‘Strange Darling’s twist ending will keep you guessing until the last second

It’s best to go into director J.T. Mollner’s stylish genre thriller Strange Darling cold turkey—the less you know, the more you’re going to enjoy this twisty-turny gorefest. So who is the killer, really, and how does it all go down in the end?

Strange Darling actually premiered nearly a year ago in September 2023, and it’s been a bumpy road to theatrical distribution ever since. Now, thanks to the newly-founded Magenta Light Studios, the movie is finally set to hit theaters on August 23. Starring Willa Fitzgerald as the ever-elusive “the Lady,” Strange Darling has already amassed a cult following of sorts, with the film hanging at a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%—and for a good reason.

I recently got to check out Strange Darling at its L.A. premiere earlier this week, and while it personally wouldn’t get a 100% in my book, I can agree that it’s a fun popcorn thriller in the same vein of feminist horrors like Ti West’s X trilogy. The slasher flick’s clever take on the whole “one-night stand gone wrong” trope is aided by some gorgeous cinematography (shot entirely on 35mm) from Giovanni Ribisi, making for a dreamlike journey into the inner psyche of a killer.

And days later, its subversive ending still has me reeling.

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Strange Darling.

Strange Darling ending, explained

Did you see that plot twist coming? I mean, by the end of chapter 3, it’s fairly obvious, but the ill-fated sexual encounter (and deranged BDSM fantasy) between “the Lady” and “the Demon” (Kyle Gallner) that unfolds throughout the film’s six chapters is a masterful tennis match of subverting audience expectations. Is the Demon really the sick, perverse killer we believe him to be? Or does the shadowy Lady have some malicious intentions of her own?

Well, Strange Darling answers that particular question pretty quickly when the Lady drugs the Demon—who’s actually just a small-town, flannel-wearing cop going through a divorce—and carves her initials into his skin. Essentially, she’s playing with her food, but she’s knocked off her A-game when the Demon fights back, kicking off the cat-and-mouse chase in the first act of the film. The Lady being the murderer all along might not have been totally shocking to a careful viewer, but it does serve to challenge our own preconceptions about gender roles (“Are you a serial killer?”) and victimization.

So, back to chapter one: After pulling her usual “Can you please help me?” act, the Lady kills the sweet old mountain hippies (played by Barbara Hershey and Ed Begley Jr.) and proceeds to hide from the Demon, who’s hot on her tail, in an old meat freezer. Eventually, the Demon sniffs her out and proceeds to shoot her and cuff her to the box, calling for his buddies at the police station for help. However, he seriously underestimates the Lady’s dexterity. She sprays him in the face with a hidden can of bear spray, which distracts him long enough for her to kill him. Viciously. To death.

Does Willa Fitzgerald’s final girl survive in Strange Darling?

The cops finally arrive at the cabin, and the Lady knows exactly how to manipulate them into thinking that she’s the victim—just ignore the two dead bodies lying on the kitchen floor. After the younger rookie (Madisen Beaty) uncuffs her and convinces her partner (Steven Michael Quezada) to drive her to a hospital, the Lady makes her move, pulling out her stashed guns. She’s more forgiving on the woman who gave her a chance to escape, but her partner isn’t nearly as lucky. The Lady shoots him and gets away yet again. Unsurprisingly, she’s kind of a pro at this.

However, the Lady’s luck runs out in a fateful encounterwhen a seemingly innocent woman (Sheri Foster) picks her up off the street. When the driver notices that the Lady is packing, she shoots her in the passenger seat and immediately calls 911. Here, the Lady’s world slowly starts to fade from color to black-and-white—implying that her little mass murder spree is finally over. And yeah, she’s certainly not the angel she thinks she is.

Strange Darling doesn’t hold back with a unique spin on the slasher genre, which is probably why it’s been so well-received by critics. But only time will tell if it holds up when, at long last, audiences get to see the film on the big screen this Friday.