This Critically Acclaimed Horror Thriller That “Recalls the Raw Grit of 1970s Crime Movies” Is Now Streaming and Blowing Audiences Away
I love the exploitation output of the ‘70s. Those gritty pictures hold a special place in my heart, and I know I’m not alone in my appreciation. Plenty of movie lovers share a similar admiration for these edgy offerings. Perhaps it’s the way many of these efforts eschewed conventional hero and villain roles, blurring the lines between good and evil. Or, maybe it’s the over-the-top nature of these flicks.
No matter the reason, these films have a loyal cult following, with many contemporary filmmakers harkening back to exploitation fare with their output. Hell, Quentin Tarantino has made a successful career out of it. It’s great fun to see filmmakers meld modern cinematic techniques with the gritty and unflinching aesthetic that permeated these cult classics of yesteryear.
Writer/director JT Mollner is clearly a filmmaker who holds the grindhouse pictures of the past in high regard. That much is evident in taking in his exploitation throwback Strange Darling. Anyone who has seen the film will likely tell you that he successfully merges modern filmmaking techniques with exploitation sensibilities within.
What happens in Strange Darling?
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Our Drew Tinnin caught the flick out of Fantastic Fest back in 2023, and he really connected with what Mollner was putting down. His coverage is largely positive, featuring praise for the central performances from Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner, and the film’s unpredictable nature. See below for an excerpt from his review.
“From the opening minutes, JT Mollner’s Strange Darling rockets into a full-blown chase movie that recalls the raw grit of 1970s crime movies and the pulp hyperreality of 1990s indie cinema. Seeing the Miramax logo appear on screen transports you back to a time when Tarantino and all of his many imitators changed the cinema landscape forever. Shot on 35mm, Strange Darling seems like a movie out of time that draws inspiration from serial killer movies from the past without dredging through the same stalker tropes we’ve all seen before. As a result, Mollner’s surprisingly intimate thriller is a lot more clever than it appears at first glance.”
If you’re eager to see why Drew connected with this one, you can now find the film streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime!
That’s just about all that we have for you, for the time being. Stay tuned to the site in the near future for more updates from the streaming space. In the meantime, if you’re keen to keep up with my comings and goings, you can always find me on the Threads platform as @FunWithHorror.
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