He Never Left

This is really good. I was pleasantly surprised. The writing is not bad.

The main character is troubled and having flashbacks. Police are looking for him for grand theft auto and a hit and run. Maybe more? His friend Carly is helping him get the hotel and food, but she is not staying with him as she has her own life.

He is waiting for someone to arrange things for him-waiting patiently in the seedy motel. It will take some time. He hears a woman screaming in the room next door. He tells Carly about what he heard when she brings him breakfast and she admonishes him for not helping, but what can he do?

Things quickly go from bad to worse very fast. Not just at the hotel, but for Carly too.

Starting with the opening shots, you can tell right away that the cinematography is such an important element to the movie, and it is. I've followed Witching Season Films for a while now and their ability to capture the moody Autumn and Halloween nostalgia is really like no other. The soundtrack is wonderful, which is another thing I appreciate in their storytelling.

Acting was everything I'd been hearing about and more. After seeing so many good things about the acting, I had high expectations. The scale of emotions that the two leads exhibit feels natural and real, not too dramatic unless the scene really calls for it. Casting was very well done and the actors really make this an easy watch.

As I've learned from past works, expect the unexpected. Though I guessed part of it correctly, I was caught off guard for some of it, in a good way. Without revealing any spoilers, I feel it was done well and even if some of it was very surprising, I feel that the surprises didn't "take" anything from the story, but rather added to it and I found the ending quite enjoyable.

Gore, mystery, a legendary killer, an old motel, and even a few minor supernatural elements; this is a fresh take on a niche of horror that I fully enjoyed.

This is a film I brought based on the description at the same time as heart eyes and hoped in a similer vein it would be just as good. Unfortunatly though I was very wrong. This woman called carley goes to a motel, but smuggles her boyfriend in the trunk because his on the run from the cops because of murder. The guy running the place seems a little creepy but not a whole lot really happens here in terms of horror. This becomes more of a thriller and any attmept at horror is null void. The mask however was creepy enough. Acting not the worst ive seen in these typs of films either. I was just overall let down by this one.

This was a blind purchase primarily based on the artwork, granted I did read the synopsis and thought to myself this seemed promising.

Sadly it was not the case, it took a lifetime to get going, I will tip the hat to Colin Cunngham who plays Gabriel, he certainly brought his A game to the proceedings, but I found myself thinking, did his performance belong in another movie.

Strangely the artwork at first glance reminded me of The Town That Dreaded Sundown but as far as thrills and chills go, it was quite a numbing experience and storyline wise it was all over the place.

Proceed with caution.

While I had never heard about this 2023 horror movie titled "He Never Left", from director James Morris, of course I had to watch it as I stumbled upon it here in 2025, given my love of all things horror.

From the movie's synopsis, I was figuring that I would be in for a masked slasher type of horror movie, but instead I found myself in for a supernatural horror movie I guess, as there was a lot of imaginary things going on apparently. And truth be told, the writers James Morris, Michael Ballif and Colin Cunningham, with the latter also starring in the movie, failed to pen down a properly entertaining script. I found the narrative boring and uneventful, and I struggled to keep feigning an interest in it, but it was a losing uphill battle.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, and that was actually a nice thing, as I enjoy watching unfamiliar talents and faces on the screen. And despite of the script being a swing and a miss, then I will say that the acting performances were fair.

As for "He Never Left" being a horror movie, well, don't get your hopes up. Perhaps if you are a newcomer to the horror genre then you might find this movie scary. But I have been watching horror movies for more than 40 years, so this was a mere walk in the park. And a boring one at that.

Semi-watchable, sure, but "He Never Left" was not a great movie, not even by a longshot. It was a struggle to sit through, and it is definitely not a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I will recommend to horror fans.

My rating of director James Morris's 2023 horror movie "He Never Left" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.