Review of Hold the Dark

I had been looking forward to this movie ever since I saw the trailer for it and it didn't disappoint. It's not a fast paced movie but there are some really shocking and unexpected moments. It also has a compelling mysteruousness about it that kept me watching and wanting to know more. Riley Keough is enchanting and eerie with an air of uncertainty. Skarsgaard puts in a real confident performance maybe the best I've seen from him. The movie does a great job in portraying the harshness of the terrain the locals live in without making things seem overly bleak. The glory shots of the Calgary mountains and forests throughout are a real treat. This is not a happy movie but it is certainly good. More of a thriller than a drama in my eyes, unexpected twists here and there and some very violent scenes. It is a fairly long movie and demands a person's full attention. Not one for light drama movie lovers. The reasons for me giving it a 7 out of 10 and not higher is due to the feeling of some of the dialogue being a bit unnecessary, 15 to 20 minutes could have been taken out of it no problem. Also some scenes were almost a little too real and dark I had to look away. This movie is not too dissimilar to the revenant in its flow (the storylines are not the same). It is worth a go for people who like a dark gritty drama thriller.