'Strange Darling' review: A twisty, mind-bending thriller best served cold
Courtesy of Magenta Light Studios
A taunt, twisty thriller with plenty of tricks up its sleeve, JT Mollner’s “Strange Darling” is a dish best served cold. And by that I mean, try and go in knowing as little as possible. Hell, it’s a movie I can barely discuss without revealing its secrets as discussing anything past the 15-minute mark would be cause for a critic indictment. Instead, let me beat around the bush and hype up why anyone should see this wild ride, which employs a 6 chapter non-linear plotting device, and recontextualizes (as well as make us question) the term: gender roles.
What I will tell you is the film begins with an opening scroll telling us we’re about to see the last recorded killings of a notorious serial killer who, up to this point, had been on a multi-state spree dispatching anyone who stood in their way. It’s here we’re introduced to “The Lady” (a powerhouse Willa Fitzgerald) being chased down by someone known as “The Demon” (Kyle Gallner) though the backwoods of sasquatch country.
It seems like your normal cat-and-mouse set-up, and you’d be forgiven for assuming “Strange Darling,” which was shot on 35mm by actor-turned-first-time cinematographer Giovanni Ribisi, for being just your average, run-of-the-mill stalk fest designed to get inside the mind of a savage killer, but Mollner has more on his mind than just that. To even hint at those implications would be doing you and anyone intrigued by the film a disservice.
So, then, what can I say? Well, the performances, for starters, are strong. Fitzgerald, whose biggest role to this point has been on the short-lived “Scream” tv series, turns in a helluva portrayal that’s emblematic of all the final girl troupes of the last decade in addition to Gallner who is a tough cookie to crack as his character must play everything close to the vest. Supporting turns by Barbara Hershey and Ed Begley Jr. as a couple of retired, doomsday preppers/sasquatch hunters are also a hoot.
“Strange Darling” begins to stall towards the final stretch, taking a detour into the “style over substance” camp, and, rather than adhere to the non-traditional storytelling rules it had employed throughout the movie, falls back into a standard rhythm, which is shocking considering it’s subversion of expectations up to that point had been its greatest strength. Still, it doesn’t devalue the previous two acts that came before, nor does it take away from the sprawling ambition Mollner displays of his story. Even if the ending doesn’t quite stick the landing, “Strange Darling” is a film that won’t be shaken easily.
Grade: B
Strange Darling is now playing in theaters.
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