Strange Darling (2024) Review: A Darkly Fun Puzzle Piece of a Serial-Killer Thriller Featuring Willa Fitzgerald in Her Best Role to Date
Writer-director JT Mollner jumps from his 2016 debut Western in Outlaw and Angels to the horror thriller Strange Darling, which had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest last year before the movie received a limited release in the U.S. in August and finally arrived on VOD this month.
Mollner’s sophomore effort sees the Las Vegas-born filmmaker not play by the rules, utilising the Quentin Tarantino-esque non-linear narrative approach to throw you off guard and make you wonder where the story will bounce around next. This is the kind of movie that demands your attention, where the story unfolds in six chapters but in a non-chronological order. There are title cards that appear on the screen such as “Chapter 5” with a subtitle, allowing you to make a mental note of them when you piece everything together.
The story? Well, it’s about the two young individuals but no names are given other than Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner credited as “the Lady” and “the Demon” respectively. They both hook up for a one-night stand but what begins as a series of flirting and teasing soon turns into a nightmare. The movie also features Barbara Hershey and Ed Begley Jr., playing the elderly couple Genevieve and Frederick who live in the secluded farmhouse. I won’t be revealing anything further because it’s best to watch this as little information as possible.
I’m glad Mollner doesn’t use non-linear storytelling as a mere gimmick because such a method works well in his favour to create enough misdirection with plenty of twists and turns. It also helps that Willa Fitzgerald, best known for Scream: The TV Series delivers her best performance to date in her fearless turn as the Lady. She fulfils the “final girl” mould in the horror tropes and other times, she looks fetching in red hair. Fitzgerald gives her all in Strange Darling while her co-star, Kyle Gallner is relentless as the man in a checkered shirt with a shotgun.
It’s worth noting that Mollner shot his movie entirely on 35mm film, even going as far as proudly displaying the fact in the title card. I thought a movie like this would be shot digitally but filming Strange Darling in 35mm sure adds a distinct film grain and texture. Interestingly, it was Giovanni Ribisi who lensed the movie as the cinematographer. And yes, the same Giovanni Ribisi, the actor who appeared in several movies from Gone in 60 Seconds to Avatar and was last seen shows up in a cameo appearance in Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1.
Ribisi’s cinematography debut proves his skills in handling the cameras and knows well how to light a scene regardless of indoor or outdoor settings during daylight or nighttime (one of the scenes sees Ribisi cleverly use the blue neon sign to illuminate the Lady and the Demon’s faces in the dark) while giving the movie the aesthetic of an old-school gritty thriller, notably the 1970s horror-film influence.
Not to mention his dynamic camerawork helps to elevate some of the movie’s tense and suspenseful moments. He even channels one of Brian De Palma’s signature filmmaking techniques — the split diopter shot. This proves essential for a thriller that focuses mainly on a two-hander as the story also highlights the relationship between the Lady and the Demon.
Mollner doesn’t shy away from violence and gore but he doesn’t overdo it. Just enough to make you flinch in certain scenes. The movie also deserves praise for its eclectic choices of soundtrack, one of which includes the strangely bittersweet “Love Hurts” by Z Berg and Keith Carradine. A playful non-linear narrative and stellar performances aside, Strange Darling isn’t just a horror thriller about a prey and a predator as Mollner manages to slip in some quirky sense of humour such as the introduction of the elderly couple.
