Strange Darling opens with a title card that reads like a badge of honor — “shot entirely on 35mm film” — followed by a text crawl informing us that the killer was active throughout the Interior West before a final hurrah in the forests of Oregon, where the film takes place. Despite being set just a few years ago, “Strange Darling” is in many ways a throwback.
Gallner’s mustache and yellow-tinted sunglasses evince a distinctly ’70s vibe, as do the grainy visuals and frequent appearance of “Love Hurts” on the soundtrack. Even with these vintage touches, Mollner shows himself to be more forward-thinking than most of his genre peers. He’s clearly a student of the game, one who studied his forebears’ lessons with adroitness to better prepare himself to put his own mark on them.
Writer-director JT Mollner flips the script on this thriller genre, crafting the cleverest thriller of its kind in a while with a mighty assist from a pair of killer performances by co-leads Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner. Best experienced with as little foreknowledge as possible, Strange Darling demands a bit of patience, but it also rewards it.
Strange Darling is a 2023 American horror-thriller film written and directed by JT Mollner and starring Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Giovanni Ribisi, Barbara Hershey, Ed Begley Jr, Denise Grayson, Robert Craighead, Sheri Foster, Eugenia Kuzmina, Evan Peterson and Bianca A. Santos. The film had its premiere on September 22, 2023, at Fantastic Fest held in Austin, Texas. It was released in the United States on August 23, 2024.
Strange Darling (2024)
Directed by: JT Mollner
Starring: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Giovanni Ribisi, Barbara Hershey, Ed Begley Jr, Denise Grayson, Robert Craighead, Sheri Foster, Eugenia Kuzmina, Evan Peterson, Bianca A. Santos
Screenplay by: JT Mollner
Production Design by: Priscilla Elliott
Cinematography by: Giovanni Ribisi
Film Editing by: Christopher Robin Bell
Costume Design by: Rudy Rojas
Set Decoration by: Vanessa Knoll
Art Direction by: Bree Judah, Beth Lipson
Music by: Craig DeLeon
MPAA Rating: R for strong/bloody violent content, sexual material, drug use and language.
Distributed by: Magenta Light Studios
Release Date: September 22, 2023 (Fantastic Fest), August 23, 2024 (United States)
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