Hold the Dark

Jeremy Saulnier joins fellow visionary indie and foreign directors Susanne Bier, David Mackenzie, Dan Gilroy, Dee Rees, and Gina Prince-Bythewood in making a completely forgettable Netflix movie. With a script by frequent collaborator Macon Blair, based on William Giraldi’s novel, Saulnier forgoes the intensity of action and intelligent themes found in his micro-budgeted Blue Ruin and phenomenally thrilling A24 release Green Room in favor of a generic, somber wilderness action picture with laughable supernatural preoccupations. Memo to filmmakers: Scary masks aren't scary anymore; come up with something new. Saulnier gets to stage some solid action scenes—something he's great at—but everyone in this cast seems like they were sedated every morning before shooting, and the various character motivations are beyond ridiculous.