In horror films, there is an artistic trope of the final girl, i.e. the “last/final girl”. This is when, closer to the end of the story, only one girl from a whole group of characters usually survives. Her task is to fight back against the antagonist or simply run away to save her life. Like many other narrative methods in horror, the “last girl” has long been boring for viewers and creators, so this trope is not common today.
Director J.T. Molner began creating Strange Darling by thinking about the “last girl” scene. He understood its stereotypical nature, so he tried to take it to a new level with his ideas and the visual language of cinema. The idea was successful, because we ended up with one of the best thrillers in the last few years.
Title | Strange Darling |
Genre | Thriller, horror |
Director | JT Molner |
Starring | Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Madison Beaty, Stephen Michael Quezada, Ed Begley Jr. and others |
Studios | Miramax, Spooky Pictures, Magenta Light Studios |
Timing | 1 hour 36 minutes |
Year | 2024 |
Website | IMDb |
The girl, whom the movie simply calls Lady (Willa Fitzgerald), wants to spend the night having casual sex without commitment. She’s worried because she doesn’t usually do anything like that, but at the same time she realizes the dangers that such escapades conceal. Her fears were not in vain. The night that was supposed to be carefree and lustful turned into a fight for life. And the other protagonist of these events was an ordinary-looking man who, for some reason, is labeled as the Demon (Kyle Gallner) in the opening credits.
However, the movie doesn’t start with this at all, but with the scene with the “last girl,” which is so well-crafted and stylish that you immediately realize that the next hour and a half will be unforgettable. By the way, the Ukrainian version of the title “The Stalker” does not quite convey the essence of the movie, but for convenience, we will use it in this review. But this is hardly the only drawback of such an unusual work.
What exactly is unusual about it? The movie also begins to surprise almost instantly when it turns out that it has a non-linear structure. The running time is divided into six chapters, an epilogue, and a small post-credits scene. The latter in Strange Darling is not for the sake of launching a new cinematic universe, but to enhance the atmosphere and impact on the viewer. However, the main chapters are presented in a free order, and the movie generally begins in the third chapter.
This concept alone connects the film to contemporary theater and puts it in a completely different league than, for example, the Netflix series and documentaries about serial killers. But what does the non-linearity of the story bring? At first, it may seem that this is just an avant-garde, but somewhat meaningless artistic method. Various thriller and horror directors of the new wave generally love it when form is overwhelmingly dominant over meaning. The viewers of their works are more likely to experience incomprehensible but powerful emotions than to receive a clear basis for reflection.
But the situation with Strange Darling is quite different. Even fleeting moments and details matter to the story. Flashes of light on the screen, sudden changes in the soundtrack, specific lines from songs that are heard during different scenes – absolutely everything works to reveal the ideas that are hidden inside the script. There is not a single unnecessary moment, visual solution or sound in Strange Darling. This kind of synergy is rarely seen on the big screen, it is usually hidden in something more local and authorial. However, J.T. Molner as a director is definitely not spoiled by Hollywood, so perhaps this is the reason for the quality of the movie.
Strange Darling will definitely appeal to cinephiles and people who like to say kino to quality works. After all, you want to enjoy the visuals of the movie with all your heart. Molner carefully builds each frame, each scene, not forgetting the rules of symmetry and arranging objects with almost mathematical precision. Aesthetics and artistry are two more compelling reasons to watch Strange Darling in the cinema.
This is despite the fact that the story itself and its presentation may seem laconic, contrived, and somewhat constrained. But these feelings are so petty and insignificant that they feel more like an attempt to find at least something negative in this movie. After all, nothing in the world is perfect, right? So some very small segments really break out of the overall atmosphere of Strange Darling. For example, the hints of mysticism and the somewhat disgusting breakfast scene of the secondary characters. However, when the story returns to the main track, all doubts recede.
Of course, in a movie that is built around the confrontation between two characters, the actors’ ability to convey all the moods and nuances of their characters plays an important role. Fitzgerald and Gallner have coped with this undoubtedly difficult task one hundred percent. The electric current of the relationship between the Lady and the Demon goes directly to the audience, riveting them to the screens and making them think about this strange tandem even outside the theater. Believe me, many critics use the word “electric” in the context of reviews of this movie for a reason.
It would seem that in 2024 it is difficult to tell something innovative in the thriller genre about a killer. However, Strange Darling manages to do it with incredible ease. The story deals with non-trivial social issues that many people still face in real life. The movie does not give clear and understandable answers, but you will definitely be left thinking. And also, if I may say so, the script goes beyond the somewhat traditional Hollywood feminine view of stories, rising above all social norms and roles to tell something more general, mysterious and important at the same time.
Even though Strange Darling also positions itself as a horror film, the fear in it is different from its genre counterparts. The fear of Strange Darling is not significant, but more vital. It is always there, hiding somewhere like a shadow in your thoughts. And that makes it even more important. Although it is unlikely to satisfy horror fans.
Strange Darling cannot be called an arthouse or festival movie, even with all its non-trivial advantages. It talks about quite human topics, making them almost magical through the magic of cinema. This is a movie that I would like to recommend to everyone, even if not everyone will be able to resonate with it after watching it. However, the spirit of the story and the work of the film crew definitely deserve to be shared as widely as possible.
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