User Reviews

Hold the Dark is an uncomfortable film from the very beginning, the kind that doesn’t try to please or guide the viewer by the hand. Jeremy Saulnier once again moves through the harsh territory he knows so well, where violence is neither stylized nor heroic, but dry, abrupt, and sometimes hard to digest. Everything here seems covered by a layer of cold, silence, and constant **** film moves forward with a strange, almost hypnotic rhythm. There are stretches that seem intent on losing the viewer, disorienting them, forcing an acceptance that not all answers will be provided. This is not a conventional thriller, nor does it pretend to be one. Saulnier blends genres, tones, and symbols freely, and that works both for and against the film. At times it fascinates; at others, it feels excessively hermetic.There is a sequence that changes everything and is impossible to forget: the machine-gun shootout, brutal and devastating, filmed with a coldness that chills the blood. It is one of those moments that justifies the film on its own, not because it is spectacular, but because of how radically uncomfortable it is. Violence shown without epic framing, without relief, without distance.Visually, the film is powerful. The frozen landscapes, the constant darkness, and the use of silence reinforce the feeling of a hostile, almost primitive world. The setting is not mere background, but an oppressive presence that shapes every decision and every gesture. Everything seems designed to remind us how small and fragile the characters are in the face of what surrounds **** is not Saulnier’s most rounded work, nor as direct as Green Room, and that may frustrate some viewers. But even when it doesn’t fully come together, Hold the Dark remains an intense, disturbing, and deeply personal experience. A film that does not try to please everyone, but one that leaves a mark.

Weird dead-pan acting does not project intended menace. Good actors wasted. It is like buying a jigsaw puzzle with 40% parts missing by design. That is insulting to the paying viewer. When writing fails, gimmics like not telling parts of the story are used to blind the viewer with no intention of delivering even the merest pretense of a storyline and context. Uncontexted characters slammed in and out. Insane patterns of behaviour, not realistic.

An above average film with some darkly atmospheric moments. Quite depressing overall, but the direction is decent enough to carry the film. I liked the setting, and the acting was ok, although there wasn't much to challenge any of the actors. Not sure I'd watch it again though, due to the story.

Slow burn, but its got an original yet familiar flavor. Wind River rings a bell as does the most recent True Detective (which ****). There's a dreamy quality throughout the film. Every character seems to be plodding to a kown ending they see but can't escape. The plot is a bit thin, though and I would've liked a little more detail on the whys.

A film with answers but beware; the themes moving the plot is human nature, revenge, and the line between loyalty and resentment. Indigenous mysticism, and supernatural elements don't need to be goofy cgi fests when you have real life experiences that already make the world a dark place and ultimately the effects on communities.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Adventure film adaptation of the 2018 book making. The children of women officers in the army in the Middle East husband lived in Alaska disappearing. Woman says she missed the children's book by wolves and researchers concerned with the wolves or wolf calling to find his son. Man finds worms, but does not believe kidnapped their child. While the injured woman's husband sacked and sent home. Wolves man coming home finds no women at home this time and the child's body. So far I've written most normal portions. After turning into chaos. The movie has some scenes containing nudity places. I think prior to making sense of the film's useful to read the book.

Nonsense violence at its finest. In almost 30 years of watching movies, I think I've never seen so much 'murica like in this movie. Plot is practically absent. Rhytm is so slow, trying to be dramatic, making you cringe everytime something happens. Directing is TERRIBLE, a mix of your average american action movie and some type of "The Revenant" landscapish frames. Couldn't even finish the damn movie because of being bored, disgusted by the nonsense and the "this doesn't have any mentionable plot but we're going to stretch it for 2 hours". Not many movies can get awarded like this, for me. Good job america!

I made a Metacritic account just to give this movie a negative rating. Don't get me wrong, the cinematography and action sequences are pretty good (hence the score). The first part of the movie is actually okay, hooking you up to the story. The story is dumb. Like really dumb. And I will not accept the usual excuse of "it has deeper meaning and symbolism". The characters are so confusing, not the good type of "confusing" as like a puzzle, but more like a messy and irritating "confusing". The motives of the characters are baffling. It is so bad at the end of the movie I felt insulted by the story of this movie. Save your time, check out other movies. The director made other good movies, you should check them out.

Another one of those drawn-out films where the actors just stand there, blank faced, no body language and you can't hear a bloody word any of them are saying cause they're all whispering and mumbling under their breath! The whole movie had a slow, almost lethargic feel to it. There's some beautiful scenery to take in - that's about the most interesting part of this film. The rest of it was a bore!

What starts out as a promising thriller slips into a confused and chaotic mess by the end.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Terrible. Slow and non-sensical. 2 hours of my life I'll never get back. And it felt like 4.

