Poor Lionsgate. Never Let Go made $1.6 million yesterday and it looks like it won’t even gross $5 million this weekend. Lionsgate put out Borderlands and The Crow last month , they’ve put out The Killer’s Game and Never Let Go so far this month, and Megalopolis is on the chopping block next weekend. Their movies just can’t catch a break.
Loved this movie! Went into it blind and it was a pleasant surprise. I love the ambiguity of it all and I can't think of any cons off the top of my head. You mentioned the pacing but if I'm being honest, I didn't find a single dull moment in the movie that caused me to lose a bit of interest/attention.
I loved the mental games throughout the movie. The children half way through really showed peak entertainment. Without spoiling I can’t get enough of the apocalyptic aftermath surviving with little to no hope of survival due to lack of resources themes. It gave me resident evil 4 themed, limited ammo mechanics.
Thanks for the Frailty shout out. I love that film too. I think that is why I enjoyed this movie more than my friend who was expecting more a traditional thriller.
So happy you got a chance to have a great fantastic fest, and meeting Halle Berry! Also, as a woman, thank you for asking questions of Ms. Berry that are appropriate and professional. I expected nothing less from you, Cody (you are a classy, classy man, and that's why I started following you- you're a fantastic RUclipsr who is respectful and considerate of all people), but inappropriate questions happen so many times from other "more professional" interviewers/reporters (specifically men that are paid by major news outlets). You asking about "what drew you to the script" instead of "how did you lose weight to play this role" or "were you familiar with horror movies before you did this role" or the dreaded "how did you balance work and being a mother"... it's a big difference. You showed the best side of yourself, and I can tell Ms. Berry appreciated it. She gave you a better answer because of it too.
*POSSIBLY SPOILER ALERT* So up until they show that Polaroid you’re led to believe the mother is just a paranoid schizophrenic (Halle’s performance, facial expressions were spot on), and that just through genetics and upbringing the kid(s) are too. But, the Polaroid picture is tossed in there to make us think we are crazy now!! Idk man lol what to think. Great film, performances were fantastic
I think the end reveals to us the meaning of "the snake" the snake represented the sickness of the mom, and Nolan embraced her at the end' loving her despite revealing and realizing that she was consumed by her sickness at the end, she was so sick she actually self exited, that's why we see that the snake evaporated. because Nolan managed to cope with reality, while his brother Sam- the snake hand had a grip on him, he was consumed by trauma and rage at his little brother for disobeying and causing their mothers death, he remained with his old beliefs that the evil is real, trying to soothe himself by believing he was the better son, while Nolan believed he was saved and saw a brighter future at the end.
The pic showed that it was real. Doesn't mean she couldn't be mentally losing it especially if the evil had her seeing shit. Them woods was strange. Idk what if those rescuers are evil?
@@nanobotxtina5355no because none of them were there, we aren’t looking at the picture through their point of view, but as an outside perspective viewer.
I loved the movie. My interpretation was there aren't necessarily two sides, but that everything was a true. The Evil was real and she was out of her mind. I've always believed that if evil entities like this were real and tormented people that it would absolutely drive them crazy because how could it not? Show me dead friends and relatives for a few years and before long I would look just like her, I think any person who experienced what she was seeing would lose their mind, but that wouldn't necessarily make what they are seeing not real. The main reason I think the Evil was real is because they only have these encounters outside of the house. If you're to tell me that this woman was schizophrenic then it is incredibly convenient (and impossible) that being inside of the house appears to be a treatment to her mental illness. So then there must be some truth to what she's saying and that house has power to protect them from the Evil that is indeed real. We know that she didn't tell the boys the full truth and maybe she was protecting the outside world from them as well, which would explain the inconsistencies in her story. To me this felt like a modern day Grimm fairy tale (I thought this before she even read the story of Hansel and Gretel to them) and this was a curse placed on her family. I've never seen a movie like this and felt like I was on edge the entire time. I mean this in a good way, but I could not wait for this movie to end after a certain point because the uncertainty of what would happen to the boys had me stressed out. If I could change one thing, I would have preferred the ending gone full dark as that would solidify it feeling like a Grimm fairy tale, the ending we got was more Goosebumps series. I had been eyeing this for a while and it did not disappoint. I could see people who don't like anything left to interpretation being upset with this movie but I think that is a silly reason to say a movie is bad. Also I have to say the acting in this movie was just phenomenal. Congrats on meeting Halle!
@@Ninjyed thank you, I had a lot of fun analyzing this movie! I hope my point isn’t something that was simply overlooked. I feel like it wasn’t because even on the porch they would appear, just never inside the house.
@@monet2779 it was it’s just that’s more of an ending you would expect in goosebumps series. Full dark would have been the entire family dying, that would make it more like a real Grimm fairy tale
This is the best week of Horror releases at the movies in forever for me. The Substance 9/10 almost an all timer, The Shade 10/10 for a director debut and actor debut it really took me by surprise like Barbarian. Never let go 7/10 I thought the premise was meh but they maximized the premise really directed and acted their butts off.
I thought this movie was a solid 7.5 maybe 8 out of 10. The performances from Halle Berry and the kids are actually pretty good. I pretty quickly bought into their situation because the performances made it seem so they're really trapped in the forest together. And it kinda plays around with the question: Is Halle Berry's character crazy? Or is their really an evil out there that she's trying to protect them from. The atmosphere was also really eerie. Part of that is because the forest is usually a pretty creepy environment. I always felt like their could always be something lurking in the shadows. And i appreciate that the film had the balls to throw in a twist about an hour in that i didn't see coming. Now the film did leave some to be desired for me, like the mother tells us something that i found very interesting, but we're never told how it happened. Its just kind of a dangling question that had no payoff. Also, the third act for me kind of turned into a typical third act for a horror film and the ending was inherently pretty predictable.
