Strange Darling is a small indie thriller about a one-night stand between a man and a woman that devolves into a murderous chase. The premise is nothing you haven’t seen before, but its 6-chapter story is presented in a non-linear order, giving it an extra kick that brings this movie from just another decent film to something more interesting.

Here are 4 of the elements from this film that really stood out to me.

Point 1: The Format

Strange Darling is a great example in taking something that is not necessarily ground-breaking in concept, but finding ways of mixing up the formula to still output an interesting result. It’s far from a perfect movie or in the conversation for the best movie you’ll see this year, but the sequencing idea put forth brings enough novelty that I think it’s worth the watch. 

I also admire the restraint in not trying to milk the concept to have a million surprises. They had one simple, coherent story and used the non-linear formatting to zhuzh it up and bring more surprises for the audience as the story unfolds rather than have twists at every turn that lead to the concept getting muddled and the audience getting fatigued. 

Point 2: The Student Film Quality

I know this is often used as a slight against a film rather than a compliment, but in this case I do mean it as the latter. Many of the decisions made on this film separate it from what this movie may have been if it was made by a streamer or a studio. The colour saturation and grading is immediately off-kilter where it feels like the director put a filter over the film, but as it goes along, it adds its own element to the movie. The usage of blue and red especially in specific chapters really adds character to the film. The way it’s shot sometimes feels like a home movie, but again I found it to be an endearing quality. Shoutout to the movie being shot on 35 mm film in a day and age when that’s pretty rare to see. 

There are however a couple of moments where the student film aspect does prove to be a negative when once or twice, the director self-indulges by staying on a scene or shot longer than it should or when certain music cues continue being used when it no longer conveys what it was conveying before. But overall, I think the good outweighs the bad in providing an experience unlike other movies that cover similar premises.

Point 3: The Performances

The crucial element to make a movie like this work when it spends 80% of the runtime on two characters is the acting. And Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner legitimately hit it out of the park. They are both so committed to pretty demanding roles to go over the top when needed and be convincingly real in other moments is a real joy to watch. With this movie being such a low-key release, these great performances with both dramatic and physically demanding aspects won’t get the recognition they might otherwise have gotten. 

Shoutout to some of the great side characters who get just a few lines here or there, but really ground the film to make it feel like there are stakes and there’s a bigger context that this otherwise intimate story takes place in.

Point 4: The Comedy

When tackling a concept of a serial killer, brutal and bloody scenes, murder, and sex, filmmakers might err on the side of keeping it serious. But big kudos to JT Mollner, the director, for managing to find the right beats of comedy within everything that happens. Whether it’s a comedic moment that’s more for the audience or if it’s a joke in the film itself, the constant little moments of levity really helps by adding a push and pull with the tension of the thriller. 

I laughed out loud multiple times in the movie and I won’t soon be forgetting that meal. I shudder at the thought of it. Great mix of making something upsetting yet hilarious at the same time. 

Strange Darling is – as its title says – a strange movie. But I think it’s worth a watch and with its 90-minute runtime, I don’t think you’ll regret spending your time on this unique experience.