Strange Darling: Spoiler warnings are crucial for some movies

But let's see if I can avoid the need to use any...

Strange Darling
Written and directed by JT Mollner
2024

There are some movies that gain a reputation as being particularly spoilable. Due to crucial plot details, major twists, or unexpected moments, they require a certain level of protection. Critics almost have the obligation to try to avoid revealing important details or use prominent spoiler warnings to keep people from learning too much ahead of time. Of course, this may backfire somewhat; letting people know that they have to be careful of spoilers will make them start to anticipate surprising twists, ruining the purity of an experience that should ideally be completely devoid of expectations.

I’m not always as hung up on spoilers, since I usually figure that if a movie is so reliant on a small detail that it could be ruined by knowing that information ahead of time, it’s probably not especially good. Really, it should be a complete experience that is enjoyable beyond one particular surprising twist. If the only thing a movie has going for it is an eye-opening revelation, it’s likely going to be pretty shallow. But if it’s good, a second viewing (or even a first viewing when you know the twist is coming) will enrich the experience.

However, there are some cases where having little in the way of expectations and being unaware of what might happen can make for a pretty incredible experience. And that’s what Strange Darling provides, although hopefully knowing that it contains some surprising and unexpected moments won’t send people the wrong message about trying to guess what revelations it may have in store. But rather than making use of spoiler warnings, I wanted to experiment a little and see whether I can discuss the movie in a meaningful way without giving away too much.

The movie provides only a little bit of setup before jumping straight into the proceedings. There’s a single line of dialogue, a glimpse of a man who seems to be enacting violence on a woman, and then a bit of onscreen text and narration about the hunt for a serial killer. The title screen informs us that the story is “a thriller in 6 chapters”, but it opens with Chapter 3, then jumps around in the chronology, making viewers guess about what happened to lead up to the events that we know will take place later on.

Those events involve a woman (Willa Fitzgerald, whose character is only known as “The Lady,” according to the credits) being pursued by a man (Kyle Gallner, “The Demon”) who is trying to kill her. It’s an exciting chase, with him pursuing her in a large pickup truck while she’s fleeing down a remote wooded road in an old Pinto, then turning into a pursuit on foot through a forest, with him wielding a rifle and seeming to have murderous intent.

When we do flash back to earlier chapters, a good amount of time is spent with these two characters engaging in an extended conversation that seems to be a negotiation over what they plan to do during a one night stand. If Gallner is the serial killer, as we expect, at what point did he reveal his murderous proclivities? Or did something else happen? The ensuing moments we see with the two of them in a hotel room, as well as some later scenes in which the woman seeks help from an older couple played by Ed Begley, Jr. and Barbara Hershey, only provide a little bit more information, forcing us to try to piece together the details until they get fully revealed.

But while there are some surprising revelations, the movie isn’t content to let viewers absorb this information and feel satisfied that they’ve figured everything out. Instead, it careens in additional unexpected directions, providing one shocking moment after another and making it difficult or impossible to determine where one’s loyalties should lie. It’s a pretty enthralling experience, full of crazy things happening up until the very end.

While much of the pleasure of the movie comes from the tightly-constructed screenplay and editing that drags viewers along as the story shifts forward and backward in time, a great deal of credit should also be given to Willa Fitzgerald, who turns in a star-making performance here. She gets us on her side as a potential victim who is fighting for her life, but then we learn about her playful nature in flashbacks as she negotiates with Gallner to make sure their impending sexual congress will fully serve her desires. And when some of the other memorable moments happen throughout, she acts or reacts with a specificity that makes her character feel fully fleshed out even if she’s not saying anything. While the movie is full of arresting imagery, it’s often best when it focuses on her face and lets us either see emotions play out or question what exactly is going on under the surface.

Special attention should also be given to the soundtrack, which consists of original songs performed by Z Berg (along with a cover version of “Love Hurts”). Berg provides several hauntingly beautiful accompaniments to moments that range from shocking violence to brief interludes of peace in the midst of mayhem. It’s an aural experience that adds even more to a movie that was already indelibly original.

I don’t know if this commentary really sells the movie as something to watch for those who haven’t seen it yet, or if it adds anything to the discussion for those who have, but I do hope I’ve been able to convey how arresting this movie was. It kept me guessing throughout, but it also dragged me along through its twists and turns without ever letting go, leaving me almost stunned by the time it was over. If this is the kind of thing that writer/director JT Mollner is capable of, I’m going to be there for whatever he wants to do in the future.