Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s latest role is reminding us all that the Oscar winner has no interest in playing it safe.
Randolph is set to star in Hold the Devil, a high-concept action-horror thriller opposite Demián Bichir — and if the premise is anything to go by, this is another role that shows her range.
Directed by Álex de la Iglesia (The Day of the Beast) and written by Joe Barton (Black Doves, The Ritual), the film follows Randolph as Sara Myall, a police officer who arrives at an abandoned show home on the Texas border with security guard Henry Campos, played by Bichir, to investigate a routine break-in. Inside they find a wounded mother and her ten-year-old son Gio, who have just crossed the Mexican border seeking shelter. The situation turns lethal fast. A murderous cartel leader named Marcus arrives demanding the boy — and it becomes clear Gio is no ordinary child. He carries a dark supernatural power that Marcus wants for himself. Trapped inside as gang members close in, Sara and Campos face an impossible choice: hand the boy over, or fight their way out.
Director Iglesia summed it up simply, calling Randolph and Bichir actors of “extraordinary presence and emotional intelligence,” and framing the film as action and horror that feels “cinematic and deeply human.” Protagonist CEO Dave Bishop put it more bluntly: “Let the carnage be unleashed.”
Hold the Devil is being launched this week in the Cannes market by Protagonist Pictures, with CAA Media Finance handling domestic rights. The film is produced by Two & Two Pictures, Fifth Season, and Pokeepsie Films.
For those still catching up on Da’Vine Joy Randolph — here is where she has been.
She arrived on Broadway in 2012 as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost, earning a Tony nomination straight out of the gate. Film work followed steadily — Dolemite Is My Name, The United States vs. Billie Holiday — each one adding another layer. Then The Holdovers happened. Her performance as Mary Lamb, a grieving mother working at a New England prep school, won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and a spot on Time magazine’s 100 most influential people list in 2024.
Since then she has not paused once. Bride Hard, Shadow Force, Eternity, and most recently The Gallerist premiered at Sundance this year.
Hold the Devil is next. And if there is one thing her career has made clear, it is that whatever room Da’Vine Joy Randolph walks into — she owns it.