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Hold the Dark

Play trailer 2:07 Poster for Hold the Dark TV-MA 2018 2h 5m Mystery & Thriller Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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69% Tomatometer 83 Reviews 33% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Summoned to a remote Alaskan village to search for the wolves that killed three children, a wolf expert soon finds himself unraveling a harrowing mystery.
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Hold the Dark

Hold the Dark

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Critics Consensus

Hold the Dark's unsettling aesthetic offers more of what filmgoers expect from director Jeremy Saulnier - and is often enough to prop up shaky narrative underpinnings.

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Critics Reviews

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Adam Kempenaar Filmspotting Holding the dark - embracing it within, or keeping it away - is what all of Saulnier's films are about. Rated: 3.5/5 Oct 29, 2018 Full Review Brad Newsome Sydney Morning Herald A grim, unsettling and ultimately forgettable Netflix horror flick that has a surprisingly high daytime body count for something that takes place mostly in the dark night of the Alaskan winter. Oct 10, 2018 Full Review Robert Daniels 812filmreviews Saulnier's lens has become more defined and his pursuit of the shot intenser...Saulnier's pursuit of the shot gives the film not just an authenticity, but encapsulates the mood of the adapted screenplay. Rated: 3/4 Oct 4, 2018 Full Review Vadim Rizov Filmmaker Magazine Nearly two hours long and smothered in portent, this is either just no fun or straight-up overwrought. Jan 4, 2023 Full Review Taylor Baker Drink in the Movies Episode 11: Moving On Rated: 90/100 Sep 1, 2021 Full Review Dan Buffa KSDK News (St. Louis) Wright looks confused the entire film, things get very weird late, and at the end, you are depressed and wondering what you watched. Nov 10, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Matt L I had low expectations but really enjoyed this film. Dark, intense, strange in parts. It held my attention throughout and I thought Jeffrey Wright especially was superb. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/01/25 Full Review David E Acting and production were good. Story and especially ending were bad. Just dark and meaningless. This is why it's my goal to always check RottenTomatoes first, to spare myself from the obviously bad ones. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/19/25 Full Review Brandon W I don't know what I watched. What the point or the moral of the story was. So many seemingly senseless murders for next to no reason. You accept it early on in the movie because you think the narrative will eventually reveal the motivations. That moment NEVER comes. I just recently moved back to the lower states from Alaska and this movie did nothing but remind me of why I hated it so much. Just a miserable, dark, depressing, downer of a movie with absolutely no pay off. I guess the acting was good but everyone is either befuddled or speaking in riddles the entire movie. Halfway through it just becomes too much. The machine gun standoff was probably the only thing I'll praise in this movie. You can just skip this one. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/26/25 Full Review Matthew H A confusing slow burn only redeeming quality is the acting and James badge dales machine gun ambush Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/13/25 Full Review Justin W What kind of long winding drama is this? There so much unneeded things that nobidy ask for. Ended with funny Christmas song... Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/18/25 Full Review Bright S Absolutely love this movie. A weird, noir piece work interesting metaphor interspersed. And Jeffrey Wright did an excellent job! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/23/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Hold the Dark

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Movie Info

Synopsis Summoned to a remote Alaskan village to search for the wolves that killed three children, a wolf expert soon finds himself unraveling a harrowing mystery.
Director
Jeremy Saulnier
Producer
Eva Maria Daniels, Russell Ackerman, John Schoenfelder, Anish Savjani, Neil Kopp
Screenwriter
Macon Blair
Production Co
Film Science, Addictive Pictures, Netflix
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 28, 2018
Runtime
2h 5m
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