Hold the Dark 2018

In the frigid December of 2004, Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright), a keen observer of wolf behavior and writer by trade, receives an urgent summons from Medora Slone (Riley Keough) to the remote village of Keelut, Alaska. His mission: to track down the wolves rumored to be responsible for the disappearance and presumed deaths of three young children, including Medora’s 6-year-old son, Bailey. As Core settles into the Slone residence, he engages in a poignant conversation with Medora about the vanished youngsters, during which she shares her knowledge of a nearby hot springs.

That same night, Core is startled by the soft whispers and gentle lapping of water as Medora bathes in secrecy. Her nocturnal ritual culminates in her removing a dark wooden wolf mask and drawing near to Core, her movements deliberate and calculated. As she lies beside him, her touch is forceful yet controlled.

Meanwhile, Medora’s husband, Vernon Slone (Alexander Skarsgård), is deployed in the midst of chaos in Iraq, where he is shown to be merciless in his efficiency as a soldier. A chance encounter with an American soldier brutally assaulting a local woman prompts Vernon to take matters into his own hands, striking down the perpetrator and leaving the victim with a means to exact revenge. The sudden outbreak of gunfire at their checkpoint leaves Vernon wounded but ultimately sent back home.

As Core sets out to track the wolves, he encounters Illanaq, an elderly native woman who offers guidance and warning: Medora is tainted by an evil force that permeates her very being. Core’s journey takes him to the hot springs, where he bears witness to a pack of wolves devouring their own young; his compassion prevents him from taking aim at them, and he returns to Keelut with a heavy heart.

Upon arriving back in town, Core discovers Medora missing, leaving behind an unlocked cellar door that serves as a grim harbinger. The discovery of Bailey’s frozen, lifeless body in the cellar prompts Core’s urgent call for help. The authorities investigate, while the local native community whispers tales of Medora being possessed by a malevolent entity known as a tournaq.

As Vernon returns to Keelut, he is met by his old friend and fellow parent, Cheeon (Julian Black Antelope), who drives him to meet with Police Chief Donald Marium (James Badge Dale) and Core at the morgue. Following their departure, Vernon brutally eliminates the remaining officers and coroner. He then claims Bailey’s lifeless body alongside Cheeon, entombing it in a pine box marked with symbols etched in their own blood. In a gruesome turn of events, Vernon returns to Keelut, seeking out Illanaq before striking her down as well.

As the eerie silence of Keelut settles over the desolate landscape, a sense of foreboding permeates the air. Chief Cheeon’s stubborn refusal to cooperate with the authorities culminates in a brutal display of violence as he unleashes a hail of gunfire from his M60 machine gun, leaving a trail of carnage in its wake. Marium, undaunted by the chaos, flanks the building and delivers a precision shot that brings Cheeon’s reign of terror to an end.

Meanwhile, Vernon’s peculiar journey takes him to an isolated inn, where he encounters John, an elderly hunter with a deep understanding of the human condition. The hunter’s words of wisdom, laced with a hint of wolf-oil, resonate deeply with Vernon, who subsequently dons a mask and commits a gruesome act of violence against his benefactor. Wounded in the ensuing chaos, Vernon seeks the expertise of Shan, an old acquaintance who promptly extracts the bullet from his shoulder.

As the authorities close in on Medora’s whereabouts, Core and Marium theorize that she may have been driven to eliminate Bailey as a means of saving him from a life of darkness. Their investigation leads them to the nearby hot springs, where they posit that Medora might have gone to cleanse her soul. United in their quest to capture Medora before Vernon does, they set out on a perilous journey into the heart of the wilderness.

Vernon’s subconscious, however, has other plans. Haunted by a dream in which he and Medora bask together in the warm waters of the hot springs, he awakens with a newfound sense of purpose. As he overhears Shan’s warning to the authorities about his presence, Vernon dons the mask once more and strikes again, this time claiming Shan as his victim.

The police force is torn asunder, with half responding to the crime scene at Shan’s house and the other half converging on the hot springs in a desperate bid to apprehend Medora. Marium, ever vigilant, finds herself face-to-face with Vernon, who fires an arrow that shatters her neck. Core, undeterred by the carnage unfolding around him, presses onward, hoping to intercept Vernon at the hot springs.

There, he finds Medora, and his attempt to apprehend her is met with a similar fate as Marium’s. As Vernon prepares to deliver the final blow, Medora’s intuition proves prophetic, and she disarms Vernon by removing the mask from his face. With their bond now unencumbered, they embrace as Core lies unconscious, the victim of yet another brutal act of violence in this desolate landscape.

As the darkness begins to lift from his eyes, Core slowly comes to, his battered body a testament to the brutal force that had struck him down mere moments before. The arrow, now freed from its deadly trajectory, is carefully extracted by Vernon, who then departs with Medora, leaving Core’s fragile form in their wake. Outside, the harsh landscape unfolds like a unforgiving canvas, as Core crawls forth from the cave’s shadows to face the unforgiving gaze of a pack of wolves. Yet, fate intervenes once more, as a father-son duo arrives on the scene, their snowmobile a beacon of hope in the frozen wilderness. As they whisk Core away to their cozy cabin for much-needed care, Vernon’s mother looks on with a mixture of concern and curiosity. Meanwhile, in a stark juxtaposition to the warmth and compassion that surrounds him, Vernon is seen digging up Bailey’s grave alongside Medora, the somber atmosphere punctuated only by the creaking of their shovel-blade as they slowly exhume the coffin from its snowy tomb. And so, Core’s journey takes a dramatic turn, as he awakens in a hospital bed, his daughter Amy standing vigil beside him, her eyes shining with a mix of worry and love.