Darling (2016), tells the story of a bug-eyed young lady (Lauren Ashley Carter), who goes to work as a caretaker for Madame (Sean Young of Blade Runner fame) in her lavish New York City mansion. From the beginning, Madame informs Darling that the previous caretaker actually threw herself off the apartment balcony, so the fact that this news alone do not seem to affect Darling enough to make her run far, far away from this haunted house of horrors is telling enough for what’s to come.
The captivating character that Darling is, our eyes are glued to the screen as the puzzle pieces of this simplistic, but thrilling, story merge inside a wonderful black and white, 1940’s-esque modern day world that director Mickey Kennedy displays exquisitely. Darling does not necessarily do anything incredibly original, but what it does is present a tense, wild exploration of a young girl’s descent into madness in a house of mystery and evil. And at a brisk 78 minutes, it never once becomes dull. The silent moments forebode, the editing impacts hard, and when the inevitable insanity arrives it comes with all the style and verve of a Tarantino grind-house movie.
Daz @ The Movies 