// not all who run are victims
This movie had been sitting on my watchlist for a long time, and for some reason I kept postponing it, saving it for one of those moments when there’s absolutely nothing left to watch. And then, not long ago, I stumbled upon it during a flight and thought, fine, I’ll finally give it a go.
And you know how there are movies that don’t just “entertain” you, but get under your skin and stay there, like a splinter you can’t ignore? Strange Darling is exactly that kind of movie.
It was shot on real 35mm film, and you can feel it immediately. The image is gorgeous—warm, slightly vintage, like watching an old VHS tape from the ’90s. Muted colors, visible film grain, none of that clean digital sterility. Everything is intentionally old-fashioned, and it works incredibly well.
What really hooked me is that the movie doesn’t move in a straight line. The storytelling is nonlinear—scenes are shuffled, like fragments of flashbacks. And it’s not done for style points. It genuinely heightens the tension. I kept revising my own judgment of what was happening. Who’s the victim? Who’s more dangerous? Or maybe nothing is what it seems? It feels like a Tarantino-style thriller, but without his trademark chaos. Here, everything is tense—almost stretched tight, like a wire about to snap. They take the classic “maniac and girl” setup and slowly, carefully turn it inside out.
The music is almost a character of its own. Very atmospheric, old-school in spirit, but not cliché. The tracks are woven into the story rather than just playing in the background. The actors deserve a separate mention. The chemistry between them is palpable. And Kyle Gallner’s porn-stache alone could stop your heart—he’s dangerously bad-boy charming. After this movie, I immediately wanted to watch everything he’s ever been in.
“Love… doesn’t have to be something that develops. The purest, most primal kind can hit you like a wave… in a moment … or over the course of one night.”
— The Lady, Strange Darling
I wouldn’t call the movie deep, but it definitely has its own temperature. Somewhere around a scorching car hood after a high-speed chase. The plot, for me, isn’t the main thing here. The feeling is. A mix of adrenaline, mild discomfort, and that lingering thought: damn, that was good.
// WHAT IT AWAKENS
∙the urge to watch every movie with Kyle Gallner
∙ a soundtrack you didn’t expect to carry with you all week
∙ VHS-shaped nostalgia
∙ a quiet whisper in your head: “watch it again”
∙ the subtle desire to visit a small American town and just watch someone fix a car outside a motel