Great review, sounds better than I expected! Frailty is one of my favorite movies, so that comparison has definitely piqued my interest. You've convinced me, I'll make sure to check it out tomorrow. Thanks for the recommendation!
It was great but if that’s your craziest, you need to broaden your horizons. The sound design was fantastic. All the squishes and cracks were great. The ending sucked balls
@@jeffn4836 I didn’t necessarily love it either. The third act especially fell off for me. I’m just saying it was the weirdest movie I ever seen personally. There’s probably some that top it, but that seems like a high bar to reach
I just came out of this film. It has plenty of tension, scares and intrigue. The jump scares are not cheap which is awesome. I love the premise. However, it’s more thematic/metaphoric than expected. The open interpretation is more mixed for me. I wish there was more straight answers and normally I’m ok with open interpretations. The ending reminded me somewhat of Shyamlan’s The Village. It is solid, but it was a little too bleak for my taste. It is pretty scary for me at times and that was cool.
The main reason I think the curse is real is because the backpacking guy that Samuel murdered ended up having real food which saved their lives. He was real. His supposed "daughter" however was the evil because it used the guilt of murdering a father of an innocent little girl to finally catch him off guard and curse him.
if that was true then why did the evil not affect the hiker? or the rest of the world like their mother said. i think your theory does not hold up. what I think happened was that sam got too sick. mentally and physically, after the mothers death he was traumatized and angry at his brother who was at fault for all that happening, when he saw the hikers photo and his daughter doubt and guilt began creeping up as he realized he actually killed a man, right after that outside he began hallucinating their mom in that cabin and then the girl showed up, which was not real- but he really wanted to believe she is, not realizing how much he is actually mentally unwell he ran outside he broke all the rules and eventually experiencing a bad psychotic episode when he realized the girl was not real and he saw some crazy stuff in the woods , and he was consumed by "evil" (the sickness) he went on a mad spree trying to kill his little brother because he was traumatized and angry. the sickness was represented by the snake which Nolan "beat" because he was able to accept that their mother was "the snake\sickness" and he remembered all the good stuff about her and loved her regardless, while Sam was "gripped" by the snake\sickness hand in the picture and we realize he did not let go of the beliefs their mother passed to them, trying to comfort himself by believing he was the loved son becuase he was loyal to her and what she believed.
@@Alicenwndrlnd i think she lied to her sons about it being worldwide since the evil is so manipulative, young boys would be curious to find more people unless they think they’re the only ones. She also mentions that the curse was originally placed on the family which is why she took the whole family to the cabin. My biggest question is if the curse was placed on the family in LA, how were they able to make it to the cabin without being tagged by the evil. Also if it was really true that the father wasn’t real, why would the evil give them real food which allows them to stay cooped up in the cabin even longer which is the opposite of its goal?
I'm glad you liked it Cody, I too was captivated and kept wondering, is this real, is she totally crazy? I loved the ambiguous ending, which I found very real, because rarely in life is something purely black and white, it doesn't have to be just one OR the other, both can be true!! I particularly liked the metaphor of the whole idea, of how she is both literally and metaphorically "tied" to her childhood wounds, abuse and religious indoctrination, obviously exacerbated psychologically and emotionally by drug use after she "went wild" in the outside world. ...she can't help but pass on her damage to her own children with the best of intentions. Our childhood wounds are very real for each of us and do sometimes lead us to actions/reactions that for others are completely crazy, and often lead us to hurt those we love the most. Those childhood wounds never let us go...until we face them!!
This might be better than Crawl for me, and I was a big fan of that one. Without spoilers, this does right what MNights THE VILLAGE couldn't. Can't wait to see where it stacks in October man.
Surprise of the year this movie broke me. Definite Frailty vibes & The Villiage. I wept for like the last 30 minutes. The performances were heartbreaking. No dumb jump scares.
This is my take on this movie- the grandma had serious mental issues, she was afraid to go outside, which is why grandpa builds her a "special" house, the grandma then passes the trauma and hereditary sickness down the line, eventually the mom at some point of her life had a rebelious life, she wanted to break down from the trauma but a tragic event, resulting in a dead girl in the woods (the one we see at the start) breaks down into full blown mental ilness, then the mom dumps her old life and runing away into the woods where she believes she can protect her boys from the "evil" problem is the evil is actually her sickness, which is represented by a snake. By making her sons believe there is some unnatural evil in the woods, keeping them away from the world, starving them, she is actually causing them abuse, planting in and passing down trauma unto them. Sam is much more suseptible and accepting of what she says while Nolan is more rebelious and curious and dares to question her. Eventually she is so far gone in her sickness she ends up self exiting , while Nolan wanted to show her that the evil is not real her hallucinations made her self exit believing she is protecting them. Now both boys are extremely traumatized, Sam is starting to get more angry and upset at his brother. When the hiker showed up he was actually real and Sam did kill him. Nolan tried to convince Sam that the hiker was real because he touched him while being bound by the rope Sam refuses to believe but at night ends up sneaking down and eating the food and goong throught the hikers stuff, finding the picture he is deeply affected by it begining to realize he actually killed a real person and now his daugther left all alone because of him. He goes out at night and begins hallucinating their mother in the cabin only to realize again she is dead, and right after he hallucinates the girl from the picture, he really wants to believe she is real and ends up running away at night, he finaly was brave enough to challange his beliefs system unfortunatly this ended up being a really bad mental break down and he ends up hallucinating in the woods and even has a seizure, he breaks into a rage and wants to kill his little brother (this is supported by the fact that nothing supernatural was able to harm Nolan in at any point, not even when he jumped into the pit at their house embracing the "evil monster) the only thing that was able to harm Nolan was his brother. While all that is happening Nolan has his own realisation, he realisez his brother is unwell and sick, and his mind is fighthing whats real and what is not, when he traps the "evil" mom in that pit he embraces her telling her he loves her, he thinks about all the good stuff and he is able the cope with the realization that his mom was actually consumed by the snake (sickness) and he allowes himself to love her despite what she really was and the snake evaporates and Nolan is able to forgive and let go. When both of the boys are on the helicopter Nolan is optimistic and sees the reality, that they are saved. On the other hand we see the picture that sam took, with the snake hand on him, symbolizing to us that the sickness of their mom has a grip on him, he ends up comforting himself by saying that mom loved him more because in his mind after that mental break down and halucinations he believes all she said was true, and he was the better son, the one that listend to her, he was not able to let go thus in fact making all of what his mother said become true, that the evil is real and if the evil (the sickness) gets into their house it will make them kill each other.
