2024 has generally been a good year for the horror genre, as films like Longlegs, Alien: Romulus, and A Quiet Place: Day One have significantly over performed when compared to even the most optimistic expectations. While some may have anticipated that the year would peak early when it came to instant horror classics, Never Let Go proved to be an exciting new entry within the post-apocalyptic horror canon.
Although it boasts some truly unsettling visuals that are familiar to anyone well versed in the history of the science fiction genre, Never Let Go is also an emotionally overwhelming examination of a family in crisis, which questions what a mother would do when trying to protect her children in the midst of a perilous situation, and features an extraordinary performance from Halle
Berry. Here are ten movies to watch if you loved Never Let Go.
10 'Signs' (2002) Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Signs was another major step forward for writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, who was at the peak of his career after the success of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. While Signs is technically an alien invasion film, it is actually a rather profound examination of how a grieving family deals with the loss of their matriarch, and how a time of crisis ironically draws them closer together than they would have ever been before.
Signs features many of the same filmmaking techniques as Never Let Go , as both films understand that it is far scarier if the audience is left in the dark as to what the main creature villains look like until the very end. The notion of a PG-13 horror film may turn some away, but Signs certainly proved that the rating is not an impediment when the science fiction mythology is this well developed.
Signs PG-13DramaMystery Sci-FiThriller Where to Watch streamrentbuy *Availability in US
Release Date August 2, 2002 Director M. Night Shyamalan Cast Mel Gibson , Joaquin Phoenix , Rory Culkin , Abigail Breslin , Cherry Jones , M. Night Shyamalan Runtime 106 minutes Main Genre Drama 9 '28 Days Later' (2002) Directed by Danny Boyle
28 Days Later is the film that changed zombie cinema forever, as previously the genre had been largely associated with Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead. and the other films made by the great George Romero . However, Danny Boyle's 2002 masterpiece became one of the scariest science fiction horror films of its era because of the use of digital technology and camerawork to create a more immersive, realistic depiction of what it would be like to live in a post-apocalyptic landscape where humanity's infrastructures have begun to crumble.
Both 28 Days Later and Never Let Go succeeds in showing the power of isolation, as being stripped of resources and left with no ability to communicate with the outside world is often far more terrifying than any ghastly and haunting science fiction creature could ever hope to be.
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Release Date October 31, 2002 Director Danny Boyle Cast Alex Palmer , Bindu De Stoppani , Jukka Hiltunen , David Schneider , Cillian Murphy , Toby Sedgwick Runtime 113 Main Genre Horror
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8 'Children of Men' (2006) Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Children of Men is one of the most acclaimed science fiction films of its era, and for good reason. Similar to Never Let Go, the film explores a very plausible situation in which humanity has turned in on itself as the result of biological disasters that are beyond their control. While director Alfonso Cuaron had been best known for his work in the arthouse drama scenes, Children of Men served as proof that he could also do projects that were more genre-centric.
Children of Men and Never Let Go both succeeded because they are inherently dark, intense films that still offer their viewers a few opportunities to feel hopeful. While Berry does some of the best work she has offered in years in Never Let Go, Children of Men features incredible performances from Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, and Michael Caine.
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Release Date September 19, 2006 Director Alfonso Cuarón Cast Juan Gabriel Yacuzzi , Mishal Husain , Rob Curling , Jon Chevalier , Rita Davies , Kim Fenton Runtime 109 minutes Main Genre Adventure 7 'The Road' (2009) Directed by John Hillcoat
The Road is a very dark post-apocalyptic survival film about a parent attempting to protect their child as others prey on them; the comparisons to Never Let Go are more than a little obvious, but John Hillcoat's 2009 adaptation of the popular Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name may be even bleaker. While Never Let Go offers the viewer little context regarding how the world became the dark place that it is at the start of the film, The Road incorporates haunting flashbacks that make the emergence of the post-apocalypse even more disturbing.
Berry does a great job at showing parental rage in Never Let Go, but Viggo Mortensen's performance as a grieving father in The Road is among his best roles ever. Despite the character's rough exterior, he has a very sensitive side that comes out through interactions with his son.
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Release Date November 30, 2011 Director Yam Laranas Cast Carmina Villaroel , Rhian Ramos , TJ Trinidad , Barbie Forteza , Lexi Fernandez , Derick Monasterio Runtime 110 Main Genre Horror 6 'Monsters' (2010) Directed by Gareth Edwards
Monsters was a fascinating first feature for director Gareth Edwards, who would eventually level up to start working on franchise fare with Godzilla, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the highly anticipated next chapter in the Jurassic World story. Comparatively, Monsters is a rather small-scale road trip thriller about a lowly journalist (Scoot McNairy) who takes a woman over the border to Mexico in the midst of an alien invasion crisis.
Monsters is an underrated disaster movie, as like Never Let Go, it examines more systemic issues such as xenophobia and immigration through the lens of the science fiction genre. Edwards would eventually start making bigger and more expansive films that were given much more resources to work with, but Monsters remains the most intimate and personal project that he has ever been involved with on a creative level.
