Strange Darling
Directed by JT Mollner
- crime
- thriller
- horror
The story
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
What it’s like
Stark, jumpy, and chapter-shuffled, with the film presented in labelled sections that break the timeline apart, so the camera moves from crisp, washed daylight in anonymous motel rooms to murky night streets and dim, sour-lit interiors. The palette leans on cold blues, sickly yellows and deep shadow, shot with a grainy, celluloid-textured digital look that makes everything feel scratched and unstable. Scenes often hold on faces and on quiet, unsettling stillness before a sudden jolt of violence, and the score is a tense, pulsing electronic drone that thins into near silence at the wrong moments. The mood is paranoid, sardonic and cold, with dread running under every exchange and a constant sense that the ground has shifted. Its intensity is high: graphic gore, sexual violence including rape, sadomasochistic material and frequent murder, all presented unflinchingly. It suits a late, alone night for viewers who want a nervy, twisty genre piece and can take hard content, and it is not for anyone wanting gentleness.
More films like Strange Darling
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Strange Darling and we’ll explain which ones fit you.