No shit, I actually got the notification for this while I was watching your review of Terrifier 3 😂 Also not volunteering this year, but i am attending the 2nd half of FF
I'm going to see it this weekend. From the trailer, the atmosphere of this movie looked like a cross between Lovely, Dark and Deep, Tethered and Goodnight Mommy (Ich Seh, Ich Seh). I enjoyed all of those movies so I'm down with anything that matches those vibes.
@@CodyLeachYT This was great. I love the way Halle Berry played this character. We don't get much of her backstory, but she kept saying, "I used to be a different person," and the biggest change we can see between who she used to be and who she is now is motherhood. Motherhood made her a different person, and it changed her body and mind, maybe even amplified a problem she already had. Now there is no going back and there is no cure. You see her harsh, loving, scared, sad. This just made me think about people who are suffering from something with no cure, so they lean in to their faith. I don't think the rope was to protect the kids from the world, it was to protect them from her. The rope was how she could tell them apart from her visions, the only way she knew they were real. That's why she said, "I'm the darkness." Just saw the movie a few hours ago and I'm still thinking about it. And I'm shuddering at what I think was real and what was not, and she couldn't tell because they didn't have a rope on. Such a tragic film. I hope to hear different interpretations from other people.
This and the substance are 2 of the best movies I’ve seen this year. I feel like the movie revolves around the mom’s schizophrenia. Probably untreated.
@codyleach what i interpreted from this movie was that it was about Love and how Love is what it took to overcome Evil and fear. The brother loved his mother and knew something was wrong with her and tried to help her then he wanted to help his brother by showing that the Fear was False.Evil. Appearing. Real F.E.A.R. He loved him and realized he had to burn down the house for him to see that it was nothing to fear
Comment contains SPOiLERS: Just after returning from seeing this movie, I thought it was really good & one of the most intriguing movies of the year. I thought it was brilliant the way they set up the whole remote universe of the wooden cabin with evil spirits outside & then external forces like the guy in the red coat & then his daughter later on in the dark questioning us the viewers questioning what was real or not. I really thought this movie was one of the better horrors to be honest & the close net of Hallie Berry & the two boys was just amazingly set up. I thought Hallie Berry did an incredible job convincing us what her character believed was for real like the lengths she went to putting bells on the boy who sleepwalked & so incredibly passionate about protecting her son's from evil spirits was just amazing. I think as she extended the rope to go further out into the woods for food, she could see regular appearances from the evil spirits.When the boy took a picture of him with the house burning in the background, I couldn't quite make out the picture afterwards, what did the picture show? I was really on the edge of my seat & begged this movie wouldn't go M Night Shyamalan shitty on me which it didn't. But when the boys were on the plane & the boy said to the other She loves me more, was he an evil spirit bringing the evil virus to the populated town? And the snake that came out of Hallie Berry ..what was that about? Against your opinion I would highly recommend this to movie goers.
That is so cool that you got to meet Halle Berry on the red Carpet premier of don't let go Cody. I'd like to see I'm just used to seeing Alexander Aja's movies really violent and brutal like high Tension and the Hills have eyes remake. I just don't like to have to wait 40 minutes for a movie to start picking up and getting more exciting that's just too much time to wait while watching a movie for me. Great job 👍👍
Cody I love your content and channel, I respect ✊ your opinion and outlook on film. I can tell you appreciate the process, from writing, to camera angles etc…. But when you said you liked Gothika I almost unsubscribed to your channel 😂
Geez I didn’t even know what Halle said after you asked your question I had to play it back. Idk how you weren’t stuttering over all of your words my goodness lol
I agree with your review except for a couple of things. The pacing for me was flipped. I was really engrossed in the beginning and middle but felt like the end was dragging a bit. Not enough to ruin the movie, though. And to me, the ending leaned towards a certain interpretation of what happened without really picking a side.
Yeah that last part I agree with and is what I was saying with the “have its cake and eat it too” comment. Would’ve preferred it not lean into any answer/interpretation.
I walked out of this movie thrilled to talk about and see it again. My favorite movie of the year. It’s messaging, in my opinion, was executed well; beautiful atmosphere; answered two questions that I had when it started early in act 1 & only left me with one question when it was over. It was an 8/10 for me until the end of act 2, and that’s what shot it up to a 10/10 for me. Rarely does my jaw actually drop when I’m watching anything, and that whole sequence just got me. I can 100% see why this wouldn’t work for everyone, because the themes it touches on are sensitive & how they chose to execute it will either fly over peoples’ heads entirely, not work, or land perfectly. Being someone who loves this kind of analysis of people & *one of the things that this movie touches on *, I love it all around.
