Never Let Go ending explained: What happens to Momma, Samuel, and Nolan?

Never Let Go ending explained: What happens to Momma, Samuel, and Nolan?

As a gamer with a penchant for survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, I must admit that “Never Let Go” has definitely left its mark. The cinematic experience was nothing short of gripping, with its haunting atmosphere and tense moments that kept me on the edge of my seat.


The chilling horror-thriller “Never Let Go,” featuring Halle Berry, is now playing in cinemas nationwide! In this film, we delve into the life of a family – Samuel, Nolan, and Momma, their stern matriarch – residing in a secluded cabin deep within the woods. Oh, and let’s not forget Koda, their beloved pet dog, who shares their home as well.

They are confined to the cabin at all times except for when they need to search for food and essentials. In these instances, they secure themselves to the cabin with a rope as a safety measure, swearing they will never undo this tether to avoid being caught by the “Danger” lurking in the woods. If the “Danger” manages to catch them, one might wonder what the consequences would be?

As Momma explains, this entity could take control over them, causing them to commit terrible acts such as killing each other. Throughout the movie, Momma makes every effort to shield her twin sons from the malevolent force that resides near their cabin. However, when one son starts to doubt whether this Evil truly exists, that’s when things start going wrong for the family of three.

If you haven’t seen Never Let Go, you might want to leave this article because we’re about to get into some spoiler content by discussing the film’s ending. What ends up happening to Momma, Samuel, and Nolan in the movie?

Spoilers ahead from Never Let Go.

Never Let Go ending explained: What happens to Momma, Samuel, and Nolan?

Momma sacrifices herself to protect her kids in Never Let Go

In the middle of the film, Momma makes a selfless move to shield Nolan and Samuel from danger posed by the Evil. With the brutal winter depleting their food resources, Momma suggests an extreme measure – they must hunt and consume Koda for sustenance. However, Nolan, who doubts the existence of the Evil at this stage in the movie, resists this act. Eventually, he takes the drastic step of confining Momma within the greenhouse, ensuring Koda’s safety and proving to her that the so-called Evil is merely a figment of their imagination.

In the greenhouse, the sinister presence of Grandmother, the wicked, appears alongside Momma. Overwhelmed with fear that this malevolence could lead to her children being harmed, Momma takes a drastic step. With a shard of glass in hand, she wounds herself deeply to prevent any harm from the evil. I rushed into the greenhouse, hoping to save Momma, but it was too late; she had bled out.

Is the Evil real?

The film doesn’t explicitly answer a fascinating question, and even its director, Alexandre Aja, avoids giving a clear response. He told Entertainment Weekly that the Evil in the movie is as real as viewers perceive it to be. Therefore, the interpretation of this aspect remains subjective for each viewer.

Some spectators argue that the ‘Evil’ portrayed in the movie was merely a manifestation of Momma’s mental health issues, possibly inherited from her mother, leading her to perceive a malevolent supernatural force threatening her and her children. Conversely, other viewers maintain that the ‘Evil’ was indeed genuine, supported by the final scene where Samuel captures an image (polaroid) of the entity’s hand on his shoulder. Ultimately, the nature of the ‘Evil’ in the film remains subjective, allowing each viewer to form their own interpretation.

Was the hiker and his daughter real?

As Aja explained during his conversation with Entertainment Weekly, it turns out that the hiker’s daughter was not a genuine character but rather a creation of Samuel’s mind. Contrary to this fabricated daughter, the hiker himself was indeed a real individual who explored the forest and stumbled upon the cabin. Tragically, in his misguided belief that the hiker embodied Evil, Samuel ended up shooting him fatally in the abdomen.

Samuel and Nolan are rescued from the cabin

Following Momma’s selfless act, Samuel and Nolan are now alone, their relationship strained due to differing beliefs about whether evil truly exists. Later, Samuel mistakes a hiker for the embodiment of evil and shoots him at their cabin. Despite managing to escape, the hiker doesn’t get far before succumbing to his fatal wounds and choking on his own blood. Eventually, Nolan discovers the dying hiker in the woods and takes his food-filled backpack as he passes away.

Nolan heads back to the cabin and straightaway digs into the hiker’s supplies. Later in the evening, Samuel stealthily consumes some of the food. After finishing his meal, Samuel steps out of the cabin and encounters the hiker’s daughter. Inquiring about her father’s whereabouts, she queries Samuel. Noticing that Samuel is holding her dad’s flashlight, he starts offering apologies. The hiker’s daughter then scrutinizes Samuel’s hands, revealing the flashlight.

In that instant, I figured out that Sam had a hand in my dad vanishing, so I swiftly darted into the forest, with him hot on my heels, his rope trailing behind him. But as luck would have it, the rope snagged, and Sam yanked it off, thinking me to be an actual girl, not the wickedness itself. Eventually, he managed to catch up to me, but just as he was about to grab me, I underwent a hideous metamorphosis into a grotesque being with multiple arms. This monstrosity spewed forth a wriggling centipede that leaped straight into Sam’s mouth. In an instant, the malevolence took control of him.

In a different phrasing: Samuel makes his way back to their family cabin, lighting it ablaze and trapping Nolan within their mom’s former bedroom. He subsequently steps outside, settling down on the ground with a smirk as the building burns. Unbeknownst to Samuel, Nolan manages to free himself from the room and encounters the sinister presence of Momma. In a desperate move, he rushes to the cabin’s basement and confines himself and Evil Momma within it. As he clings tightly to Evil Momma, she eventually returns the embrace before inexplicably disintegrating.

Not long after, an EMT swiftly reaches the cabin and rescues Nolan and Samuel by whisking them away from the forest via helicopter. The final scene then reveals a Polaroid photograph taken by Samuel capturing his vigil of the blazing cabin. In this image, the ominous hand of Evil is seen resting upon Samuel’s shoulder. Spooky music plays as it seems that the darkness remains within Sam.

Did you enjoy watching Never Let Go? What are your thoughts on the horror film?

Read More

2024-09-23 04:25

Previous post Did Sybok bother Star Trek fans as much as Michael Burnham did?