Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
08-17-18, 12:14 PM
#1
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Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
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 home from the Iraq War, the news of his child’s death ignites a violent chain of events. As local cop, Donald Marium (JAMES BADGE DALE), races to stop Vernon’s vengeful rampage, Core is forced on a perilous odyssey into the heart of darkness.
Screenplay by Macon Blair (based on the book by William Giraldi)
Directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Hold the Dark will be released globally on Netflix on September 28th.
But when Medora’s husband Vernon (ALEXANDER SKARSGARD) returns home from the Iraq War, the news of his child’s death ignites a violent chain of events. As local cop, Donald Marium (JAMES BADGE DALE), races to stop Vernon’s vengeful rampage, Core is forced on a perilous odyssey into the heart of darkness.
Screenplay by Macon Blair (based on the book by William Giraldi)
Directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Hold the Dark will be released globally on Netflix on September 28th.
08-17-18, 12:34 PM
#3
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Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
This one has been a long time coming. Announced three years ago, and principal photography wrapped up 16 months ago. I'd honestly forgotten about it, so a nice surprise today. 
Noticed the premiere at the Toronto Film Festival will be on my birthday (9/12). Wish that was the day it premiered on Netflix also. Haha!
Noticed the premiere at the Toronto Film Festival will be on my birthday (9/12). Wish that was the day it premiered on Netflix also. Haha!
08-18-18, 01:33 AM
#4
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
Look out for the BIG BAD WOLF ya' all!
Contrary to popular belief (largely fueled by Hollywood), there is no record of wolves ever killing humans in the U.S.
Contrary to popular belief (largely fueled by Hollywood), there is no record of wolves ever killing humans in the U.S.
08-18-18, 07:34 AM
#5
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Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
While the premise for this sounds underwhelming, I have loved everything I have seen from Saulnier and Blair. Will definitely give this a shot!
08-21-18, 10:03 AM
#6
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Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
<iframe width="638" height="359" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OFAwDO6b5KI" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
08-21-18, 10:35 AM
#7
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Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._North_America
08-21-18, 12:54 PM
#8
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
Wikipedia would seem to disagree (though it is admittedly extremely rare).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._North_America
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._North_America
FWIW, I don't consider reported "attacks" from ~100+ years ago to be completely verified by medical/forensic authorities.
09-17-18, 10:35 AM
#9
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
Another TIFF screening. Very much in keeping with Saulnier's oeuvre, similarly dealing with extremes of violence in bleak and isolated communities, with "villains" in this case whose actual motivations and borderline animalistic behaviours remain somewhat indecipherable right to the end, thanks in part to the mystical hoo-doo that seems to be empowering them, though that's not necessarily a bad thing even if it probably makes Netflix the only viable option for this show, albeit somewhat frustratingly in consideration of the filmmakers' jump to a much larger and even more imposing landscape so well suited to big screen viewing. I do hope they'll let its producers release a DVD or Blu-ray with special features, as Saulnier and longtime cohort Macon Blair (who adapted this and plays a small role) have always proven to be very forthcoming in commentaries and interviews for previous films.
That trailer, incidentally, smartly leaves out the film's most impressive setpiece, a protracted, brutal and graphic shootout (in which Alexander Skarsgard's bitter aboriginal buddy Julian Black Antelope buys him some time by taking on a small army of cops, many ill-equipped for the experience) that proves beyond a doubt that Saulnier can handle an epic action sequence without making it feel gratuitous and inorganic to the plot.
Really good film, but like Saulnier's other works, I can see it leaving some viewers cold, perhaps even a bit more than usual.
I think Julian Black Antelope is the real discovery here, and ideally this should launch him into higher-profile productions assuming it doesn't end up buried and forgotten on Netflix like most everything that gets dumped there. He's been acting in fringe-y and unmemorable low-budget stuff for years, and had a decent recurring role up here on a TV series called Blackstone, but he's phenomenal in this and could easily play both aboriginal and non-aboriginal roles if casting directors put him to use wisely.
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My video of the TIFF Q&A is below. There's some interesting discussion from Saulnier and Blair once they move past the actors talking about how they "approached" their roles (such a bog standard film fest question, with mostly bog standard answers):
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MoVekw5AgQI" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
That trailer, incidentally, smartly leaves out the film's most impressive setpiece, a protracted, brutal and graphic shootout (in which Alexander Skarsgard's bitter aboriginal buddy Julian Black Antelope buys him some time by taking on a small army of cops, many ill-equipped for the experience) that proves beyond a doubt that Saulnier can handle an epic action sequence without making it feel gratuitous and inorganic to the plot.
Really good film, but like Saulnier's other works, I can see it leaving some viewers cold, perhaps even a bit more than usual.
I think Julian Black Antelope is the real discovery here, and ideally this should launch him into higher-profile productions assuming it doesn't end up buried and forgotten on Netflix like most everything that gets dumped there. He's been acting in fringe-y and unmemorable low-budget stuff for years, and had a decent recurring role up here on a TV series called Blackstone, but he's phenomenal in this and could easily play both aboriginal and non-aboriginal roles if casting directors put him to use wisely.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
My video of the TIFF Q&A is below. There's some interesting discussion from Saulnier and Blair once they move past the actors talking about how they "approached" their roles (such a bog standard film fest question, with mostly bog standard answers):
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MoVekw5AgQI" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Last edited by Brian T; 09-17-18 at 10:53 AM.