Yeah definitely has some questions and answers that may or may not satisfy some but the overall family dynamics , themes and twists were all good. This should be high on the 31 on 31 in October
I liked the movie but I do have some problems with it. I think the director used cheap tactics to throw people off which is something I don't typically care for. Case in point there are times when the audience see "the visions" before the characters in the movie which is an effect usually used to show the threat is real like in the 2008 movie The Strangers when we see the intruder lurking in the background whilst the protagonist is oblivious or in Aliens when we see the Xenomorph come out of camouflage in the background before the character it's about to attack is aware of it's presence. The idea of “the visions” being in Halle Berry’s character’s head doesn't make sense if we the audience are seeing things in the background that the protagonist is not aware of. That's just cheap and misleading. I think the movie would have been better if the threat was real. I was disappointed when the hitchhiker was revealed to be on the phone to 911 showing that the world was normal. I think the director needed to commit and decide if the threat was real or if it was all about psychotic delusions. Showing a photograph at the end with a demon hand on Sam’s shoulder implies the threat is real. You can't have both. You need to pick one. Choose a side. Choose a lane. At least with a knock at the cabin another movie that makes you question if the characters are crazy or telling the truth, actually commits and reveals the warnings were true which made for a more impactful and memorable movie in my opinion. Another problem I had with the movie is the Noah character. He doubted the customs which resulted in his mother’s death then after she dies he goes back to following the rituals and customs his mother taught him such as tying the rope around his waist again.🤷 Made me hate the character. Made me think Halle Berry died for nothing. I kind of wanted the threat to be real just so it could get his arse and have it play out like a cautionary tale where I could wag my finger at the screen and say you should have listened to your mother. The idea of him being right makes me question why he would doubt his mother when he was raised on those customs and didn't even know what a camera was. In the last act all of a sudden he has survival skills and knows how to avoid dying of smoke inhalation by using a wet rag in the burning house. Both he and his sibling had the same education and he became the voice of reason. Circling back to the director and his cheap tricks, what was the point of the special effects showing Sam getting possessed and taken over if none of it was real? Just to fool the audience? Cheap tricks like that cheapen the movie for me but I did otherwise enjoy the acting and cinematography.
I wanted to like it…but it’s impossible to take it literally or figuratively….it does not make sense, especially with the last shot. If it’s a metaphor for whatever bullshit that Hollywood wants to show, it doesn’t make sense. If it’s a really creepy story for people to take literally, it doesn’t make sense.
You met Halle Berry! That’s amazing!🔥
Right on!!
I actually liked this movie. I really did like where you can see where the mom and child were coming from.
I loved it too 💯
Poor Lionsgate. Never Let Go made $1.6 million yesterday and it looks like it won’t even gross $5 million this weekend. Lionsgate put out Borderlands and The Crow last month , they’ve put out The Killer’s Game and Never Let Go so far this month, and Megalopolis is on the chopping block next weekend. Their movies just can’t catch a break.
😂
People are weird and judge movies before seeing them. Not a single dime a movie makes is a reflection of its quality.
Maybe they should produce better movies
Hopefully White Birds does well when it releases in October as long as it doesn’t get delayed for the gazillionth time
This 1000000%!!! More people need to point this out!@@MrMarcJackson
Loved this movie! Went into it blind and it was a pleasant surprise. I love the ambiguity of it all and I can't think of any cons off the top of my head. You mentioned the pacing but if I'm being honest, I didn't find a single dull moment in the movie that caused me to lose a bit of interest/attention.
What an awesome experience that you got to meet and interview Halle Barry ❤
Look at Cody interviewing Halle fuckin Berry. Good shit man
I loved the mental games throughout the movie. The children half way through really showed peak entertainment. Without spoiling I can’t get enough of the apocalyptic aftermath surviving with little to no hope of survival due to lack of resources themes. It gave me resident evil 4 themed, limited ammo mechanics.
I really loved this one. Kept going back and forth about what was really going on. A lot of good scares and loved the concept.
Thanks for the Frailty shout out. I love that film too. I think that is why I enjoyed this movie more than my friend who was expecting more a traditional thriller.
So happy you got a chance to have a great fantastic fest, and meeting Halle Berry!
Also, as a woman, thank you for asking questions of Ms. Berry that are appropriate and professional. I expected nothing less from you, Cody (you are a classy, classy man, and that's why I started following you- you're a fantastic RUclipsr who is respectful and considerate of all people), but inappropriate questions happen so many times from other "more professional" interviewers/reporters (specifically men that are paid by major news outlets). You asking about "what drew you to the script" instead of "how did you lose weight to play this role" or "were you familiar with horror movies before you did this role" or the dreaded "how did you balance work and being a mother"... it's a big difference. You showed the best side of yourself, and I can tell Ms. Berry appreciated it. She gave you a better answer because of it too.
Hear, hear!
*POSSIBLY SPOILER ALERT*
So up until they show that Polaroid you’re led to believe the mother is just a paranoid schizophrenic (Halle’s performance, facial expressions were spot on), and that just through genetics and upbringing the kid(s) are too. But, the Polaroid picture is tossed in there to make us think we are crazy now!! Idk man lol what to think. Great film, performances were fantastic
I think the end reveals to us the meaning of "the snake" the snake represented the sickness of the mom, and Nolan embraced her at the end' loving her despite revealing and realizing that she was consumed by her sickness at the end, she was so sick she actually self exited, that's why we see that the snake evaporated. because Nolan managed to cope with reality, while his brother Sam- the snake hand had a grip on him, he was consumed by trauma and rage at his little brother for disobeying and causing their mothers death, he remained with his old beliefs that the evil is real, trying to soothe himself by believing he was the better son, while Nolan believed he was saved and saw a brighter future at the end.
