Strange Darling (2024)

[BigPudge]

Did a search and didn't see a thread for this movie.

Just saw the advanced at AMC with the live Q&A after (remotely live, it's on the screen from another location.)

This was a quite excellent movie. It is hard in today's world of movies, where we have seen every possible way of telling a story for a movie to subvert expectations and be something new and fresh and this movie does just that.

I cant say anything about the movie really, because this is one where knowing nothing is genuinely a major plus.

I was surprised to see that the great actor Giovanni Ribisi was the Director of Photography for the film which was shot on 35mm and looks tremendous.

I've been a fan of Kyle Gallner since his guest spot on The Shield and he is great in this movie, but this one fully belongs to Willa Fitzgerald who I wasn't super familiar with before this but she NAILS her role in this movie.

So yeah, let's discuss this movie that is my biggest and best surprise of 2024!

[Gaylord_Focker]

I saw it today, absolutely loved it. Best movie of the year for me, and it's going to look amazing in 4K. Make sure you watch it as soon as it comes out to avoid spoilers. I did not know there was a live Q&A afterwords. I left at the credits.

[Mr.F]

It's a fun, well made thriller with wonderful and performances and cinematography. Nothing you haven't seen before in a world where Tarantino and Lynch exist. Sure, go in blind, but the big reveal is pretty obvious.

[BigPudge]

Originally Posted by Mr.F

It's a fun, well made thriller with wonderful and performances and cinematography. Nothing you haven't seen before in a world where Tarantino and Lynch exist. Sure, go in blind, but the big reveal is pretty obvious.

I actually understand what you are saying... but

[Show spoiler]i think it was the WAY the story was told that made it far more than just "oh, the girl is the serial killer"

At first when i saw the chapters and how we started in chapter 3, i was thinking "oh this is gonna be some artsy fartsy film that thinks it's smarter than it actually is...

BUT

The movie had to be told the way it was told. By splitting it up the way it did, it made every reveal that much better and hit that much harder (for me)

[Mr.F]

Originally Posted by BigPudge

I actually understand what you are saying... but

[Show spoiler]i think it was the WAY the story was told that made it far more than just "oh, the girl is the serial killer"

At first when i saw the chapters and how we started in chapter 3, i was thinking "oh this is gonna be some artsy fartsy film that thinks it's smarter than it actually is...

BUT

The movie had to be told the way it was told. By splitting it up the way it did, it made every reveal that much better and hit that much harder (for me)

[Show spoiler]I think the non-linear structure here is a crutch to get some easy tension going. For me it would have been more emotionally upsetting if it had been told linearly, if we knew from the beginning what was going on and we continually saw her getting away with more and more. As it is, it's just Death Proof edited in the style of Pulp Fiction

[MikeScott]

I saw it tonight and it's an absolute gem. I beg everyone to get to the theater and support it. I loved the cinematography, the score, and the performances. This is a very well-made film and sure to be one of my biggest surprises of the year. I did see a lot of the review quotes on RT saying to go in blind, so I avoided watching any trailers. I would recommend doing the same, though I will say the trailers do a good job of not really giving anything away.

If you're a fan of the genre, please please go see this!

[Jennifer Lawrence Fan]

I'll be seeing this tomorrow. I would have seen it today. But I agreed to switch shifts with someone at work. So hopefully my theater is still playing it. The first showing doesn't start till 4:20.

[ronboster]

This has been on our radar since the trailer was released. I'm hoping my son and I can catch it this weekend. Our Summer of smaller films like Longlegs, Cuckoo etc continues.

[MikeScott]

Originally Posted by ronboster

This has been on our radar since the trailer was released. I'm hoping my son and I can catch it this weekend. Our Summer of smaller films like Longlegs, Cuckoo etc continues.

That's been my summer as well. I've pretty much only gone to indie movies (Longlegs, Oddity, Cuckoo, Skincare, Strange Darling).