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Release Date June 18, 2010 Director Gareth Edwards Cast Scoot McNairy , Whitney Able , Mario Zuniga Benavides , Annalee Jefferies , justin hall , Ricky Catter Runtime 94 Main Genre Drama 5 'Take Shelter' (2011) Directed by Jeff Nichols
Take Shelter is a science fiction disaster masterpiece from director Jeff Nichols, a filmmaker who many may have associated with small, "slice of life" indie cinema due to his work on Shotgun Stories and Mud. Take Shelter stars Michael Shannon as a concerned father who tries to protect his family for what he perceives to be an upcoming storm that will wipe out everyone's livelihoods; despite the premonitions that he has, no one else in his community believes him.
Take Shelter and Never Let Go both serve as powerful examinations of parenthood, as they examine the realistic feelings of doubt and terror that parents would feel if they had to raise their children in the midst of a dangerous supernatural event. It's this ability to identify an aspect of the human experience that makes both Take Shelter and Never Let Go more attractive to those not usually interested in the sci-fi genre.
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Release Date September 30, 2011 Director Jeff Nichols Cast Michael Shannon , Jessica Chastain , Tova Stewart , Shea Whigham , Katy Mixon , Natasha Randall Runtime 120 minutes Main Genre Drama 4 '10 Cloverfield Lane' (2016) Directed by Dan Trachtenberg
10 Cloverfield Lane is one of the more inventive science fiction sequels in recent years, as it strayed away from the disaster themes of the first Cloverfield film in order to tell a grounded story about a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) being trapped in a restrained bunker by a crazed conspiracy theorist (John Goodman) who is trying to convince her that there is an extraterrestrial threat at play.
10 Cloverfield Lane and Never Let Go both succeed in keeping their audiences on their toes, as they force them to question whether or not what the characters are experiencing is true or just a metaphor for how they are dealing with trauma. The films' ability to get their audiences to question the nature of their reality results in smart, effective thrillers that require a little more thought than usual in order to be enjoyed.
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Release Date March 10, 2016 Director Dan Trachtenberg Cast John Goodman , Mary Elizabeth Winstead , John Gallagher Jr. , Douglas M. Griffin , Suzanne Cryer , Bradley Cooper Runtime 105 minutes Main Genre Thriller 3 'It Comes At Night' (2017) Directed by Trey Edwards Shults
It Comes At Night is one of the darkest and most upsetting post-apocalyptic films in recent years, as its strange marketing campaign attempted to mask the fact that there wasn't anything supernatural going on at all. It Comes At Night follows the story of two families whose lives become intertwined as they attempt to pool their resources and survive; unfortunately, feelings of doubt and fear begin to draw the former allies into a bitter conflict that results in a tragic conclusion.
It Comes At Night and Never Let Go show that humans can often be the most dangerous part of a post-apocalyptic situation, as there is no limit to what acts of savagery they may commit if they feel threatened or insulted. Neither film makes for an easy watch, but It Comes At Night examines themes of paranoia and a lack of empathy that have become increasingly relevant.
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Release Date June 9, 2017 Director Trey Edward Shults Cast Joel Edgerton , Riley Keough , Christopher Abbott , Carmen Ejogo , Kelvin Harrison , Griffin Robert Faulkner Runtime 97 minutes Main Genre Horror 2 'A Quiet Place' (2018) Directed by John Krasinski
A Quiet Place is the ultimate film about raising children in the post-apocalypse, so the creators of Never Let Go must have known that they would be inviting comparisons when they started working on a similar film. Although A Quiet Place ended up spawning both a sequel and prequel, both of which were met with critical acclaim and commercial success, the first entry in the series is arguably the most emotionally affecting.
A Quiet Place does such a good job defining the characteristics of its protagonists that the subsequent danger that they are in feels all the more exhilarating as a result. If there's a flaw to be had with Never Let Go, it is that the film isn't able to sustain the feelings of perpetual dread in the same manner that John Krasinski did with the original A Quiet Place.
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Release Date April 3, 2018 Director John Krasinski Cast Emily Blunt , John Krasinski , Millie Simmonds , Noah Jupe , Cade Woodward , Leon Russom Runtime 95 minutes Main Genre Horror 1 'Love and Monsters' (2020) Directed by Michael Matthews
Love and Monsters is an unusual take on the post-apocalyptic adventure story, as it skips any overt attempts to contextualize what exactly happened in order to tell a more personal romance story about a young man (Dylan O'Brien) trying to reconnect with his girlfriend. While there is enough action to keep viewers entertained (as the film even earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects), Love and Monsters works just as well as a romantic comedy as it does as a genre thriller.
Both Love and Monsters and Never Let Go prove that the post-apocalyptic genre is flexible, and the most effective films that use that format of storytelling are those that are willing to take risks with more character-focused stories that allow audience members to see something relating to human interest that they may find themselves relating to on a personal level.
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Release Date October 16, 2020 Director Michael Matthews Cast Dylan O'Brien , Jessica Henwick , Dan Ewing , Michael Rooker Runtime 109 Main Genre Monsters
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