The pic showed that it was real. Doesn't mean she couldn't be mentally losing it especially if the evil had her seeing shit. Them woods was strange. Idk what if those rescuers are evil?
Still need to see this one but you have GOT TO see and review The Substance. Was blown away, best horror of the year imo
I just found out what that was today and I'm intrigued
My most anticipated of the year. I’ve heard nothing but great things.
It was so good man 10/10 film imo
I liked the first half but not the second
Doesn't the polaroid at the end proves evil was there?
Not necessarily bc they could be going schizophrenic from environment and genetic mental illness 😢
@@nanobotxtina5355no because none of them were there, we aren’t looking at the picture through their point of view, but as an outside perspective viewer.
@@nanobotxtina5355I don’t think you read the comment?
I loved the movie. My interpretation was there aren't necessarily two sides, but that everything was a true. The Evil was real and she was out of her mind. I've always believed that if evil entities like this were real and tormented people that it would absolutely drive them crazy because how could it not? Show me dead friends and relatives for a few years and before long I would look just like her, I think any person who experienced what she was seeing would lose their mind, but that wouldn't necessarily make what they are seeing not real.
The main reason I think the Evil was real is because they only have these encounters outside of the house. If you're to tell me that this woman was schizophrenic then it is incredibly convenient (and impossible) that being inside of the house appears to be a treatment to her mental illness. So then there must be some truth to what she's saying and that house has power to protect them from the Evil that is indeed real.
We know that she didn't tell the boys the full truth and maybe she was protecting the outside world from them as well, which would explain the inconsistencies in her story. To me this felt like a modern day Grimm fairy tale (I thought this before she even read the story of Hansel and Gretel to them) and this was a curse placed on her family. I've never seen a movie like this and felt like I was on edge the entire time. I mean this in a good way, but I could not wait for this movie to end after a certain point because the uncertainty of what would happen to the boys had me stressed out.
If I could change one thing, I would have preferred the ending gone full dark as that would solidify it feeling like a Grimm fairy tale, the ending we got was more Goosebumps series. I had been eyeing this for a while and it did not disappoint. I could see people who don't like anything left to interpretation being upset with this movie but I think that is a silly reason to say a movie is bad. Also I have to say the acting in this movie was just phenomenal. Congrats on meeting Halle!
Well put man! And good point on how if she was schizophrenic then how is she not seeing the things inside the house.
I think the ending was kinda dark and showed the evil was still in the brother
@@Ninjyed thank you, I had a lot of fun analyzing this movie! I hope my point isn’t something that was simply overlooked. I feel like it wasn’t because even on the porch they would appear, just never inside the house.
@@monet2779 it was it’s just that’s more of an ending you would expect in goosebumps series. Full dark would have been the entire family dying, that would make it more like a real Grimm fairy tale
My brother really got to interview the dream girl of all men in their 30's. Only up from here! 😂
This is the best week of Horror releases at the movies in forever for me. The Substance 9/10 almost an all timer, The Shade 10/10 for a director debut and actor debut it really took me by surprise like Barbarian. Never let go 7/10 I thought the premise was meh but they maximized the premise really directed and acted their butts off.
I thought this movie was a solid 7.5 maybe 8 out of 10. The performances from Halle Berry and the kids are actually pretty good. I pretty quickly bought into their situation because the performances made it seem so they're really trapped in the forest together. And it kinda plays around with the question: Is Halle Berry's character crazy? Or is their really an evil out there that she's trying to protect them from. The atmosphere was also really eerie. Part of that is because the forest is usually a pretty creepy environment. I always felt like their could always be something lurking in the shadows. And i appreciate that the film had the balls to throw in a twist about an hour in that i didn't see coming. Now the film did leave some to be desired for me, like the mother tells us something that i found very interesting, but we're never told how it happened. Its just kind of a dangling question that had no payoff. Also, the third act for me kind of turned into a typical third act for a horror film and the ending was inherently pretty predictable.
Yes I love this movie 🎥
Great review, sounds better than I expected! Frailty is one of my favorite movies, so that comparison has definitely piqued my interest. You've convinced me, I'll make sure to check it out tomorrow. Thanks for the recommendation!
Man I’m endlessly curious to hear your thoughts on Substance. Craziest movie I EVER seen
It was great but if that’s your craziest, you need to broaden your horizons. The sound design was fantastic. All the squishes and cracks were great. The ending sucked balls
@@jeffn4836 I didn’t necessarily love it either. The third act especially fell off for me. I’m just saying it was the weirdest movie I ever seen personally. There’s probably some that top it, but that seems like a high bar to reach
@@jasonchilado that’s fair. Yeah, the 3rd act wasn’t great.
@@jeffn4836the ending was pure fucking gold! It went so hard and out there.
@@jeffn4836best third act of the year.
Cody interviewed an Oscar winning actress. How lucky 💜
Dude, how on earth did you manage to maintain composure around THEE Halle Berry? I would’ve been weak in the knees!
My heart was pounding out of my chest up until I started talking.
@@CodyLeachYT And she was really nice!
@@CodyLeachYT mad respect and what an awesome experience. Your professionalism really shined with that interview.
@@brandih9802 true, she’s always seemed really down to earth on top of being beautiful.
I am back and forth about seeing this. So cool that you got to talk to Halle Berry!!!!❤
I just came out of this film.
It has plenty of tension, scares and intrigue. The jump scares are not cheap which is awesome. I love the premise.
However, it’s more thematic/metaphoric than expected. The open interpretation is more mixed for me. I wish there was more straight answers and normally I’m ok with open interpretations. The ending reminded me somewhat of Shyamlan’s The Village.
It is solid, but it was a little too bleak for my taste.
It is pretty scary for me at times and that was cool.
