Overdone throughout the years, serial killer films have become less about shock, surprise, and gore and more about the industry machine, turning them out quickly with little thought into doing anything new. However, don’t let that stop you from checking out Strange Darling, as writer-director JT Mollner flips the tired genre on its head. The result is a ride that gives us some stellar performances by the two leads.
The film kicks off in a fun way, with a title card that reads “Shot entirely on 35mm film,” followed by a crawling message informing the viewer where the serial killer has been active, for how long, and about the final chaos in Oregon, where the film is set. We then jump right into the action, with the look and feel like a blast out of the ’70s, reminiscent of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. As Strange Darling progresses, it is clear that Mollner isn’t copying and pasting directly from the past.
Cut into six chapters, Mollner chooses to go the nonlinear route, with chapters popping up out of order. Instead of using this to simply look different, the film’s out-of-order chapters help the story, not hinder it, adding to the viewers’ enjoyment as they try to figure out just what exactly is going on.
We meet The Lady (Willa Fitzgerald), apparently running for her life from The Demon (Kyle Gallner). Together, they take the audience on an unexpected journey, deviating from the usual serial killer norms and weaving a tale of blood and intrigue. Both Gallner and Fitzgerald are excellent here, equally menacing and vulnerable almost at will for different reasons. After their first meeting, they challenge the audience to look deeper into what at first looks like a very destructive and seductive encounter. Clever writing and filming allow the leads to make the audience think more about the concept of consent, predators, and death from different points of view.
Mollner weaves The Lady and The Demon through bloody chaos, making the first hour fly by. We watch as innocents such as Genevieve (Barbara Hershey) and Frederick (Ed Begley Jr.) get caught up in their cat-and-mouse game, acting as bumps in the road on this journey. Every little detail, including gore and scenery, is amplified, courtesy of actor turned director of photography Giovanni Ribisi. While perhaps a surprising face behind the camera, he is a talented, welcome addition to an already solid crew.
There were a few moments in the last act where the movie struggled to keep pace with the wild and high-end performances. However, it did find its voice again and gave us a satisfying ending. Some might say fitting, considering the chaos unleashed for almost ninety minutes. Mollner deserves a lot of credit for pacing the film well. Because of that, it gave Fitzgerald and Gallner just enough time to push their characters beyond the boundaries of the usual serial killer tropes. Make no mistake, there are many gruesome scenes and additional content that might make some people squirm, but it never comes off as gratuitous or lacking direction. It is part of the dynamic that made The Lady and The Demon who they were.
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Strange Darling is a wake-up call for the serial killer subgenre, hopefully kickstarting it into new and different directions. Horror has many branches in its large and influential tree of entertainment. While not reinventing the wheel, a film like this proves that with clever writing, direction, and solid performances, a tired story can be twisted into something more thought-provoking and fun, even as it leaves an extensive trail of blood and chaos in its wake.
The film will be released in theaters on August 23rd via Magenta Light Studios.