Review of “Everything We Had to Give”: Does the forest have eyes?

Morbid moments are often the bread and butter of horror films, but All We Have To Give serves them up in off-putting portions. The film is directed by Alexandre Aja, whose previous work, including a remake of The Hills Have Eyes, is almost equally crass and pretentious.

Halle Berry, the star of All We Had to Give, plays the mother of two young boys, Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV), who all live in a cabin in a forest clearing. The surrounding woods are tangled and dark. She and the children must tie thick ropes around themselves when they leave the cabin to search for food. According to Berry's matriarch, “evil” lurks in these woods, and one touch can infect a family member who then brings it home. So they all hold on to the rope to stay safe.

The film plays with its central idea of ​​peek-a-boo – is “evil” real or is Mom just crazy? There are a few scares at the beginning, followed by a series of nonsensical twists that might anger viewers.

After one of the boys does something unspeakably stupid (he's a kid, yes, and an obviously brainwashed one, yes, but still), it's hard to stay interested. Berry's role here is stripped of all glamour, and she plays it with ferocity; the two boys are brave, too, but what the film asks of these child actors isn't effective horror – it's just opportunistic and disgusting.

Never let go
Age rating: R due to language, cruelty and morbid images. Running time: 1 hour 41 minutes. In cinemas.