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- 2018
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 2 h 5 m
- 2018
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 2 h 5 m
Summary Retired naturalist and wolf expert Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) journeys to the edge of civilization in northern Alaska at the pleading of Medora Slone (Riley Keough), a young mother whose son was killed by a pack of wolves. As Core attempts to help Medora track down the wolves who took her son, a strange and dangerous relationship deve...
Directed By: Jeremy Saulnier
Written By: Macon Blair, William Giraldi
- 2018
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 2 h 5 m
- 2018
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 2 h 5 m
Hold the Dark
63
5.2
Where to Watch
Summary Retired naturalist and wolf expert Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) journeys to the edge of civilization in northern Alaska at the pleading of Medora Slone (Riley Keough), a young mother whose son was killed by a pack of wolves. As Core attempts to help Medora track down the wolves who took her son, a strange and dangerous relationship deve...
Directed By: Jeremy Saulnier
Written By: Macon Blair, William Giraldi
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
63
54% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
35% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
12% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
63
54% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
35% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
12% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
It’s not the kind of film you watch waiting for “the answer.” Saulnier isn’t going to solve the equation for you in Hold The Dark. But he is going to kick your ass.
An extraordinary high-pulp potboiler, one that mixes elements of indigenous mysticism, Greek tragedy and rural revenge flicks, along with a genuinely showstopping centerpiece.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 88 User Ratings
5.2
34% Positive
30 Ratings
30 Ratings
36% Mixed
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
30% Negative
26 Ratings
26 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 88 User Ratings
5.2
34% Positive
30 Ratings
30 Ratings
36% Mixed
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
30% Negative
26 Ratings
26 Ratings
An incredibly subtle, dark, brooding, violent film that had me thinking about it for hours and days afterwards. Sure, my first reaction at the end of this film was "What the hell did I just watch?" but instead of stopping there and dismissing the movie as "dumb", "confusing" or "boring", I then set about answering that question for myself. Lurking just below the surface there is SO much to unpack thematically. Not every movie has to be 100% on the nose, hold-your-hand, obvious plot wrapped in a neat little bow. If this isn't your cup of tea, fine, but that doesn't make this a bad movie! I recommend watching this in the dark with the volume up, some of the dialogue is very soft and I found having the subtitles on helped quite a bit, if that doesn't bother you. I want to watch it again to see what I missed, and I also want to read the book. Any movie that makes me feel that way, and has me thinking about it long after it's over, is a success in my opinion!
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Its determined ambition and atmospheric skill keeps Saulnier firmly in the category of directors to watch.
It’s a brutal slog of a film, admirable in its fearlessness in terms of dark subject matter, but the brutality doesn’t feel worth it in the end.
While the shifts in genre, plot and location do prove intriguing for much of the film, they ultimately result in a feeling of mild dissatisfaction, the whole never quite the sum of its parts.
Wright is one of the great character actors working these days, and losing track of him and his character hurts the film.
Getting the chance to be an exceedingly dull stab at Elevated Horror, Elevated Thriller, and Elevated Action all in one fell swoop, Jeremy Saulnier’s Hold the Dark is nothing but a staggering failure in both the realm of art and entertainment.
It's amazing to me a movie of this quality can receive 4.7 on metacritic user reviews to 5.7 on imdb and to 68% on rotten tomatoes ratings while fast and the furious 7 and fate of the furious can each break 1 billion dollars. EACH! (Dr evil laugh). Insanity.
It actually reminds me of a eminem line from the new song the ringer "Maybe "Stan" just isn't your cup of tea (get it)
Maybe your cup's more just syrup and lean"
Meaning maybe the general public just don't like things where they have a long well crafted story that's told flawlessly and prefer the Instant gratification of something garbage like fast and the furious or in eminems case, mumble Rap.
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In some years I think this film will be seen as a setback for Jeremy Saulnier. A small one but certainly a setback and I don't say it because the quality of this film is questionable, because in reality it's not like that. I say it because even though we can notice his growth as a filmmaker and that this film is very different and bigger than ''Green Room'' to some extent ''Hold the Dark'' feels somewhat empty and extremely ambiguous.
The symbolism weighs on the film but never feels guided and the way it builds the mystery feels too weak despite the interesting premise and the conclusion doesn't really help to understand the concept of the whole story. Macon Blair disappointed a bit with this script to be honest.
Jeffrey Wright is the best actor in the film, not for nothing he appears alone in all the publicity while Alexander Skarsgård has his second consecutive film on Netflix where he barely leaves an impression while Riley Keough is painfully wasted.
Hold the Dark is not a bad film but I honestly expected something more, much more. Good for Netflix for giving it distribution and adding a good film to its catalog which is plagued with more poor quality than good quality. It will hardly be a memorable film but I think it's worth it.
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This movie is a huge miss, there is barely any plot to talk about, acting is quite boring and the plot twists makes no sense. Good photography and some really good action sequences, but they are not enough to save this pretentious mess.
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Simply, not a good movie. This began as an interesting thriller set against a breathtakingly dreary Alaska backdrop. It quickly morphed into a violent nonsensical wandering mess. Distant, dull and dreary characters mirrored the greyness of the Last Frontier. Ultimately, they managed a collective fade into the oblivion of a deeply boring and profoundly frustrating farcical tale.
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