Halle Berry's powerful role in Aja's "Never Let Go" shocks audiences
1:38 PM EDT, September 23, 2024
The new film by Alexandre Aja, "Never Let Go," is catching the attention of horror and psychological thriller fans. Academy Award winner Halle Berry plays the lead role in this chilling survival story.
During the film's premiere, director Alexandre Aja and Halle Berry shared behind-the-scenes stories from the set. One of the most emotional moments in the film, the dog scene, turned out to be particularly difficult to shoot.
"Never Let Go," the dog scene
At a certain point in "Never Let Go," viewers are in for quite a shock when Berry's character, a mother, suggests sacrificing the family dog for the survival of her sons, Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) and Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins).
Berry admitted that the entire crew mentally avoided realizing it for as long as possible.
- We knew how emotional it would be, and we knew the feelings it would drudge up, and we didn't want to do it.
What happened in it? We don’t want to reveal that. You can find out in theaters.
"Never Let Go," actor’s block
The actress revealed that young actor Percy Daggs IV experienced something that occasionally happens on set: actor’s block. He was supposed to burst into tears, but unfortunately, he couldn’t produce even one tear.
- I think it was because he [Daggs IV] didn’t want to face the dog thing. It was hard. He knew he had to cry. Whenever somebody knows in a script that they have to cry, they all of a sudden get dry. You can’t cry. I decided to do something that was off-script and shake him up and take him out of his head and out of his fear and out of the dog thing.
The Hollywood star shook the boy quite forcefully, genuinely, and he gave in and... burst into tears.
- It’s one of those moments, as actors, you just hope happens once in a film, where you have a real moment… and that’s how we got that scene. I think the one take is the scene that ended up in the movie – a real moment, she said proudly.
"Never Let Go," what's the film about?
The horror film Never Let Go takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. A mother and her two sons live in a cottage in the middle of a desolate forest. Somewhere outside, unnamed Evil lurks. To shelter from it, they must be connected, literally!
"When an unspeakable evil takes over the world, the only protection for a mother and her twin sons is their house and strong bond. Needing to stay connected at all times -- even tethering 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," reads the distributor's description.
