From Jeremy Kibler

Festival hype should theoretically have nothing to do with the actual quality of a buzzy film. The one in question is certainly justified in garnering some praise—it’s too well-made not to—but can a film ever just be effective rather than the Second Coming? Putting that “emperor’s new clothes” reaction aside, writer-director JT Mollner’s Strange Darling is a devious, subversive genre exercise and an accomplished piece of indie filmmaking.

Billed as a dramatization with a narrated opening crawl à la The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, this “thriller in six chapters” tracks the spree of a serial killer on their last legs from Denver to the woods of Oregon. It essentially becomes a cat-and-mouse chase between “The Demon” (Kyle Gallner) and “The Lady” (Willa Fitzgerald), who begin as a man and woman having a one-night stand. Let’s stop right there because, yes, this is a film that rewards if viewers go in completely blind. 

With hints of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and Mickey Keating’s Carnage Park, Strange Darling is a vicious and perversely entertaining ride that’s simple with a complicated flourish. Strategically shuffling out of sequence with its chapters, JT Mollner’s script knows we have our own assumptions about these two seemingly archetypal characters and craftily toys with expectations. The film is, to be frank, all about the tricksy structure. But the mark of a great twist is how well everything plays out in retrospect, and luckily, how every chapter is arranged goes far enough in surprising and playing with the ever-evolving power dynamics of this man and woman.

Genre favorite Kyle Gallner delivers reliably layered work as The Demon, being sinister when he needs to be, but Willa Fitzgerald is unequivocally great. She gets to be vulnerable and feral and manic and everything in between, and Fitzgerald runs with every note this difficult role asks of her (even something she does with her face regarding an ear wound feels achingly realistic). Out of survival, both characters—and by default, both performers—have to switch gears, and they keep you guessing. 

This is largely a two-hander between Gallner and Fitzgerald, but there are also a couple supporting performances, most memorably from Ed Begley Jr. and Barbara Hershey as a kitschy mountain couple just trying to enjoy the greasiest, sweetest breakfast (as if it’s their last meal) before finishing a Scott Baio puzzle. 

Made with ample confidence (sometimes too much at times), Strange Darling ultimately exists somewhere between being stylishly clever and being overly precious. Proudly “shot on 35mm” by character actor (and now cinematographer?) Giovanni Ribisi, every frame is strikingly gorgeous with lurid, vibrant colors in a motel and then in the bright, harsh daylight. And who isn’t a sucker for a cool split-diopter shot? The score is also propulsive, with Z Berg’s breathy cover of “Love Hurts” a major musical motif.

Once the other shoe drops, one does sort of question what filmmaker Mollner is saying about gender roles and retro genre tropes in a “Me Too” world. Is upending expectations around two characters (who still remain archetypes) enough? It might be for some. While the film is a little thematically muddled, it at least asks some bleak, challenging questions on top of being a grimy, blood-stained genre film. Playing out with a thrilling buzz, Strange Darling is a solid thriller with so much craft on display, as well as two riveting performances, to warrant attention.

Rating: 3.5/5

Strange Darling is currently in theaters.

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