Writer and director JT Mollner (Outlaws and Angels) crafts a tightly wound, stylish, horror-thriller with Strange Darling. Shot entirely on 35 mm, it’s one of the most compelling movies I’ve seen in a long time. It concerns a serial killer with a kink who operated in the US between 2018 and 2020. More specifically, it is a dramatisation of the final known murders of that rampage. It unfolds in six chapters and an epilogue, but not sequentially. That may sound like an unusual way of going about weaving this debauched tale, but believe it or not, it works.
It starts with a rendezvous between a woman – The Lady (Willa Fitzgerald) – and a man – The Demon (Kyle Gallner). They flirt. She asks him whether he’s a serial killer. He says he isn’t. Next thing you know, he’s choking her in a hotel room and the situation escalates from there. Along the way, the bloodied woman appears to be running for her life in Oregon. He’s pursuing her with a shotgun. The body count grows. The story cleverly unfolds in unexpected ways. Shocking and confronting revelations appear. Strange Darling has real bite.
I was intrigued as the threads were gradually woven together. As mentioned, the non-linear narrative subverts expectations and works brilliantly. Craig DeLeon’s dramatic music serves to escalate the tension. Another feature is the evocative cinematography and, in this case, noted actor Giovanni Ribisi steps behind the lens for the first time in a feature film. The film morphs from black-and-white to colour.
The performances are enormous. Willa Fitzgerald has an enormous presence; and brings her dominant persona to the fore as The Lady. The cold-eyed look of Kyle Gallner as The Demon is deeply distressing. His menace is palpable. The film includes wonderful and unexpected interplay between a couple of old-timers in a picturesque country setting. Ed Begley Jr as Frederick and Barbara Hershey as Genevieve lean into their roles. I found them compelling.
Strange Darling drew me in. If you’re up for the subject matter, I suggest that – like me – you’ll be totally sold.
Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster were up for the challenge in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). So are Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner.
Alex First
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Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.