Strange Darling

Director: JT Mollner
Starring: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, Ed Begley Jr., Madisen Beaty, Bianca Santos, Eugenia Kuzmina, Steven Michael Quezada, Denise Grayson, Sheri Foster, Jason Patric, Giovanni Ribisi
Running Time:  96 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

While there's a jarring reversal that occurs midway through writer/director JT Mollner's excitingly original horror thriller Strange Darling, it's almost unfair to categorize it as a "twist." Just the very word falsely implies a gotcha gimmick intended to sacrifice story for shock when the truth's hiding in plain sight the entire time. It's the story's structure that throws us, but what's most surprising is how a concept this clever hasn't yet been explored to the extent Mollner does here.

Those looking for profoundly complex theories about consent, misogyny or gender issues would be barking up the wrong tree since this isn't trying to tell us anything we don't already know. Instead, Mollner implies we often choose to look the other way, falling into some of the same traps his characters do. The impact comes not from what the film says or even how, but that it even bothers to ask. Structurally, there's a lot to take in, but the pieces fit together, eventually reaching a crucial juncture where it grabs hold and doesn't let go.

Introduced as a dramatization of an infamous serial killer's murder spree that climaxes in rural Oregon, we see a bloody and injured woman called the "Lady" (Willa Fitzgerald) running out of the woods in  red hospital scrubs. It turns out she's being chased by a mustachioed, shotgun wielding man credited as the "Demon" (Kyle Gallner) who follows her to the farmhouse of aging hippie wilderness couple Frederik (Ed Begley Jr.) and Genevieve (Barbara Hershey). 

When the Lady seeks refuge at their residence, the Demon closes in, with the film flashing back to the pair's one-night stand at a local hotel that led to this. But the shocks are provided by what happens in between, their feud now culminating in a volatile encounter that will transform this cat-and-mouse game into a grueling, high stakes battle for their lives.

Kicking off with a barrage of title cards that would make Tarantino proud and a Texas Chainsaw-inspired voice over provided by Jason Patric, Mollner has us questioning early whether what we're seeing is based on real life events. In this era of true crime obsession it's easy to believe certain details could have been, as his six nonlinear chapters lay the groundwork for surprising developments that will have many clamoring for a rewatch in its chronologically accurate order. 

The picture was shot on 35 mm film and you can tell, with first time cinematographer Giovanni Ribisi (yes, him) giving this a beautifully washed-out look that perfectly aligns with Mollner's retro aesthetic. Though events take place in 2022, the year could just as easily be 1972, save for the presence of iPhones and few other contemporary details. And a haunting soundtrack from Z Berg prominently features an iconic Keith Carradine assisted cover of "Love Hurts," along with a variety of other acoustic AM radio ballads that further convey its throwback sensibility. 

As a chilling 24-hour account of a serial killer's rampage, it's fascinating and darkly humorous, with many narrative detours evoking a more heightened response than if the timeline was traditionally presented. Subverting expectations to this level just wouldn't work without Mollner's jumbled storytelling device, which the studio inexplicably wanted to scrap before cameras rolled.  

Reacher actress Willa Fitzgerald's breakthrough performance as the Lady constantly challenges viewer's notions of how other characters read her, as an already toxic sexual encounter spirals dangerously out of control. The Demon isn't exactly all he appears to be either, with Gallner playing on certain assumptions of male loners before twisting and turning them beyond recognition with his best big screen outing yet. Hershey and Begley Jr. are a welcome presence, bringing some much needed levity to their smaller roles while also partaking in one of more impressive breakfasts you'll ever see.  

The film's hypnotizing opening and closing shots can't be viewed in a vacuum since their full context will eventually reveal more than our perceptions trick us into believing. What unfolds between the two characters only scratches the surface of this oddly compelling disasterpiece told from a different, unexplored perspective. Violent, unsettling and emotionally charged, you'd be hard pressed to find another recent thriller that takes the daring risks this does, with most of them paying off in disturbingly brilliant ways.