The main reason I think the curse is real is because the backpacking guy that Samuel murdered ended up having real food which saved their lives. He was real. His supposed "daughter" however was the evil because it used the guilt of murdering a father of an innocent little girl to finally catch him off guard and curse him.
if that was true then why did the evil not affect the hiker? or the rest of the world like their mother said. i think your theory does not hold up. what I think happened was that sam got too sick. mentally and physically, after the mothers death he was traumatized and angry at his brother who was at fault for all that happening, when he saw the hikers photo and his daughter doubt and guilt began creeping up as he realized he actually killed a man, right after that outside he began hallucinating their mom in that cabin and then the girl showed up, which was not real- but he really wanted to believe she is, not realizing how much he is actually mentally unwell he ran outside he broke all the rules and eventually experiencing a bad psychotic episode when he realized the girl was not real and he saw some crazy stuff in the woods , and he was consumed by "evil" (the sickness) he went on a mad spree trying to kill his little brother because he was traumatized and angry. the sickness was represented by the snake which Nolan "beat" because he was able to accept that their mother was "the snake\sickness" and he remembered all the good stuff about her and loved her regardless, while Sam was "gripped" by the snake\sickness hand in the picture and we realize he did not let go of the beliefs their mother passed to them, trying to comfort himself by believing he was the loved son becuase he was loyal to her and what she believed.
@@Alicenwndrlnd i think she lied to her sons about it being worldwide since the evil is so manipulative, young boys would be curious to find more people unless they think they’re the only ones. She also mentions that the curse was originally placed on the family which is why she took the whole family to the cabin.
My biggest question is if the curse was placed on the family in LA, how were they able to make it to the cabin without being tagged by the evil.
Also if it was really true that the father wasn’t real, why would the evil give them real food which allows them to stay cooped up in the cabin even longer which is the opposite of its goal?
OMG you are right but idk i still believe the evil is real lol@@Alicenwndrlnd
Then how do you explain the hand in picture at the end
@@Alicenwndrlndomg thank u this help me a lot
I'm glad you liked it Cody, I too was captivated and kept wondering, is this real, is she totally crazy? I loved the ambiguous ending, which I found very real, because rarely in life is something purely black and white, it doesn't have to be just one OR the other, both can be true!! I particularly liked the metaphor of the whole idea, of how she is both literally and metaphorically "tied" to her childhood wounds, abuse and religious indoctrination, obviously exacerbated psychologically and emotionally by drug use after she "went wild" in the outside world. ...she can't help but pass on her damage to her own children with the best of intentions. Our childhood wounds are very real for each of us and do sometimes lead us to actions/reactions that for others are completely crazy, and often lead us to hurt those we love the most. Those childhood wounds never let us go...until we face them!!
Very cool that you got to interview the beautiful, talented Halle Berry 😁
Yes it was!
This one was surprisingly good
8/10
I still think Aja’s Hills Have Eyes remake is seriously underrated.
Agreed! It was awesome and very suspenseful when Doug grows a pair and heads into the town to find his baby and kill anyone in his way
It was so good, the story is told in a way you see progression in the arcs of the characters.
Awesome dude you are interviewing the great Halle berry in a terrifier 3 tshirt! score!!
Great review bro. I can't wait for this one
On my way to see it nowwwww!!!!!!!
I really wanted to like this. I reallly tried. It was not good.
@@LadyChatterlyLmao
Best horror reviewer 💯
Cant Believe you met HER. Cody you have made it.😲👍 Soon you will have 200K subs. Good job Cody.
Speaking of Gothika, you should do a review on that Cody
I just finished watching this film and it was absolutely amazing. Thanks for uploading!
low-key reminded me of mother! too.
Sounds really good! Exiting story and plot.
This might be better than Crawl for me, and I was a big fan of that one. Without spoilers, this does right what MNights THE VILLAGE couldn't. Can't wait to see where it stacks in October man.
This movie definitely gave me The Village x 10 Cloverfield Lane vibes. Decent movie.
Meh it was aiight...i really liked the two boys as actors❤
Surprise of the year this movie broke me. Definite Frailty vibes & The Villiage. I wept for like the last 30 minutes. The performances were heartbreaking. No dumb jump scares.
First thing the concept made me think of when I heard it was Bird Box. Though the Frailty comparison is much more intriguing for me
Very similar to frailty. 100% worth a watch
This is my take on this movie- the grandma had serious mental issues, she was afraid to go outside, which is why grandpa builds her a "special" house, the grandma then passes the trauma and hereditary sickness down the line, eventually the mom at some point of her life had a rebelious life, she wanted to break down from the trauma but a tragic event, resulting in a dead girl in the woods (the one we see at the start) breaks down into full blown mental ilness, then the mom dumps her old life and runing away into the woods where she believes she can protect her boys from the "evil" problem is the evil is actually her sickness, which is represented by a snake. By making her sons believe there is some unnatural evil in the woods, keeping them away from the world, starving them, she is actually causing them abuse, planting in and passing down trauma unto them. Sam is much more suseptible and accepting of what she says while Nolan is more rebelious and curious and dares to question her. Eventually she is so far gone in her sickness she ends up self exiting , while Nolan wanted to show her that the evil is not real her hallucinations made her self exit believing she is protecting them. Now both boys are extremely traumatized, Sam is starting to get more angry and upset at his brother. When the hiker showed up he was actually real and Sam did kill him. Nolan tried to convince Sam that the hiker was real because he touched him while being bound by the rope Sam refuses to believe but at night ends up sneaking down and eating the food and goong throught the hikers stuff, finding the picture he is deeply affected by it begining to realize he actually killed a real person and now his daugther left all alone because of him. He goes out at night and begins hallucinating their mother in the cabin only to realize again she is dead, and right after he hallucinates the girl from the picture, he really wants to believe she is real and ends up running away at night, he finaly was brave enough to challange his beliefs system unfortunatly this ended up being a really bad mental break down and he ends up hallucinating in the woods and even has a seizure, he breaks into a rage and wants to kill his little brother (this is supported by the fact that nothing supernatural was able to harm Nolan in at any point, not even when he jumped into the pit at their house embracing the "evil monster) the only thing that was able to harm Nolan was his brother. While all that is happening Nolan has his own realisation, he realisez his brother is unwell and sick, and his mind is fighthing whats real and what is not, when he traps the "evil" mom in that pit he embraces her telling her he loves her, he thinks about all the good stuff and he is able the cope with the realization that his mom was actually consumed by the snake (sickness) and he allowes himself to love her despite what she really was and the snake evaporates and Nolan is able to forgive and let go. When both of the boys are on the helicopter Nolan is optimistic and sees the reality, that they are saved. On the other hand we see the picture that sam took, with the snake hand on him, symbolizing to us that the sickness of their mom has a grip on him, he ends up comforting himself by saying that mom loved him more because in his mind after that mental break down and halucinations he believes all she said was true, and he was the better son, the one that listend to her, he was not able to let go thus in fact making all of what his mother said become true, that the evil is real and if the evil (the sickness) gets into their house it will make them kill each other.
