to leave home, and has ever had to kill other relatives who were touched by the Evil. Over time, one of the boys, Nolan, begins to question whether this apparent threat even exists outside his mom’s head. These doubts intensify when his brother, Samuel, briefly breaks his ankle and becomes untethered without falling victim to the Evil.
What Happens to Samuel and Nolan?
Amid harsh winter conditions, Momma and her sons are unable to gather food as her visions grow more intense. She insists that shooting the family dog is their only means of survival, devastating her boys. Nolan reacts by cutting Momma’s rope and trapping her in a greenhouse to show her that the Evil isn’t real. However, this plan backfired as she came face to face with the dark energy (in the form of her own mother) before committing suicide. Nolan and Samuel are left to fend for themselves after, and a divide quickly grows between them. The latter blames the former for Momma’s death, meanwhile, Nolan’s behavior grows more erratic.
One day, Nolan takes extra rope and travels deeper into the woods where he meets a hiker who expresses concern for the young boy. Samuel surprises them both with a crossbow, shooting and killing the hiker who has time to make an emergency call before his death. A young girl arrives that night claiming to be the hiker’s daughter but later reveals to Samuel that she’s the Evil. After their contact, Samuel appears possessed in the same way Momma was, trying to kill Nolan by setting the house on fire and taking a selfie of all the chaos with a Polaroid.
As their home burns down, paramedics arrive and Nolan is helicoptered to safety where he reunites with Samuel. As they reach civilization, the brothers realize Momma lied to them about how the rest of the world has been functioning. At the end of Never Let Go, Samuel whispers to Nolan, “She loves me more” while showing the aforementioned polaroid of him being touched by a hand that appears to belong to Evil.
Halle Berry’s Take on the ‘Never Let Go’ Ending
In an interview with ComicBook Berry confirmed that Never Let Go is set to be part of a horror franchise; plans for a prequel and multiple sequels are already in place, explaining the open-ended conclusion. In an interview with USA Today, Berry shared her thoughts on the horror film’s final moments. “If these are visions she’s seeing because she’s schizophrenic or suffers some mental illness, we don’t know at that point. But whatever it is, it’s real for her,” the actress explained.
“Depending on who you are, what you need the ending to be, what you believe about the world and yourself in it, what your spiritual or religious beliefs are, all of that informs how each person sees the ending. The beauty of it is that it’s open-ended and we can all take away from it what we think the truth of the matter is because that’s true to life. We all see things differently. We all have different opinions. I love that about it.” Did you enjoy Never Let Go? Share your thoughts in the comments!
