From visionary director Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes) and the creative minds behind Stranger Things and Arrival comes Never Let Go, a new psychological thriller/horror that's a must-see for anyone looking for a terrifying and compelling time at the theater on September 20.
In the movie, as an Evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother, played by Academy Award winner Halle 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.
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.
We recently had the privilege of sitting down with Berry to discuss how she figured out this character - called "Momma" in the movie - and what it was about Never Let Go that drew her back to the horror genre.
The actor also dishes on the unique challenges presented by shooting on location in an abandoned cabin in the woods and why that was important in helping her and her younger co-stars get to where they needed to be to tell this story.
Finally, Berry comments on the possibility of reprising her role as Storm in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars.
Check out the full Never Let Go interview below.
I know you've explored horror on screen before, but what was it about the world of Never Let Go that made you excited to go to such a dark place as an actor?
Well, I always love to go to dark places as an actor. When I can disappear into a role and play something so far from myself, those are some of my greatest moments and greatest experiences. That was one reason and two, you know, when I read this script, the world I imagined in my head from just reading it on paper was a world that I had never seen before. I had a hard time imagining, 'What would it be like as a mother to give birth in a house and then never leave for a decade and have to raise your children alone and only talk to them and them only talk to you and learn from you?' You have to do it all with what's left in this house and how soon would you run out of supplies? Then what would you do?
It all captured my imagination in such a way that made me realise that I wanted to be part of this. Then, as I dug deeper, I got into the generation trauma and the fear and the mental illness or Evil and what it all meant. There are so many messages flashed through my mind and mental health is such a topic of conversation today. We're finally realising that it's okay to talk about mental health and that we must talk about metal health issues. It was very topical I thought this movie and it very much needed to be made.
There are so many layers to the film and it really does keep us guessing about what's real and what's in your character's head. How difficult was it to work through such an extreme range of emotions as you tell this story about a mother and her sons?
I love, like we said, to those dark places and digging in those wells to bring up that emotion. For me, the dance I had to, and I had to work with Alex very closely, walk that line of having us believe that maybe Momma is suffering mental illness and maybe she's torturing these children. Or maybe this Evil is real and she really is just protecting them but she's got to be harsh because, you know, the stakes are too high. So, what was the truth? That's the sort of delicate line that I had to try as a character and I had to walk and pick those spots to show both sides of what that truth could be. So, at the end of the movie, the audience could really still ask themselves, 'I'm not quite sure...or I think it was this and here's why...no, no, no, I'm still not sure the evil was real and she was just protecting them and here's why.' We tried to craft that very delicately.
You did a great job because it's a film that really sticks with you. You're in the forest, in a dilapidated house, and skinning squirrels at one point. Those are pretty harsh surroundings but were they important in helping you tap into this character and figure out who she is?
It was key. I think the boys and Alex would agree. Being really in the elements really helped us, especially the young performers, you know. They're not as experienced, so sometimes creating the world can be one of their biggest challenges. Having to go to the set every day to this real old house that they found in the middle of the worlds and, sure, set dec came in and made it our house, but it really was a house, we really were in the woods every day, and we would be there sometimes at night. It was very scary. We had rats sometimes running through our set [Laughs] scaring the shit out of me. We had bears rolling up to our sets in the woods and had bear spray everywhere...big fog horns to scare them away. It was all of that, though, that lent itself to creating this very spooky, ominous, sometimes beautiful but sometimes very dark, dark world.
We didn't see you in Deadpool & Wolverine but it looks like the X-Men could be in Avengers: Doomsday or maybe Secret Wars, so do you see a Storm brewing for those movies, perhaps?
[Shrugs] You never know. We'll find out! [Laughs]
Never Let Go arrives only in theaters on September 20.