Strange Darling Blu Ray Review (Magenta Light Studios / Miramax)

Strange Darling is a 2023 horror film written and directed by JT Mollner (Outlaws and Angels, Flowers in December, The Red Room, and Sugartown). Veteran actor and producer Giovanni Ribisi (Lost Highway, Friends, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Gift, Avatar franchise, and Saving Private Ryan) shot the production as it’s cinematographer for his full length debut in that department. It was produced by Bob Yari (Crash, Hostage, Yellowstone, Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, Street Kings, Haven, Winter Passing, and What Doesn’t Kill You). The budget was $4,000,000 and it grossed $3,772,657 worldwide at the box office. Nothing is exactly what it seems when a twisted one-night stand between a curious woman (played by: Willa Fitzgerald from Reacher, Scream: The TV Series, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Goldfinch, and Alpha House) and a mysterious man (played by: Kyle Gallner from the Smile franchise, Scream, American Sniper, Red State, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Jennifer’s Body) spirals into a serial killer’s brutal murder spree from this intense encounter. As the psychopath desperately tries to track down their former lover to leave no witness from their vicious secret lifestyle getting exposed to the public!!!! Strange Darling might be the biggest surprise of the year when it comes to horror movies. It took a little bit longer to be released compared to some of it’s competition but it proved it was definitely worth the wait. Director JT Mollner gets behind the camera again for his 2nd full length feature with Strange Darling. He shows that he has the potential to really make an impact in the genre for the future with this. His script is packed with thrills, intense moments, and it’s consistently suspenseful. It takes all the cliches and it completely flips it on the audience, it has some fun unexpected twists. I personally seen it coming early on but I still really appreciated it. Respected character actor Giovanni Ribisi is responsible for the visually stunning cinematography. He brings a very unique and original look for this production. Willa Fitzgerald as The Lady gives her greatest performance in her career so far in this. She’s the curious and kinky girl that pushes it too far with a stranger while hooking up. She isn’t shy and she doesn’t have any boundaries which causes some wild situations. Kyle Gallner as The Demon is amazing as the guy that’s just trying to get something on the side. He’s clearly married if you pay attention to how he acts and it’s revealed that he’s not from where they meet up at. He just wanted some casual fun and it turns into a nightmare. He’s very secretive and private but he starts to feel threatened as it gets more complicated between the strangers. Veteran actors Barbara Hershey (The Entity, Hoosiers, Black Swan, and Insidious franchise) and Ed Begley Jr. (Pineapple Express, Streets of Fire, Transylvania 6-5000, and Cat People) show up as an unlucky couple that just tries to help someone out in an awful scenario that backfires on them. They were fantastic in their smaller roles and it really added to the quality of this thrilling horror production. The rest of the supporting cast includes Steven Michael Quezada (Breaking Bad), Sheri Foster (U Turn), Madisen Beaty (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood), Bianca A. Santos (Ouija), Denise Grayson (The Social Network), and Eugenia Kuzmina (The Gentlemen). It had even had some voice cameos from Jason Patric (The Lost Boys), Robert Craighead (Ruthless), and Giovanni Ribisi (Basic). Strange Darling is pure adrenaline rush for almost the entire time, it’s basically a very dark suspenseful thriller. It’s a different type of entry when it comes to the serial killer sub-genre, it switches everything up. Strange Darling keeps you on your toes, it’s really entertaining and it’s fun in the most morbid possible way. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Magenta Light Studios! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks stunning on blu ray. I’m kinda shocked that this one didn’t get released on 4K. Visually, it’s one of most stylish shot features of the year with it’s very impressive cinematography. It’s a nightmare that really never stops. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the disc. This is excellent sounding audio for Strange Darling. It’s just intense, it has so many thrilling moments that keep everything explosive here. All of the dialogue is crisp, the chaos is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. Unfortunately, there’s no special features on this home video release besides the “Trailer”. This is the type of feature that it’s better not watching that or knowing much about it before going into it. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!