In rural Oregon, a woman (Willa Fitzgerald) meets a man (Kyle Gallner) at a bar and the two go to a local motel to engage in a one-night stand, but one or both of them might be a serial killer.
Strange Darling is presented in six chapters plus an epilogue. However, the chapters are not shown in chronological order. This storytelling device is disconcerting to start with and it feels like JT Mollner – who both wrote and directed this thriller – is using it to make up for an unsatisfying plot.
As the story unfolds though, it does become an effective way of teasing out the suspense of who exactly is the murderer. The extended sequence in the motel room where the truth is finally revealed is the best one in the film.
After that, the remaining events are shown in the order they happened and the plot starts to drag. The end result is a fitfully interesting but not a wholly satisfying watch.
Rating: 6 out of 10