Strange Darling – Movie Review (5/5)

STRANGE DARLING is a serial killer survival story. This horror-thriller is all kinds of brutal and brilliant. Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner star with a killer supporting cast. Read our full Strange Darling movie review here!

STRANGE DARLING is a serial killer survival story out on VOD now. I wasn’t sure what to expect and this was an advantage as this movie assaults your senses and expectations. In all the best ways.

Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner are amazing as the two main characters. You do not want to miss out on this wild ride of a movie. It’s a real treat for genre fans!

Continue reading our Strange Darling movie review below. Find it On Digital from October 1, 2024.

Follow the serial killer and the victims

In Strange Darling, you will quickly come to realize that nothing is quite as it presents itself. We begin with chapter three (out of six), so we land right smack dab in the middle of a very messy situation.

A woman in a red vintage car is being hunted down by a man with a newer black truck with a riffle. That’s all we know when it begins, but as we get the rest of the chapters, we will learn so much more.

We do know this is a serial killer story. This much is revealed by the text on screen meant as an introduction. Immediately after this, we’re thrown into this crazy world.

Also, we know that this serial killer’s vicious murder spree started a twisted one-night stand. Then it spiraled into something very different!

Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner

Willa Fitzgerald (Dare Me) and Kyle Gallner (Smile) work perfectly across from one another, and I cannot imagine either character portrayed by anyone else. Supposedly, Miramax wanted to replace Willa Fitzgerald.

Fortunately, that never happened!

Both Willa Fitzgerald and (right now, especially) Kyle Gallner are quickly becoming big names in genre productions. Kyle Gallner makes all the right choices about which movies to work on. This and Mother, May I? for example!

Also in two key roles are Barbara Hershey (Black Swan, Insidious, The Manor) and Ed Begley Jr. (Ghostbusters). They portray an old married couple of hippies living in the mountains.

It’s clear that they have a thing for (as in, believe in) Bigfoot, but that’s just one element of them. You’ll see when the serial killer and selected victim come across their home.

It all happens as the two battle each other for dominance and survival!

Also in this movie with their voices alone are Jason Patric and Giovanni Ribisi. In fact, the latter is also the director of photography and does a damn fine job!

Watch Strange Darling on VOD now!

JT Mollner is the writer and director of Strange Darling, and I am crazy about his style with this movie. The chronology is all over the place, but as the viewer, you always know when and where in the story, you are.

Divided into chapters, but told in a seemingly random order, you will slowly but surely connect the dots. Yes, even long before the final reveal, but that’s only because JT Mollner allows you to.

If you’re looking for something new that might feel familiar due to its direct and brutal approach (think movies from the 1970s or 1980s), then this is for you. Perfectly released on VOD in time for Spooky Season.

STRANGE DARLING is out on digital (PVOD) from October 1, 2024.

Details

Director: JT Mollner
Writer: JT Mollner
Stars: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, Ed Begley Jr.