- Director: JT Mollner
- Writer: JT Mollner
- Stars: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner,
REVIEW
In a landscape of serial killer entertainment, writer/director JT Mollner has not only managed to deliver a wholly engaging story of cat and mouse, but he has also turned the genre on it’s head by subverting everything that you think you know about it. If you have heard the word of mouth on Strange Darling, then you known that it’s recommended to go into the film as clueless as possible, and I couldn’t agree more.
Delivered in chapters, out of order, Strange Darling isn’t doing anything new with it’s narrative structure, but there is something nostalgic and fresh about a film in this format: as Gen Z walks around looking like a Delia’s catalog from 1996, watching a story unfold in the same manner as Pulp Fiction just feels right. Filmed entirely in 35mm film, cinematographer Giovanni Ribisi (yes, that one) shows off what he’s learned while secretly toiling behind the camera for the last 15 years. To call this movie beautiful doesn’t do it justice; this is a jewel box of bold colors and leaves one wondering if Dead Ringers Red is a proper color name because it should be. Mollner’s choice to film the majority of the film in daylight is a fun choice that also allows Ribisi to shine. Daylight and the great outdoors hasn’t been this spooky since Midsommar.
Starring Willa Fitzgerald (The Fall of the House of Usher) as The Lady and Kyle Gallner as The Demon, Strange Darling takes you on a wild ride that keeps you guessing and every time you think you have it figured out, it proves you wrong. Fitzgerald delivers an outstanding performance that blends grit and sweetness with dark humor that is nothing short of intoxicating. Gallner continues his stealthy rise as the guy to keep your eye on. The horror community recognizes him easily (The Haunting in Connecticut, Jennifer’s Body, NOES 2010, Red State, Smile, Scream 2022, The Passenger), but the world at large is going to know his name after Strange Darling. Despite his character being called The Demon, Gallner is magnetic, charming, mysterious, and for better or worse, you find yourself rooting for him. Barbara Hershey (Black Swan) and Ed Begley Jr. (Arrested Development) breeze in for a truly delightful
and much needed moment of levity.
Everything about Strange Darling is an exercise in the best of the best, but Mollner’s greatest gift is a story that successfully challenges what we think we know, what we are comfortable with and the myriad ways in which that, ultimately, fails us. This is a movie that says a lot without feeling like a sermon. This is what a good time at the theatre looks and feels like.
Lisa Fremont
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