Imagine if the band Agalloch made a movie...

...that’s pretty much “Hold the Dark” (there’s even a snippet from an Agalloch-like band in the movie).

For those thinking about seeing it (no spoilers), this is a combination mystery/drama/adventure/thriller/horror. It’s original, unpredictable and dead serious with elements of movies like “The Grey," “Runaway Train," “Wendigo” (2001), “The Frozen Ground," “The North Star," “Joyride” (1977) and “The Edge," not to mention “Apocalypse Now” (or Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness) and even a little from the “Friday the 13th” franchise, albeit without the goofiness.

It’s based on the book by William Giraldi and some viewers have complained that key revelations weren’t obvious enough in the film. Well, I never read the book and wasn’t able to figure out these revelations, but this didn’t prevent me from appreciating this artistic nigh masterpiece. Afterward, I looked-up the revelations and they put the pieces of the puzzle together; yet the clues are all there (in the movie) if you watch closely. My wife watched it separately and was able to figure out the key 'twist.' But, again, not being able to figure out every detail did NOT prevent me from valuing this great movie.

My grade: 8.5/10