I had a fun time with this movie
I saw the trailer and was on board ima go see it tmmr and excited to see it.
Halle Berry is such an icon! I love that your job allows you to do so many cool things and meet amazing people!
Just started watching you and you earned a sub as soon as you said you loved Frailty.
My man! I can't believe you interviewed Halle Berry! Amazing. Were you hella nervous?
No shit, I actually got the notification for this while I was watching your review of Terrifier 3 😂 Also not volunteering this year, but i am attending the 2nd half of FF
See you then!
I love Frailty
Just causally interviewing Halle Berry ! That was awesome!
I enjoyed this movie. There was alot of symbolism in it.
Flashback of you and Halle .......
Absolute GOLD 🪙
This 🍿🎥
Sounds
Amazing 🤩
9.9
Out of 10/
(!!!!
I saw it as a metaphor for mental illness passed down the generations. Tragic. Loved the acting.
Congratulations 🎉 YOU MET HALLIE BERRY!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤
That’s so awesome u got to interview Halle berry! Congrats Kody ur doing big things!
@sinister cinema reviews and Lee @Drum Dums fan 4 life!!!! @ Cody, you are fantastic as well! Love all you. 🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤ TOOL ROCKS!!!!
Where's your review for The Substance?
I'm going to see it this weekend. From the trailer, the atmosphere of this movie looked like a cross between Lovely, Dark and Deep, Tethered and Goodnight Mommy (Ich Seh, Ich Seh). I enjoyed all of those movies so I'm down with anything that matches those vibes.
Hope you enjoy it!
@@CodyLeachYT This was great. I love the way Halle Berry played this character. We don't get much of her backstory, but she kept saying, "I used to be a different person," and the biggest change we can see between who she used to be and who she is now is motherhood. Motherhood made her a different person, and it changed her body and mind, maybe even amplified a problem she already had. Now there is no going back and there is no cure. You see her harsh, loving, scared, sad. This just made me think about people who are suffering from something with no cure, so they lean in to their faith. I don't think the rope was to protect the kids from the world, it was to protect them from her. The rope was how she could tell them apart from her visions, the only way she knew they were real. That's why she said, "I'm the darkness." Just saw the movie a few hours ago and I'm still thinking about it. And I'm shuddering at what I think was real and what was not, and she couldn't tell because they didn't have a rope on. Such a tragic film. I hope to hear different interpretations from other people.
Damien Leone just confirmed Terrifier 4 is in the works
This and the substance are 2 of the best movies I’ve seen this year. I feel like the movie revolves around the mom’s schizophrenia. Probably untreated.
What's your take in The Killer's Game?
@codyleach what i interpreted from this movie was that it was about Love and how Love is what it took to overcome Evil and fear. The brother loved his mother and knew something was wrong with her and tried to help her then he wanted to help his brother by showing that the Fear was False.Evil. Appearing. Real F.E.A.R. He loved him and realized he had to burn down the house for him to see that it was nothing to fear
Didnt care much for this one but based on your feedback i think im gonna check it out!
Comment contains SPOiLERS: Just after returning from seeing this movie, I thought it was really good & one of the most intriguing movies of the year. I thought it was brilliant the way they set up the whole remote universe of the wooden cabin with evil spirits outside & then external forces like the guy in the red coat & then his daughter later on in the dark questioning us the viewers questioning what was real or not. I really thought this movie was one of the better horrors to be honest & the close net of Hallie Berry & the two boys was just amazingly set up. I thought Hallie Berry did an incredible job convincing us what her character believed was for real like the lengths she went to putting bells on the boy who sleepwalked & so incredibly passionate about protecting her son's from evil spirits was just amazing. I think as she extended the rope to go further out into the woods for food, she could see regular appearances from the evil spirits.When the boy took a picture of him with the house burning in the background, I couldn't quite make out the picture afterwards, what did the picture show? I was really on the edge of my seat & begged this movie wouldn't go M Night Shyamalan shitty on me which it didn't. But when the boys were on the plane & the boy said to the other She loves me more, was he an evil spirit bringing the evil virus to the populated town? And the snake that came out of Hallie Berry ..what was that about? Against your opinion I would highly recommend this to movie goers.
I really enjoyed this film . Definitely very similar to frailty.
