AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

jacealana Wow. I had low expectations about this movie because of the star rating. I was sorely mistaken. Definitely 8/10 movie. This is an amazing movie. Very terrifying and beautifully done. Many jump scares that are not your normal jump scares. The story of a mid twenties woman who is house sitting. The house is supposedly haunted. But this movie takes a different turn altogether. Without spoiling anything, everything is not as expected.

CinemaClown Shot in black n white, arranged in non-chronological order, and evidently influenced by Roman Polanski's Apartment Trilogy (especially Repulsion), there is no denying that Darling is a stylishly directed feature but in its overambitious attempt to homage the notable horror classic, it ends up becoming an overbearing & convoluted mess.Set in New York, the story of Darling follows an unnamed young woman who agrees to house sit at a large mansion that appears to have a notorious past. With nothing to do & unable to kill time, she begins to lose her grasp on reality as the extended exposure to the isolation that abounds the empty mansion triggers her descent into madness.Written & directed by Mickey Keating, Darling is his tribute to the atmospheric chillers of the 1960s but the film lacks an identity of its own. Throughout its 78 minutes runtime, it applies tricks such as sporadically cutting to maniacal frames, screeching noises for its score & mindless meandering but all its intricacy lies only on the surface, for it is hollow from the inside.The monochrome filters, confined setting & clever use of camera do manage to bring an unsettling element into the picture but the narrative is simply out of focus and fails to capitalise on that. The only one who is actually able to redeem something out of this whole clutter is Lauren Ashley Carter who tries her best to make her character work and chips in with a violent performance.On an overall scale, Darling finds its filmmaker succeeding at replicating the look of Repulsion but he is unable to add the same level of thematic depth which turned that psychological horror into a genre classic. Deficient in numerous storytelling aspects & pretending to be something it isn't, this artistic endeavour bounces all over the place yet in the end, finds itself not far from where it started. Skip it.

mjsreg Its nice to see a film maker do something different that works - and works well.This film isn't the usual offering of horror/thriller fare. The whole story is not handed to you on a plate, and you have to fill in some of the blanks yourself. Intentional or not, it seems to work. I think this is a film the viewer will either love or hate.No doubt this was made with the psychological thrillers of the 50s and 60s in mind, with a bit of film noir thrown in to complete the mix.Lauren Ashley Carter plays the main character in the film. In fact, apart from a few short appearances by other characters, she is the film. And what a character she is. Sweet and adorable yet... well its best to watch the film.There were a couple of things that could have done with a bit more explanation, but no film is perfect.I for one will certainly be on the lookout for Lauren Ashley Carter in the future.

Ruby Chang Wow! I really admire how they put together this film. The complementary interaction between the sound effects - those harsh, dissonant sounds - and the fuzzy, almost dulled cinematography (interspersed, of course, with those terrifyingly epileptic flashes) really makes for the perfect horror atmosphere. The editing is brilliant. I have a bit of an issue with the pacing of the film overall. The first thirty minutes were kind of dull, despite the jumpscares, and I almost decided to skip over it entirely. The acting, however, is fantastic. I didn't recognize Lauren from Jug Face and Pod, so when I saw other people pointing it out, I found that made sense. Her skill is very obvious in these movies (even in Pod, which was not great to be honest). Looking forward to any other projects she'll be in. The plot is ambiguous, as some people have mentioned, but I think it worked for this film. Darling herself is so mixed up in her mind that nothing comes across as the truth to the audience. Not being able to figure out any concrete answers is a part of how uneasy this film can make you, in my opinion. (And adding to that mysterious eeriness is the scene in the middle of the credits! Really left me wanting more.) Ultimately, I found this to be a very well made film, a clear labor of love in the name of horror, dependent on the actors' performances and the conceptualization. Something like this is very divisive: you either love it, or you hate it. And I really loved it.