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Hold the Dark

2018

Jeremy Saulnier

Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Beckam Crawford ...

5.0

3,340

Thriller 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 develops between the two lonely souls. But when Medora’s husband Vernon (Alexander Skarsgard) returns ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Andrew Barker Variety	"Boasting the sort of shocking brutality and unnerving menace that has become Saulnier’s signature, 'Hold the Dark' is also a strangely seductive film"	POS
United Kingdom	Benjamin Lee The Guardian	"It’s a pleasure to see Wright (...) Saulnier’s film is filled with so much, too much, even, and given that a lot of it works, it’s frustrating that a lot of it doesn’t (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United States	Keith Uhlich The Hollywood Reporter	"You know you're in the hands of a born filmmaker from the first scene of 'Hold the Dark'"	POS
United States	Eric Kohn IndieWire	"With 'Hold the Dark', he continues that fascinating hodgepodge approach, transforming the eerie backdrop of the Alaskan wilderness into an expansive playground for various genre tropes."	POS
United States	Sam Fragoso The Wrap	"This chilly Netflix crime drama feels like a letdown (...) A thriller that starts strong before running out of gas (...) Although the actors are all unequivocally gifted, no one shines"	NEG
United Kingdom	Tim Grierson Screendaily	"Saulnier is broadening his ambitions, niftily executing each of the surprises in Blair’s screenplay (...) A thriller that reverberates with the feral bleakness of the characters’ surroundings"	POS
United States	Brian Tallerico rogerebert.com	"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 (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"	NEU
United States	Ethan Vestby The Film Stage	"[It] is nothing but a staggering failure in both the realm of art and entertainment"	NEG
United States	Joe Lipsett Bloody Disgusting	"A challenging, fascinating film, but not quite the slam dunk that fans of Saulnier, particularly those who favored the more straightforward 'Green Room', were likely hoping for (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	David Crow Den of Geek	"[It is] so effectively executed that I am confident there is an audience who will embrace its obtuseness. Unlike 'Green Room', I am left mixed on the choice of having shined a light into this enigmatic dark (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United States	Vince Mancini Hitfix	"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."	POS

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