Hold the Dark

In a remote Alaskan settlement during winter, a wolf expert named Russell Core is asked by Medora Slone to track down the animals she believes took her young son. Her husband, Vernon, is away serving in the Iraq War, and she wants the wolf found before he returns. What begins as a hunt becomes something stranger, as Core finds himself drawn into the lives of the people in the village and into events he cannot easily explain.

Jeremy Saulnier directed the film, working from a screenplay by Macon Blair, and it stands between Blue Ruin and Green Room in one direction and Rebel Ridge and Slayground in the other among the films he has directed. Jeffrey Wright plays Core, with Riley Keough as Medora, Alexander Skarsgård as Vernon, James Badge Dale as the police officer Donald Marium, and Julian Black Antelope and Tantoo Cardinal in supporting roles. The production was a Canadian, American and Swiss effort, with Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani and Eva Maria Daniels producing.

Reception was mixed. On IMDb the film holds a rating of 5.6 from roughly 43,000 votes, and on TMDB it sits at 5.5 from about 1,073 votes, while a critics' rating of 6.5 from 83 reviews places professional assessments somewhat above the general audience response. The film runs 125 minutes and blends crime, mystery and thriller elements.