Review of Darling

Darling (II) (2015)
6/10
Alright Darling? - Stylish, but mediocre psycho-horror
5 March 2022
A young woman (Lauren Ashley Carter) takes the job of nanny in an old townhouse, rumoured to be haunted.

The film has garnered a lot of praise for its visuals and it's justified. It is a striking looking film with high contrast black and white photography. The plot is minimalist with minimal dialogue and relies more on atmosphere. The film draws comparisons to early Polanski, particularly Repulsion, but it's nowhere near in the same league. There's been a slew of indie demonic possession films like The Devil's Candy and A Dark Song and I honestly preferred those. For me beyond the art and sound design it's just a bit mediocre. It's not as complex or as intriguing as Repulsion, not as chilling as Takashi Miike's domestic horror, Audition. It also suffers from bad tropes of the time popularised by films like Paranormal Activity, which is an over reliance on jumpcuts and milisecond cutaways to messed up scenes.

I wanted to like this film more. In my opinion it has been overrated by horror fansites like Bloody Disgusting. The film is interesting. There has been a considerable amount of work and talent gone into it, but it just left me cold.
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