Film çok yavaş ilerliyor ve 2 saat 5 dakika geçmek bilmedi bi yerindeki aksiyon sahnesi güzeldi gerisi çok basit hikayeside anlamsiz yani izlemeye gerek yok boşuna zaman öldürürsünüz 4 puanda bir çatışma sahnesine birde baştaki ufak gerilime veriyorum

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

A confusing, boring movie with some decently strong performances as well as a couple surprising turns. I know that contradicts, but that's how I feel.

Terrible story, terrible characters, etc. One of the characters is supposed to be a soldier. The writer has no idea how the Armed Forces works. The characters betray conflicting interests. This story could have been about the struggle of people against nature. Unfortunately, the writers have some weird fetish.

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!

Ένα αλλόκοτο, σκοτεινό, δραματικό και έντονα ατμοσφαιρικό ταξίδι. Το «Hold the Dark» είναι σίγουρα κάτι παραπάνω από ένα απλό και συνηθισμένο φιλμ τρόμου...

Eric from True Blood, who I enjoy watching when he's naked, kills everyone who crosses his path when he pursues his meandering wife after she butchered their only child. For revenge? Nope. He's just that hot for her and what she did. ... Most offensive movie of 2018.

This film has very few things that made me watch it until the end. I've started watching it on a train journey. If I had a choice of another film, I'd turn this off after the first 15 minutes, at which point I've realized that the plot is going nowhere interesting, acting is subpar and the kinematographs characteristic of the films set in a beautiful, natural setting are replaced with dark, confusing scenes in which the viewer learns nothing. I pressed on. The storyline continued to be awful. We are treated with scenes that at first glance appear like they are going to add to some slowly resolving, clever plot, but you'd be disappointed if you expected anything but more confusing scenes down the line that not only add nothing but are actually dull to watch. The bits where I was actually captivated were the few snippets of action, but that to me only highlights how mindless I found the entire experience. At the end of the film, it's implied that we ought to have found some resolution and understanding of the film, but I have no idea how anyone would expect anyone to put together a picture from this scattered missing pieces jigsaw puzzle of a plot. I have a weakness for the stunning scenery, but even that was kind of neglected. There was very little in a way of shots of the eerie, wonderful world surrounding the events of the film, but it appeared in the background, teasing greater exposure. I remember watching the Hateful Eight and enjoying the drowned out moments where the setting is exposed for us to enjoy in its slow transformation. Overall I was not only disappointed, but I was also bored and frustrated. Awful film, watch something else.

فيلم رتيب و مضجر و لا انصح بمشاهدته فكرة الفيلم مقبولة نوعا ما و لكن التنفيذ دون المأمول

What I took from this movie is an interesting concept. It was like downgrading humans to their instincts. Nature isn't "evil", so the characters in this movie aren't either - if they follow the same rules as animals - and they are animals. The problem is I don't know what kind of movie I've watched. Was it a story about genetically inherited mental illness or a dark fairytale about mythical creatures living among us. I prefer the second option as it is easier to swallow. But even then the film seems to be a bit pointless, because as an entertainment it's too slow and too vage. The atmosphere is great, the actors do a great job, the cinematography is beautiful, but the story haven't got a necessary impact to be considered worth watching. It's like an artsy-fartsy version of a B-movie. Average score from me. Mediocre movie with an interesting / half realised concept.

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.

Like his previous films, Saulnier's 'Hold the Dark' is expertly crafted and well acted, however that's about as far as the praise goes. The film lacks a hook that rewards re-viewing. It's difficult to root for the characters as they are about as cold and lifeless as the place the film is set in, with their motivations cryptic at best, and downright illogical and stupid at most. In conclusion Saulnier brakes a few of his own tropes with regards to suspense and realism, and I doubt many viewers will feel that their two hours of viewing was worth it.

This movie was horrible. A complete waste of time. I consider myself pretty good at understanding the underlying meaning of movies but not this one. No point to it at all. Don't waste your time. Netflix needs to do better than this at original content.

I watched Hold The Dark last evening and I have to say it's just Ehhh. I wanted to start liking it more, but it just didn't come together for me. I think Netflix has to have the attitude they want to make good movies and not just movies that there is lots of killing with a really, really bad plot line.

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.

A very well-filmed movie. Very atmospheric, and featuring actors who I thought did a good job pretty much across the board. The actual plot, such as it is, doesn't really go anywhere. The entire movie transitions from a thriller to violent pulp to I'm not sure what, and ends up as nothing more than a vehicle for symbolism. I don't like that. Symbolism is well and good, but you can fit it into a movie that tells a coherent story. I just felt vacant and a bit drained after watching this. Maybe that's the point, but I'm not sure why it should be.

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.

What was the point of this movie? Gratuitous murder? Netflix needs to stop adding pointless movies/series to its library.

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.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]