by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, Ed Begley Jr, Steven Michael Quezada, Giovanni Ribisi
Intro:
… not quite as good as the effusive online praise from Stephen King and director Mike Flanagan would have you believe, Strange Darling is nonetheless a fresh, original and very tense thriller with two excellent leads and style galore.
Some movies are a challenge to talk about. Not because of their intricate complexity, or lofty, dizzying themes, but rather, due to the fact that the experience of watching them is more enjoyable the less that you know. Ol’ mate M Night Shyamalan’s films often fall into this category, as do many horror flicks, and so does the subject of this review, Strange Darling.
Pitched as a serial killer thriller, Strange Darling is an exciting, engaging and twisty cat-and-mouse yarn with plenty of tension, atmosphere and a couple of superb lead performances. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you should probably close your tab and nip down to the cinema to see it.
If, however, you’d like to know a little bit more, keep reading, we’ll tread as lightly as we can.
Strange Darling is essentially a two-hander in six chapters (and an epilogue) told in a non-linear fashion. We begin in media res, about halfway through the story, with The Demon (Kyle Gallner) chasing The Lady (Willa Fitzgerald) down a desolate road. After some tense action, we move back and forth in time, re-contextualising each prior moment and gaining a better understanding of what’s happening and, perhaps more importantly, why it’s happening. Regardless, one thing is clear: The Demon and The Lady are having an all-timer of a bad date and it’s highly unlikely they’ll both survive to the end of the film.
Strange Darling has a lot going for it. Shot on gorgeous 35mm, it’s absolutely dripping with atmosphere and features two truly stunning performances from Gallner and Fitzgerald, with the latter providing one of the most game, fearless turns in recent genre film memory. It also boasts a clever script from director JT Mollner, with plenty of twists and sly manipulations to throw off all but the most savvy of cinemagoers. It does falter a little at the end, mind you, with an epilogue that doesn’t quite maintain the edge-of-your-seat propulsiveness, but this is a forgivable misstep in a yarn that satisfies for the most part.
Although it’s perhaps not quite as good as the effusive online praise from Stephen King and director Mike Flanagan would have you believe, Strange Darling is nonetheless a fresh, original and very tense thriller with two excellent leads and style galore. You might guess the twist(s), but you’ll likely have a good time regardless, even though it might put you off dating for a while.
