Top 100 Most Anticipated American Indie Films of 2018: #14. Jeremy Saulnier’s Hold the Dark

Hold the Dark

Prior to launching into Season 3 of True Detective, it appeared that we would have had had the chance to see Jeremy Saulnier ‘s fourth feature drop sometime late last year, but good things come to those who wait and perhaps this means the Croisette. Known for what I call his “visceral experiences, a knack for third acts that turn into delirious, uncommon tonal atmospheric twists”, Hold the Dark is much larger production than Blue Ruin (2013) and Green Room (2015) combined and in terms of landscape probably provided the filmmaker with quite the challenge.

Starring cool kids Alexander Skarsgård, Riley Keough, James Badge Dale, Jeffrey Wright, this is written by Macon Blair and adapted from William Giraldi’s 2014 novel by the same name. Set in the Alaskan wilderness, is about family and fate. The story revolves around a child taken from his village by a pack of wolves and an expert hunter is called in to track them down and kill them. He finds himself confronting not only the cruelty of Mother nature but also his own failings. As the child’s grief-crazed father follows behind him, it becomes unclear who is really being hunted. We didn’t care much for Wind River, perhaps this Magnus Nordenhof Jønck photographed thriller is best for our taste buds.

Release Date/Prediction: We were surprised that this didn’t drop at Sundance, so Cannes is a likely candidate with Saulnier having previously preemed his lat two outings. Netflix will distribute.