Strange Darling

To even the boldest of cinephiles, J.T. Mollner's Strange Darling will be the damndest (strangest?) picture this year.  And THAT, most assuredly, is a GOOD thing.

Mollner, with actor Giovanni Ribisi as director of photography, has constructed a beautifully vibrant, non-linear, highly unpredictable story, billed as a re-enactment, of the final rampage of a serial killer in the Pacific Northwest. It has elements of horror, and the gore is substantial, but it is also terrifically funny in spots, which only adds to its intoxicating effect.

Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner are the principals in this bloody, freakishly disturbing story of hunter and hunted that begins in the middle of the chase and bounces among the hours leading up to and following the final standoff. The film's last minutes are a single shot of the killer staring into the camera lens as the color is bled out of the frame. To say more would be to ruin a nearly perfect picture.

I'm not that familiar with Fitzgerald nor Gallner but their performances are wonderfully synched, bending to every unexpected twist, making every excruciating moment totally believable, riveting. Veteran actors Ed Begley Jr. and Barbara Hershey are featured in one of the story's six chapters that is risibly titled "Mountain People."

This picture is NOT for the squeamish or those triggered by, well, just about anything.