Once the stakes are defined on a town-wide scale, with horrific results, a comedown to a more personal place between Russell and Vernon is a harder sell - all the more so since it isn’t really personal. But after a central act of expressive, defiant destruction, the film never again reaches the same peak. At other times, it’s a breathtaking action film, playing out with intense urgency. Hold the Dark is comparatively slow, sometimes to the point of feeling meditative and melancholy about its action.
That’s a problem for the story because events move entirely outside of Russell’s control, and they don’t always move with Saulnier’s usual sense of tension.
