Strange Darling

"Love hurts."

2024 1h 37m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 1,067

CrimeThrillerHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.

“Love hurts.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Willa Fitzgerald
The Lady
Kyle Gallner
The Demon
Madisen Beaty
Gale
Bianca A. Santos
Tanya
Steven Michael Quezada
Pete
Ed Begley Jr.
Frederick
Barbara Hershey
Genevieve
Denise Grayson
Libby

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: JT Mollner
Writers: JT Mollner
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by JT Mollner, shot by Giovanni Ribisi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Craig Deleon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Christopher Robin Bell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner and Madisen Beaty carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Love hurts.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt22375054 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

JT Mollner directs. Giovanni Ribisi behind the camera. Craig Deleon scores. Christopher Robin Bell cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 2 years ago.
3Directed by JT Mollner, shot by Giovanni Ribisi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Craig Deleon. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Christopher Robin Bell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner and Madisen Beaty carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Love hurts.".
8IMDB entry: tt22375054 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "new york city", "rape", "gore", "sadomasochism".

The technical file

Cinematography: Giovanni Ribisi
Original score: Craig Deleon
Editing: Christopher Robin Bell
Production design: Priscilla Elliott
Costume design: Rudy Rojas
Makeup / hair: Michelle Stoyanoff
Sound: Andy Hay
Stunt coordinator: Kent W. Luttrell
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,000,000
Box office: $4,853,595
Return: 121% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Strange Darling (2024)

Awards

Sitges Film Festival Best cinematography
Saturn Award for Best Thriller Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

JT Mollner

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb516161672024-09-01
★ 8/10
Ending my day with one last movie, I stumbled upon a film titled "Strange Darling." A psychological thriller revolving around a mass serial killer, I had no prior knowledge of its storyline. Without watching a trailer or reading a description, I decided to dive right in. As the movie unfolded, I found myself completely absorbed in its narrative. The plot kept me on my toes, constantly questioning the identity of the serial killer. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I was either right on the money or completely off track. The film demanded my full attention to catch the subtle clues and details. While I found "Strange Darling" to be a decent watch and appreciated it for what it was, I don't think I would revisit it. The movie delved into gruesome and heavily exploited sexual themes, making it unsuitable for younger audiences. However, I could see why critics and viewers were praising it - the film's psychological thrills and twisted tale of a serial killer kept me guessing until the very end. Though I initially guessed wrong, once the pieces fell into place, the entire story made perfect sense.
CinemaSerf2024-09-26
★ 7/10
A woman runs across a field, blood gushing from her ear. She's being chased by a man with an high powered rifle. Can she escape? Well across the next ninety minutes, and via six chapters and an epilogue, we are told the story of just how we got here. Except, the episodes are not shown to us in numerical order and this isn't the end. It's not really the beginning of the end, but maybe the end of the beginning? Willa Fitzgerald looks terrified, Kyle Gallner looks menacing - but as this cat and mouse game progresses our expectations of the narrative are well and truly challenged, and that proves especially perilous for just about everyone that either of these two characters meet as plenty of uses for handcuffs are demonstrated - none of which were probably as advertised on the box! It doesn't actually take you too long to figure out what is happening, especially as the opening slide reveals it's historical source and so does impact on the jeopardy a little. That said, though, there's a gently seedy eroticism running through this drama and there's also quite an entertaining chemistry between the two characters that, like quite a lot of this film, invites us to reconsider established sexual stereotyping. It's violent at times, bloody too - but in the vein of Hammer rather than Tarantino and it's tongue is in it's cheek for a fair chunk as it evolves. If you get a chance to see in the cinema, the give it a go - it almost certainly won't pan out as you'd expect. (All shot on 35mm, apparently, but I'm not too sure I noticed!)
r96sk2024-09-26
★ 8/10
Visually, <em>'Strange Darling'</em> is a treat. It's an extremely stylish movie, the film features some excellent shots as well as great music. I'm not fully sold on the base story, I feel like if you stripped every other element back then you'd be left with a real mid plot. On the other hand, though, when all is said and done I think I did get a good amount of entertainment from it. I don't believe it needed to be told in nonlinear order, you could've portrayed events more traditionally and I don't think it wouldn't changed much (if anything) in terms of the viewing experience. With that said, it is easy to keep up with the jumps and it doesn't hinder the flick whatsoever. So, I guess, if it works, why not? The performances of Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner are excellent, to be fair. They both fit their respective roles and each play their part in keeping the movie marching along nicely. The support cast merit relative praise as well, notable to see Ed Begley Jr. and Steven Michael Quezada involved - a <em>'Better Call Saul'</em> reunion, of sorts. Quentin Tarantino ought to enjoy this, albeit for an overabundance of smoking rather than trotters.