Netflix adds underrated director's cold-blooded thriller — and it has an unexpected link to Apple TV Plus hit, Murderbot

For indie movie fans or lovers of powerful thrillers – or both – the name Jeremy Saulnier on a film is always a cause for celebration. It means heart-pounding, riveting stories and a skewed world where nothing is ever quite what it seems. Yet, strangely, he’s nowhere near as big as he should be. So the chance to see Hold The Dark on Netflix is unmissable.

Made for the streamer back in 2018, it’s full of Saulnier’s trademarks but also took him into new territory. A slow-burn wilderness thriller set in Alaska, it boasts a strong cast, with Riley Keogh as the mother of a young boy who disappears and everybody assumes he’s the victim of marauding wolves. She calls in an expert to get her son back. Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) is a man out of his comfort zone in the harsh landscape, quickly becoming aware of its inherent danger. When the boy’s father (Alexander Skarsgard) comes home after military service, he seems to resurrect something sinister in the town that translates into brutal violence.

This is an inhospitable place, where so much can kill – the brutal landscape, the cold and, of course, the people – so there’s a sense of threat right from the beginning and the characteristic Saulnier violence is ever-present, either lurking just below the surface or exploding into the open. The dark mystery, the intensity of the emotions and the bleak setting make for a film that grabs its audience and refuses to let go, and the performances from Wright and Skarsgard make that grip even stronger.

Saulnier’s sophomore feature, Blue Ruin (2013), caused ripples on the festival circuit so that fans of meaty thrillers already had their appetites whetted when it landed in cinemas. It didn’t disappoint, with its story of a mysterious stranger living out of his car whose quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home with vengeance on his mind. Plunged into being an assassin and finding himself lacking, he’s soon embroiled in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family. It was tough, it was bloody, it wasn’t as straightforward as it looked, and it went down a storm. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 96%.

Playing the ham-fisted stranger was Macon Blair, who went on to become a Saulnier regular. He was back in the director’s next film, the even bloodier Green Room (2015), but in a smaller role alongside the likes of Patrick Stewart and Imogen Poots. It all centred on a punk rock band finding themselves cornered in a neo-Nazi skinhead bar after they’ve witnessed a horrific murder. The killers weren’t about to let them go anywhere in what was more of a gory horror than Blue Ruin. But it also reinforced that Saulnier was a director to watch – and then some.

Last year saw him return to Netflix with one of the streamer’s biggest hits. The pulsating Rebel Ridge attracted over 31 million views over its first three days and a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This was a more commercial Saulnier using a familiar story, but viewing it from a different angle and turning our knuckles white in the process. It pitched former Marine Terry (the impressive Aaron Pierre) against local sheriff Don Johnson in a small, unwelcoming town. All Terry wants to do is post bail for his cousin and time is tight, but corruption, coupled with systemic racism, gets in his way and culminates in a showdown with the cop. The combination of the two actors promised fireworks and, boy, did we get them!

Compared to Rebel Ridge, Hold The Dark takes its time, allowing the strong cast to invest in developing their characters. For Alexander Skarsgard, who’s so memorable as the aggressive father, the role came just as he emerged as one of the most in-demand actors around. After the first series of Big Little Lies (2017) and then as a deeply racist husband in Rebecca Hall’s Passing (2021), he took on challenging roles, such as The Northman (2022), and was a recurring character in TV blockbuster, Succession (2021 – 2023). He’s now the star of another massive hit, Apple TV+s Murderbot, which was recently greenlit to return following a first season that attracted a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Set in a future where technology rules, the show and its appealing mix of comedy and sci-fi adventure puts the spotlight on a security robot who develops free will. He has to keep it hidden, so he joins a mission to protect scientists on another, much more dangerous planet. It goes against the grain. All he wants to do is binge-watch soaps, his favourite being Sanctuary Moon. By the time the season finale arrives, he’s embarking on his own personal mission to find out who he really is now that, at long last, has the freedom to do it.

It promises a thoughtful second season, one which gives Murderbot the chance to explore his own emotions and how he can reconcile them with killing people. Whether that’s the writers’ vision will no doubt emerge over the coming months, as well as a date for the show’s return. Late 2026 or early 2027 looks likely, but everything is very much under wraps. It’s not even been confirmed yet if Skarsgard will be back in that suit again, but he’s so crucial to the show and its popularity, it has to happen. And everybody’s hoping that Sanctuary Moon will be back as well.

Hold The Dark and Rebel Ridge are both on Netflix in the US and the UK.