‘Slice’ and ‘Hold the Dark’ trailers promise thrilling wolf hunts

Who let the wolves out?

This August day is already heated, what with news about Michael Cohen and Bond 25, but that’s no cue for A24 and Netflix to turn down the fire. Both Austin Vesely’s horror-comedy and Jeremy Saulnier’s crime-suspense have introduced new footage, and, simply put, excitement is through the roof.

In what might have been pitched as “Goosebumps featuring Domino as staff member of a lower-tier Domino’s,” Slice tells the supernatural and whimsical story of pizza-delivery girl Astrid (Zazie Beetz) investigating the murders of her male colleagues in the small town of Kingfisher. “It all started when the werewolf came back to town,” she said, alluding to the bloodshed and the appearance of a portal to hell.

What?

Things are still cryptic, as it should be, though signs are pointing toward the beast being Dax Lycander (Chance the Rapper, in his film debut), who knows not his real self despite that last name. Honestly, who knows? Red herrings are as plenty as pepperoni in this plucked-from-Thriller world — that echoing narration is one thing, the presence of a well-haired Stranger Things alum is another (Joe Keery).

There is yet a date to get this Slice of the pie. It better be in 30 minutes or less; world peace is dependent on that new soundtrack from Ludwig Göransson (of Black Panther) and Nathan Matthew David.

Based on the novel by William Giraldi, the Green Room director’s latest (also) focuses on disappearances in an isolated setting that are (also) believed to have been orchestrated by hostile Maugrims. Or a wolf mask-wearing wer…

“So you’ve come to kill it? To kill the one that took him?” said Medora Sloane (Riley Keough) to writer Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright), the man/outside help she believes can find out what has happened to her son. It won’t be easy, however, as collectively out to complicate Core’s search are Medora’s war-ridden husband (Alexander Skarsgård), reclusive villagers, the predator-infested Alaskan wilderness and, of course, the twisted culprit.

In an interview with Empire, Saulnier said Hold the Dark introduces him to many career firsts, one of them being “highest body count.” Jeez. Then again, it all lines up — the title denotes this is, thus far, the shadiest hue in Saulnier’s filmography.

The filmmaker’s frequent collaborator, actor Macon Blair, is writing the screenplay.

Hold the Dark, after departing A24, will show up on Netflix Sept. 28. The film will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival Sept. 12.

For more on the films, as well as coverage from TIFF, stay with The Young Folks.

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