Summary
- Willa Fitzgerald stars as the protagonist in the upcoming horror film Strange Darling, where she is hunted by a deranged serial killer portrayed by Kyle Gallner.
- Strange Darling, directed by J.T. Mollner, will have its world premiere at the Fantastic Fest Film Festival in Austin, Texas on September 22.
- The film follows an injured woman being tracked by a relentless predator in the Oregon wilderness, as she tries to outsmart him and survive.
Can Willa Fitzgerald possibly escape? Miramax’s upcoming horror film Strange Darling finds Fitzgerald’s character running for her life as she is literally hunted by a deranged serial killer, portrayed by Kyle Gallner. A new clip from the horror/thriller flick, which gives off both Duel (1971) and The House That Jack Built (2018) vibes, has dropped online. Check out the brand-new footage from Strange Darling below:
Directed by J.T. Mollner, Strange Darling will make its world debut at the Fantastic Fest Film Festival in Austin, Texas (September 21 - September 28) on Friday, September 22. Miramax made the announcement via their official Instagram account below:
Kyle Gallner (Outsiders, Smallville, CSI: NY) takes the lead as the antagonist in Strange Darling, and he isn’t a stranger to the horror genre having appeared in films like A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), The Haunting in Connecticut, Smile and many others). The short and sweet logline, courtesy of Fantastic Fest, for Strange Darling reads as follows:
"One day in the twisted love life of a serial killer."
Meanwhile, Fitzgerald portrays the film’s protagonist who is trying to survive the harrowing ordeal. The actress also has a background in the horror genre, as she portrayed Emma Duval in Scream: The TV Series. She will also appear as Young Madeline in Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher in October.
Willa Fitzgerald Must Find a Way to Survive in Strange Darling
It’s not been quite a year since The Trades picked up the story that Kyle Gallner and Willa Fitzgerald would team up for Strange Darling. The exclusive first appeared in Deadline, and the publication’s headline touted the Miramax production as a “cat & mouse thriller.”
Joining Gallner and Fitzgerald are Hollywood heavyweights Barbara Hershey (Beaches, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Natural) and Ed Begley Jr. (Transylvania 6-5000, Whatever Works, Better Call Saul). The more detailed synopsis for Strange Darling reads:
"A relentless predator [Gallner] tracks an injured woman [Fitzgerald] through the Oregon wilderness. The woman does her best to outsmart her attacker, but with each tense moment she grows weaker and less able. He’s a man on a mission, and it’s only a matter of time before he captures his prey."
Meanwhile, Strange Darling’s director J.T. Mollner said of the project in a recent interview with Variety:
“This film was a sort of dream (or nightmare) that I was compelled to bring to life. So much about it – the colors, the music, the overall visual aesthetic, and the characters were all so clear before we even shot anything. I really just wanted it to be one hell of a ride. We knew we would live or die with casting, and it turns out, the performances are the pillars of this movie.”
Strange Darling makes its world premiere at Fantastic Fest at 8:25 p.m. CDT on Friday, September 22. The film will play in two theaters (No. 5 and No. 7), at the same showtime, to accommodate those film fans in attendance. Two encore screenings will be held on Monday, September 25 at 2:10 p.m. in both theaters No. 6 and No. 8. For more information on the Strange Darling premiere, and the festival itself, please visit the official Fantastic Fest website.