Stephen King has hailed JT Mollner’s throwback grindhouse thriller as ‘a clever masterpiece’. It’s one of those films that knowing as little as possible about will elevate the viewing experience as it deconstructs and subverts horror tropes in unexpected ways. All the audience is told is that the events that are shown follow the most prolific and unique serial killer of the 21st century. A non-linear narrative plays out in six violently confronting chapters with exhilaratingly directed car chases, intimate kinky role-play and tense face-offs, all feeding into provocative takes on gender dynamics, sex and hook-up culture. 

The casting of the lead roles, with Willa Fitzgerald as The Lady and Kyle Gallner as The Demon, is what really makes the film sing. Both actors switch between cool, calculated and unhinged with ease and their committed physical performances are a bloody riot to behold. Shot on 35mm with Giovanni Ribisi stepping up as DOP on his first feature, it’s also a handsome looking film that glows mysteriously under multiple colour filters of red and blue. The natural daylight scenes are given a grimy, sinister edge and there are nods to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in how the story unfolds. 

The deconstruction element is canny to a point and the film has a strong hold on its atmosphere of unease and dread in a similar way to No Country For Old Men. However, there’s also retrograde nonsense in how the rules are rewritten and a silly script fumble towards the end is somewhat distracting.  

Strange Darling is in cinemas from Friday 20 September.