Much of the buzz surrounding the upcoming horror movie Strange Darling has been in regard to the secrets of its twists and turns, and a key tool the film uses in achieving those surprises is a non-linear narrative. The plot plays out in six chapters, but they aren’t in order, and each one delivers a new development that changes the way that you think about everything that precedes it. It’s a clever bit of storytelling that has earned the love of the legendary Stephen King – and writer/director JT Mollner never wants you to see the version of the movie that is recut to be in chronological order.
Late last month, I had the chance to dig deep into Strange Darling during an interview with Mollner, and while dipping in and out of spoiler talk, one subject we discussed was the film’s structure. I asked if he ever had a bit of fun in the editing room by seeing what the movie would play like in chronological order, and he surprised me by explaining that there was a cut like that put together, but it was actually against his wishes and the subject of some strife behind the scenes. Said the filmmaker,
I didn't do that because I had a feeling it wouldn't be great. But there was a point during the edit when one of the executives in charge of the movie at the time said, 'This movie is never gonna be understood by the public.' And it was when I just turned in a director's cut. And they said, 'We've brought an editor on, not your editor, but a different editor, to put this thing in order. Hope you don't mind.' And I was like, 'Whoa! Of course I mind. Like, what the fuck?'
Without giving away too much about the film, Strange Darling centers on two characters – The Lady (Willa Fitzgerald) and The Demon (Kyle Gallner) – who are locked in a deadly battle. When we meet them, the former is running for her life from the latter, but as more is revealed about their relationship via both flashbacks and flashfowards, the context of what’s going on ends up doing some major flips.
JT Mollner told me that he always conceived Strange Darling as a non-linear story, feeling that it would otherwise be “conventional and a little bit boring.” Still, there was a push from the unnamed executive to try and change his vision. He was asked to watch it just as an experiment, and he says he kept an open mind about it… but the experience of the story was precisely what he feared:
It became a thing where they weren't rude about it; they were just like, 'Listen, we just want to try it. We know you don't wanna do it, so we're just gonna try it and show it to you and tell us what you think.' And I was like, 'Alright, I'll totally keep an open mind.' And, of course, I watched it in sequence, and it just played exactly how I expected.
In righting the ship, Mollner gives credit to Bill Block, who was the CEO of Miramax when the film was developed. The writer/director pleaded his case to the executive, and in addition to recognizing his passion, Block went about organizing a test screening of Strange Darling to see how it would play for normal audiences. Said Mollner,
Thank God I talked to Bill Block, the head of the studio at the time, and he said, 'You know what? I can tell you're very passionate about this, and if you feel strongly about it, we certainly don't want to force you.' So he said, 'Let's just test your cut for a recruited audience and just see if there is a real problem with cognition and processing the information.' And so we did a we did a test screening with the out of sequence cut, and it tested really, really well.
Concerns that audiences wouldn’t “get” Strange Darling were abated, and JT Mollner’s original vision for the film was restored. And you definitely shouldn’t expect to see the alternate cut on any potential upcoming home video releases either:
The rest is history and Bill let us lock it. So I did see it in order, and I wouldn't want to share that with anybody.
Also starring Barbara Hershey, Ed Begley Jr. and Breaking Bad actor Steven Michael Quezada, Strange Darling premiered last year at Fantastic Fest 2023, but courtesy of Magenta Light Studios, it will be arriving in theaters this week – specifically on August 23. Check Fandango to see where its playing locally before your social media timeline gets filled with spoilers, and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more stories from my interview with JT Mollner.
