Hold the Dark

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2:07

Hold the Dark

TV-MA

2018

2h 5m

Mystery & Thriller

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

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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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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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

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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

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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

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Sam S

Weird and boring at the same time, story might be ok if it was developed properly. Didn’t care at all about any of the characters poorly made.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/28/25

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Jeremy Saulnier

Director

Jeffrey Wright

Russell Core

Alexander Skarsgård

Vernon Sloane

James Badge Dale

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Hold the Dark: Trailer 1

2:07

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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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