Title – Strange Darling (2023) 

Director – JT Mollner (Outlaws and Angels) 

Cast – Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Ed Begley Jr., Barbara Hershey

Plot – Coming together on one fateful night, The Lady (Fitzgerald) and The Demon (Gallner) come face to face with a violent serial killer unafraid of letting their rage get the better of them.  

“The purist, most primal kind can hit you like a wave”

Review by Eddie on 25/10/2024

Reading the synopsis or watching the trailer for JT Mollner’s horror/thriller Strange Darling would likely lead to eagle-eyed viewers and keen cinematic pundits declaring they know what type of film they are about to watch but there’s high chances that they would be proved wrong by a film that subverts expectations across it’s wild 90 minute runtime. 

Generating a fair amount of hype across festival runs in late 2023, Mollner’s critically lauded audience favourite has finally found its way into the broader marketplace in the latter stages of 2024 and while it was never going to be a film fit for mass market consumption, Moller’s unique take on an otherwise well-trodden sub-genre is sure to become a significant cult film champion in the incoming years. 

A film that is best left mostly undescribed by reviewers that can on too frequent of an occasion delve far to deeply into plot points and story explainers when tackling their film takes, Darling takes place across 6 chapters that occur in non-sequential order as Mollner explores Willa Fitzgerald’s The Lady and Kyle Gallner’s The Demon’s fateful meeting in a rural setting that is being haunted by a violent serial killer active in the area. 

An experience that is best viewed as blind as possible, there’s no spoiler in saying that Mollner goes for a huge swing with his unrelenting offering that isn’t afraid to get pitch black dark across its quickfire journey that is wonderfully shot by of all people renowned actor Giovanni Ribisi, who shot in a stunning 35 mm film for his D.O.P debut, and performed by Fitzgerald and Gallner in what are likely to be huge stepping stone turns to the next big roles in their careers. 

Known mostly for her TV work, Fitzgerald is a revelation here as The Lady and her turn in Mollner’s end product is easily one of the years most memorable and with strong support from Gallner, who’s been quietly building over the past few years in projects such as Dinner in America and Smile, Darling offers up a great chance to see two rising stars ply their trade with guidance from a director who is likely to get offered some high profile gigs based off this effort. 

Far from a perfect film, there are some plot developments, character decisions and scripting choices that don’t all land the way one might have hoped, Darling is nevertheless a wildly entertaining ride that does something fresh and unique with an otherwise stale-seeming premise, creating one of the years most impressive indie releases. 

Final Say – 

A film destined for the cult-fandom hall of fame, Strange Darling marks down a noteworthy moment in the careers of its director and stars who are all likely to benefit greatly from their work in this unashamedly confrontational outing. 

3 1/2 Sunday breakfasts out of 5