Don’t Let Go is a 2019 American science fiction horror thriller film written and directed by Jacob Aaron Estes. The film is a cross between a supernatural time travel story and a crime procedural and involves a premise that is essentially borrowed from Frequency (2000). This basic premise has been taken aboard as a staple of many South Korean movies and TV series as well (for e.g. The Phone), for some reason.
The premise of Don’t Let Go is as follows :
After a police detective’s brother’s entire family dies in what appears to be a suicide – murder, he gets a phone call from one of the dead, his niece. He’s not sure if she’s a ghost or if he’s going mad, but as it turns out, he’s not. (Adapted from IMDB)
David Oyelowo plays detective Jack Radcliff, the main character and protagonist, who discovers he can communicated with his teenage niece Ashley (Storm Reid) in the past. After coming to terms with the reality of the situation, Radcliff takes advantage of the strange phenomena to attempt to save Ashley’s life.
Both Oyelowo and Reid are front and centre in this plot and do an excellent job in fleshing characters caught in an unbelievable scenario. As Ashley’s actions (in Radcliff’s past) begin to impact his present – the tension is built up very well by Este’s writing and direction.
Sure, as with most time travel stories, logic flaws pepper the plot throughout – the most glaring one being the fact that Ashley’s phone is connected to Radcliff’s in the future, instead of simply his contemporaneous device. Never explained of course, as that would be an impossible task!
That all said, Don’t Let Go largely succeeds due to the taut and suspenseful final act, which is handled well. An entertaining film that should not be missed.
Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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