Halle Berry Did Not Skin Real Squirrel for Horror Film Never Let Go

Halle Berry had to learn intense new skills for Never Let Go, but no animals were harmed along the way.

The Oscar winner, 57, said at CinemaCon on April 10 that in order to play someone in survival mode in the wilderness for the film, she had to do a “little bit of Method acting.”

She added that her character was “eating bugs and frogs — raw frogs — in the woods,” plus, “I had to really skin a squirrel. These things wildly challenged me to create some reality within this world that felt so foreign.”

On April 16, PETA said it confirmed with director Alexandre Aja, who’s made animal-centric horror films like 2010’s Piranha and 2019’s Crawl, that only realistic-looking props were used.

Lauren Thomasson, PETA’s director of animals in film and television, said in a statement, “While moviegoers may squirm in their seats at the sight of a ‘squirrel’ being skinned, Alexandre Aja’s use of movie magic instead of a thinking, feeling being in Never Let Go once again proves that technology is the key to modern, humane movie production.”

Thomasson added that PETA will be “happily rushing delicious squirrel-shaped vegan chocolates to Aja and Halle Berry to applaud this responsible choice.”

“And,” continued Thomasson, “we urge other filmmakers to commit to making their productions positive for animals by using only props, computer-generated imagery and other special effects.”

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Berry recently teased the movie to Extra, saying of taking on the thriller, “I am a bonafide adrenaline junkie. The bigger the roller coaster, the higher the bungee jump, the longer the zip line, I’m your girl. So I’ve always loved these kinds of movies.” 

Never Let Go is in theaters Sept. 27.