09-25-18, 02:14 PM
#10
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Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
Austin: https://t.co/5Z3TgKZlqn
— Jeremy Saulnier (@saulnier_jeremy) September 25, 2018
Brooklyn: https://t.co/toSVH4mk77
Manhattan: https://t.co/8tUfU0sQ7I
LA: https://t.co/bFg09rcS7q
Denver: https://t.co/G02HTi0dwm
San Francisco: https://t.co/3UT3EqeP5N
Woodbridge: https://t.co/aK9wyvvoUF@alamodrafthouse @IFCCenter @laemmlemonica
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
09-28-18, 07:09 AM
#12
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
Bump for "This is up on Netflix now."
09-28-18, 03:42 PM
#13
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
Having read nothing about it, only seeing the trailer, this movie really took me by surprise and kicked my ass. Go see it.
09-28-18, 09:24 PM
#16
Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
Okay...
Damn it, this movie turned out to be terribly stupid.
Last edited by Koby; 09-29-18 at 04:59 AM.
10-05-18, 10:57 AM
#17
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
I was a bit disappointed in this film. It might have been I set my expectations too high, as I love Saulnier's work (as well as Macon Blair's).
Even though Saulnier & Blair worked together on this film, with Blair adapting the William Giraldi novel, it isn't quite a hit on the level of Saulnier's solo work, Blair's solo work or their previous combined efforts.
Outside of Julian Black Antelope's fantastic performance, violence anchors this film and its overall intensity and sometimes sudden nature, helps wake up the film from the constant meandering it does. Though Blair & Saulnier were probably limited to keeping close to the source material, a narrative like this should be a fairly straight line to keep growing tensions & intensity gradual. There are too many times in this film we have a very tense moment that is quickly washed away by plodding & meandering by all characters involved.
Doesn't help that Riley Keough & Alexander Skarsgard, large Character focuses in the film, aren't all that interesting to begin with.
Last edited by asianxcore; 10-05-18 at 11:24 PM.
10-05-18, 07:03 PM
#18
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Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
Re: staying close to the book and the interest level of Keough and Skarsgard’s characters ...
I haven’t read the book, but from what I have read about it there is a huge plot element that the book beats you over the head with while the movie tucks it away into a few dark corners and leaves it hidden.
This certainly was not on the engaged storytelling level of Saulnier or Blair’s previous efforts, but it is still damn impressive on its technical merits. The story is tough to access. The viewer is dropped into the film with no bearings whatsoever. Unlike the previous works of Saulnier (and Blair), our characters are damaged to start with. We don’t know who to root for or why we should care. Every time you think you have a grasp on that, a new wrinkle unfolds. Because of this, and some stylistic choices, the work feels too challenging or incomplete for a viewer who doesn’t want to invest.
I still marvel at Saulnier’s use of violence and it is in full effect here. I don’t mind the use of violence as a story mechanism. But where I have ripped directors like Tarantino is for their cartoonish and immature handling of that mechanism. Saulnier is a master of grounding violence while still putting its gritty realness in your face. He doesn’t do it for shock value (or schlock value), rather he uses violence to punctuate the base nature of man. Like this film, the violence is just a fact — here it is: sloppy, brutal, and life altering.
I wish I had seen this on the big screen. Thumbs up from me.
I haven’t read the book, but from what I have read about it there is a huge plot element that the book beats you over the head with while the movie tucks it away into a few dark corners and leaves it hidden.
This certainly was not on the engaged storytelling level of Saulnier or Blair’s previous efforts, but it is still damn impressive on its technical merits. The story is tough to access. The viewer is dropped into the film with no bearings whatsoever. Unlike the previous works of Saulnier (and Blair), our characters are damaged to start with. We don’t know who to root for or why we should care. Every time you think you have a grasp on that, a new wrinkle unfolds. Because of this, and some stylistic choices, the work feels too challenging or incomplete for a viewer who doesn’t want to invest.
I still marvel at Saulnier’s use of violence and it is in full effect here. I don’t mind the use of violence as a story mechanism. But where I have ripped directors like Tarantino is for their cartoonish and immature handling of that mechanism. Saulnier is a master of grounding violence while still putting its gritty realness in your face. He doesn’t do it for shock value (or schlock value), rather he uses violence to punctuate the base nature of man. Like this film, the violence is just a fact — here it is: sloppy, brutal, and life altering.
I wish I had seen this on the big screen. Thumbs up from me.
11-23-18, 10:04 AM
#19
Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
Another violent intelligent thriller from the man who gave us Blue Ruin and Green Room.
4/5
4/5
12-02-18, 11:50 PM
#20
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
What a waste of 2 hours.
The movie sets up a huge who-done-it in the very beginning of the film and...completely fails to answer it.
Atmospheric a movie as you're ever going to see, but the screenwriter(s) ultimately ended up with 3/4 of a movie and called it a day when the going got tough.
It's too bad that some very fine acting was wasted here.
The movie sets up a huge who-done-it in the very beginning of the film and...completely fails to answer it.
Atmospheric a movie as you're ever going to see, but the screenwriter(s) ultimately ended up with 3/4 of a movie and called it a day when the going got tough.
It's too bad that some very fine acting was wasted here.
12-03-18, 05:15 AM
#21
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Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
No, they didn't.
Last edited by dex14; 12-03-18 at 10:03 AM.
12-03-18, 09:48 AM
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Re: Hold the Dark (2018, D: Saulnier) S: Wright, Skarsgård, Keough, Dale -- Netflix
If you were looking for the “who did it” you probably missed the point. Although I agree, it does set you up and point you on that path. However, that is not what the movie is about.