[The Great Owl]

Five stars

Men are afraid of being rejected on a first date. Women are afraid of being murdered on a first date. This unsettling gender interaction dynamic is surely at the forefront in the mind of one lady, played by Willa Fitzgerald, as she sits in an automobile with a man, played by Kyle Gallner, and contemplates a one-night stand with him after having met him earlier that evening. She says to him, in a seemingly joking way, “So, I'm gonna have to ask you a question. Are you a serial killer?”

The above dialogue during the opening sequence of Strange Darling, a 2023 thriller directed by JT Mollner and newly released in theaters during the summer of 2024, sets the stage for a whirlwind of uncomfortable character-building, bloody mayhem, and even car chases, all of which are captured on 35mm film with colorful splendor by none other than actor Giovanni Ribisi, who, as director of photography, lends an Italian giallo aura to the proceedings. The narrative, which is conveyed in a nonlinear fashion by way of six chapters and an epilogue, is described in the opening credits as an account of the final deaths at the hands of a murderer whose grisly spree spanned across several states before coming to an end in Oregon.

The intense survival horror tale that unfolds over the course of the 97-minute run time is so relentlessly harrowing that viewers will not have a chance to rest for a breath until the closing credits. This is one of my favorite movies of the past year, one that I look forward to seeing again just to enjoy its many situational nuances.

The first scene, which perfectly encapsulates the apprehension felt when one takes a chance on a romantic encounter with an unfamiliar partner, casts its brilliant pall over the remainder of this endeavor. As Fitzgerald's lead observes while sitting in the passenger seat of the car before going into a hotel room with a stranger, many of us men will never truly understand the gamble that a woman takes with her safety just to have a well-deserved good time.

[Dreamliner330]

I watched Strange Darling today. It’s a decent movie that is different than I expected. It’s decently acted and paced decently. I really don’t have much to say because this really isn’t the type of movie for me. I will say it turned out differently than expected. This is better than Blink Twice that also came out this weekend.

6/10.

[lesco]

I know absolutely nothing about this movie other than the cinematographer was Giovanni Ribisi (!!) which has me intrigued enough, and was shot on 35mm. He is seriously into cinematography, and gives an interesting talk on the subject in a recent Movies That Made Me podcast with Joe Dante (fortunately the idiot co-host he's saddled with doesn't talk quite as much during this episode)

[AnthonyGG]

Went into this one blind and even though I knew before the film really got going that what was presented wasn't what was reality (vague enough?), it didn't hinder my enjoyment. I really liked this film, the look, the performances, the screenplay, direction, etc. It's not something all that unique and no masterpiece but it IS a really enjoyable and to the point riff on the serial killer flick.

Interestingly, it's kind of like one of those B movies from the '40s that nobody expected to be something special but lived on as a cult classic because there were ingredients just clever and different enough that the flick remained memorable. I'd rate it probably a 7.8 out of 10.

[samlop10]

Definitely go in as blind as possible. Highly recommended if you like thrillers/crime/horror.

[BluBonnet]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...ng-1235983447/

[unclefred]

it sounds like Freeway, without the fun.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by unclefred

it sounds like Freeway, without the fun.

It's actually a lot of fun and much more clever.

[MifuneFan]

This was a damn good movie. I agree with others that said to go in as blindly as you can. At first I wasn't too crazy about the film's non-linear structure, but eventually it makes sense why it was done that way, and I have to say, it was really well-executed. Great performances by the two leads, and just a very stylish movie overall, with an excellent score, and nice song selections too. There was also a few splashes of humor that I enjoyed, especially the stuff with the "mountain people". I've never heard of the writer/director J.T. Mollner before seeing this, but this was such a confident and well-polished film that instantly puts him on my radar now. Go see it in theaters if you can.

4/5

[BlueRagtop]

In a year of over-hyped horror/thrillers (*cough* Longlegs, MaXXXine), along comes Strange Darling out of nowhere to show how it is done.

Creative, twisted, beautifully directed & acted, and genuinely surprising.

Go in blind. And see it NOW, before the internet spoils it for you.

[Tony208]

All the makings of a cult film.

4/5