Darlin'

"Don't mess with mother's nature."

2019 1h 41m EN

😐

5.3

MID

★5.3TMDB · 148

HorrorThrillerMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Found at a Catholic hospital filthy and ferocious, feral teenager Darlin’ is whisked off to a care home run by The Bishop and his obedient nuns, where she’s to be rehabilitated into a "good girl" as an example of the miraculous work of the church. But Darlin’ holds a secret darker than the "sins" she is threatened with, and she is not traveling alone. The Woman who raised her, equally fierce and feral, is ever present in the shadows of Darlin’s psyche and is determined to come for her no matter who tries to get in her way.

“Don't mess with mother's nature.”

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Cast

Lauryn Canny
Darlin’
Bryan Batt
The Bishop
Nora-Jane Noone
Sister Jennifer
Cooper Andrews
Tony
Pollyanna McIntosh
The Woman
John McConnell
Dr. Grant
Geraldine Singer
Sister Grace
Maddie Nichols
Billy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Pollyanna McIntosh
Writers: Pollyanna McIntosh
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

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Dead River Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Pollyanna McIntosh, shot by Halyna Hutchins. 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 Ali Helnwein. 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 Julie Garcés shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lauryn Canny and Bryan Batt and Nora-Jane Noone carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Don't mess with mother's nature.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt8396294 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Pollyanna McIntosh directs. Halyna Hutchins behind the camera. Ali Helnwein scores. Julie Garcés cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 7 years ago.
2Part of the "Dead River Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Pollyanna McIntosh, shot by Halyna Hutchins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Ali Helnwein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Julie Garcés shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Lauryn Canny and Bryan Batt and Nora-Jane Noone carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Don't mess with mother's nature.".
8IMDB entry: tt8396294 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 12 themes, including "wilderness", "feral child", "sequel", "priest".

The technical file

Cinematography: Halyna Hutchins
Original score: Ali Helnwein
Editing: Julie Garcés
Production design: Jeff Subik
Costume design: Michael Bevins
Makeup / hair: William Spataro
Sound: Andrew Smetek
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Darlin' (2019)

Part of

Dead River Collection

A horror film series focusing on a tribe of feral cannibals living in the forests and caves surrounding the small coastal town of Dead River, Maine. Based on characters created by Jack Ketchum in his novels "Off Season" (1980), "Offspring" (1991) and "The Woman" (2010, co-authored with Lucky McKee, director of the film version), and his short story "Winter Child" (1998).

Also by

Pollyanna McIntosh

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2026-04-25
★ 3/10
A feral girl finds succor at a Catholic girls’ school This is the third standalone film of a trilogy about wild females, all featuring statuesque Pollyanna McIntosh as The Woman. Pollyanna dives into writing & directing here and the film is proficiently made. I’ve only seen the previous one, “The Woman” from 2011, and I liked the first hour or so, but the last act left a bad taste. Like this one, there's a hint of dark humor so you can't take the proceedings too seriously, but with themes of slavery, cannibalism, torture, domestic violence, rape, incest and murder, that flick just didn't know when to stop. "Cat People" dealt with some of these way back in 1982 and was significantly more effective and entertaining. This third film is better in some ways, but worse in others. Lauryn Canny shines as the protagonist and the theme of natural instincts vs institutional conditioning is interestingly explored. Yet I didn’t like the dubious places where the movie lands ideologically. For instance, society’s pressure to mold young women into clean and intelligent “good girls” is criticized with the contrasting option of being a dirty homeless cannibalistic murderer. You tell me, which is more preferable? The flick suggests that the true monstrosity is the hypocritical religious leader but compare what he does and what The Woman does. Neither is good, of course, but which is more monstrous? And which scenario better prepares young women to be functioning and fulfilled people enjoying a long life in any society on Earth? Then there’s the super-virtuous male nurse (if you know what I mean) that’s glaringly forced and smacks of using cinema for social engineering. Get real. Lastly, I found myself giggling under my breath at the way the titular character tended to get down on all fours in the first act when she would've known well before the age of 16-17 that it was easier and more natural to stand up and walk on two legs to survive in the wilderness... or anywhere. Also, The Woman & Darlin' are feral females who have spent most (or all) of their lives living in the wilds and yet they somehow didn't know enough to create some kind of crude footwear or garments to cover key areas of their bodies, even though it's frickin' winter. Why Sure! It runs 1h 40m and was filmed in 2018, shot at St. Francisville, East Baton Rouge Parish and parts nearby in Louisiana. From the license plates observed, the location is supposed to be somewhere in Ohio. GRADE: D+

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