Psychological thrillers haven’t come much more psychological or thrilling than those of director Jeremy Saulnier and writer Macon Blair in the past few years. The first trailer for their Netflix film Hold the Dark does not look to have changed that formula all that much – except maybe to continue their upward trajectory.
Saulnier has worked with Blair on the fantastic indie features Blue Ruin and Green Room, while the latter has already written and directed a Netflix Original film of his own with last year’s underrated dark comedy I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore. If the trailer is any indication for what to expect from their newest collaboration – for the first time in a director/writer partnership – then Hold the Dark looks set to get even darker and even more grim.
Retired naturalist and wolf expert Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) journeys to the edge of civilisation 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 Skarsgård) 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.
Hold the Dark premieres globally on Netflix on 28th September 2018 and you can check out the full trailer below.