That is so cool that you got to meet Halle Berry on the red Carpet premier of don't let go Cody. I'd like to see I'm just used to seeing Alexander Aja's movies really violent and brutal like high Tension and the Hills have eyes remake. I just don't like to have to wait 40 minutes for a movie to start picking up and getting more exciting that's just too much time to wait while watching a movie for me. Great job 👍👍
Cody I love your content and channel, I respect ✊ your opinion and outlook on film. I can tell you appreciate the process, from writing, to camera angles etc…. But when you said you liked Gothika I almost unsubscribed to your channel 😂
Geez I didn’t even know what Halle said after you asked your question I had to play it back. Idk how you weren’t stuttering over all of your words my goodness lol
I was thinking the same thing Frailty. A little bit of it comes at night
Yes this gave me Frailty vibes as well!
I rate this movie a strong 5
Thanks again for another great review, hope you're having a blast at FF. Now what did you do with Sean? LOL j/k 😆
Having a great time!
I agree with your review except for a couple of things. The pacing for me was flipped. I was really engrossed in the beginning and middle but felt like the end was dragging a bit. Not enough to ruin the movie, though. And to me, the ending leaned towards a certain interpretation of what happened without really picking a side.
Yeah that last part I agree with and is what I was saying with the “have its cake and eat it too” comment. Would’ve preferred it not lean into any answer/interpretation.
I didn’t think the acting was that good
I was thinking about Frailty the entire time as well. Even with putting the kids in the floor.
Great director and Halle Berry is usually good. Too bad it's flying under the radar.
Ooh I enjoyed this movie, so I'll need to check Frailty out.
Cliche and original. Those kids can act ❤
Hmmmm, can't say that I've heard of this movie. Does sound interesting for at least Streaming at some point. Thank you, Cody.
I walked out of this movie thrilled to talk about and see it again. My favorite movie of the year. It’s messaging, in my opinion, was executed well; beautiful atmosphere; answered two questions that I had when it started early in act 1 & only left me with one question when it was over.
It was an 8/10 for me until the end of act 2, and that’s what shot it up to a 10/10 for me. Rarely does my jaw actually drop when I’m watching anything, and that whole sequence just got me.
I can 100% see why this wouldn’t work for everyone, because the themes it touches on are sensitive & how they chose to execute it will either fly over peoples’ heads entirely, not work, or land perfectly. Being someone who loves this kind of analysis of people & *one of the things that this movie touches on *, I love it all around.
Yeah definitely has some questions and answers that may or may not satisfy some but the overall family dynamics , themes and twists were all good. This should be high on the 31 on 31 in October
may i ask why is it a 10/10 to you?
Who does the musical score to this film?
ROB
I liked the movie but I do have some problems with it. I think the director used cheap tactics to throw people off which is something I don't typically care for. Case in point there are times when the audience see "the visions" before the characters in the movie which is an effect usually used to show the threat is real like in the 2008 movie The Strangers when we see the intruder lurking in the background whilst the protagonist is oblivious or in Aliens when we see the Xenomorph come out of camouflage in the background before the character it's about to attack is aware of it's presence. The idea of “the visions” being in Halle Berry’s character’s head doesn't make sense if we the audience are seeing things in the background that the protagonist is not aware of. That's just cheap and misleading.
I think the movie would have been better if the threat was real. I was disappointed when the hitchhiker was revealed to be on the phone to 911 showing that the world was normal. I think the director needed to commit and decide if the threat was real or if it was all about psychotic delusions. Showing a photograph at the end with a demon hand on Sam’s shoulder implies the threat is real. You can't have both. You need to pick one. Choose a side. Choose a lane. At least with a knock at the cabin another movie that makes you question if the characters are crazy or telling the truth, actually commits and reveals the warnings were true which made for a more impactful and memorable movie in my opinion.
Another problem I had with the movie is the Noah character. He doubted the customs which resulted in his mother’s death then after she dies he goes back to following the rituals and customs his mother taught him such as tying the rope around his waist again.🤷 Made me hate the character. Made me think Halle Berry died for nothing. I kind of wanted the threat to be real just so it could get his arse and have it play out like a cautionary tale where I could wag my finger at the screen and say you should have listened to your mother. The idea of him being right makes me question why he would doubt his mother when he was raised on those customs and didn't even know what a camera was. In the last act all of a sudden he has survival skills and knows how to avoid dying of smoke inhalation by using a wet rag in the burning house. Both he and his sibling had the same education and he became the voice of reason.
Circling back to the director and his cheap tricks, what was the point of the special effects showing Sam getting possessed and taken over if none of it was real? Just to fool the audience? Cheap tricks like that cheapen the movie for me but I did otherwise enjoy the acting and cinematography.
Was between this and the substance tonight and I saw the substance… that was crazy fr
No "The Substance" review 😔
I enjoyed the film
Gave me the village vibes 🤷🏿♂️
You gotta review the substance holy fuck. Tell us if terrifier 3 is harder to watch
I liked it ALOT
I really enjoyed this its not remarkable but I do like it
Lionsgate still can’t even break their losing streak yet with Never Let Go!
Dude, fuck what you think about this movie.. you interviewed HALLE BERRY ! win win.
I watched this today
Whoa look at you going big time.
I did not pick up on the Covid subtext
Her scariest film is still Catwomen.
😂😂😂😂you got JOKES 🤣🤣
I love this movie 🎥🎥🍿 guys 💕 the kids did a good job 💕 it's a good movie 🎥
Whats been the best film youve seen in fantastic fest so far?
I wanted to like it…but it’s impossible to take it literally or figuratively….it does not make sense, especially with the last shot. If it’s a metaphor for whatever bullshit that Hollywood wants to show, it doesn’t make sense. If it’s a really creepy story for people to take literally, it doesn’t make sense.