As if Gasper Noe remade Repulsion
There are plenty of elements of Darling that feel reminiscent of other movies and the plot is fair conventional: a young, doe-eyed caretaker house sits a haunted mansion while slowly going insane. There's The Shining, The Innocents, and Repulsion which all come to mind. Yet, this movie is very much its own thing.
First, this is truly a bravura performance by the lead actress, Lauren Ashley Carter. She literally carries the whole movie on her back being in almost every scene and mostly solo. No easy feat. And she manages a wide array of emotions without slipping into cartoon histrionics, again no easy feat when alone on the high wire. I don't think I've ever seen her in anything else before, but I will check into her other works now.
I have seen online criticism of the jarring effects that represent her descent into madness. They didn't bother me at all and they were scary (physically and mentally). The intentional use of strobe, fast cuts, and discordant music cues reminded me of Noe's direction, intended to stir deep discomfort in the viewer.
Further, I appreciated the nod to reality that the 100 lb. waif-like Carter would struggle mightily in moving around the dead body of a much larger adult man. Droll and honest. I also really appreciated that the restraint the filmmakers had in not going overboard with gore and, more importantly, never showing us what was actually in the secret room that pushes her over the edge. And while I feel somewhat frustrated, I even like their intentional vagueness as to who she killed and why (she has several backstories it appears).
This is currently on Amazon Prime, and I think was previously on Netflix (where it could reappear). I would recommend it to those who enjoy psychological horror that does not cheat or spoon-feed the viewer. I later learned, and was not surprised by, that the creators were also behind the Innkeepers and House of the Devil, to other enjoyably fun horror movies with which they joyfully color outside the lines.
2021-01-02
