Darling Review | 31 Days of Halloween 2019

Darling is a 2015 psychological horror film directed by Mickey Keating, starring Lauren Ashley Carter, Brian Morvant, and Sean Young.  The plot follows a young woman (Carter) who slowly goes insane after becoming a caretaker in a large, isolated mansion.


Positives:

  • Visually appealing

Negatives:

  • Boring plot
  • Uninteresting main character
  • Music is poorly executed
  • Uneventful performance
  • Choppy editing

Plot:  The story is for lack of a better word, garbage.  It desperately tries to be a neo-noir thriller but just comes off as a pile of random sequences with little exposition and practically no direction.  The “supernatural” or “psychological” element is just a waste.  Everything about this movie is lazy, boring, and uneventful.  Also, there is the ending, which explains nothing.  (1 out of 5)

Characters:  The unnamed female protagonist isn’t really interesting, displaying little to no emotion, not interesting quirks nor any depth.  Really the only thing she does is stare.  It’s not that she is a bad actress but she is literally given nothing to do.  She literally looks like the love child of Mila Kunis and Kristen Stewart, with none of the talent.  Some of her delivery is just absurd but this can be attributed to the directing and writing. (1 out of 5)

Cast:  Lauren Ashley Carter does what she can but she’s literally given nothing to do.  The supporting cast includes  Sean Young, Brian Morvant, Larry Fessenden, Helen Rogers, and John Speredakos. (1 out of 5)

Visuals: The black and white effect are good for setting the film’s tone although it doesn’t necessarily contribute to it.  The quick flashes do nothing to help the film, only making them repetitive distractions that can give even the strongest and most focused viewers a headache.  (2 out of 5)

Score: The music is here and there.  There are some instances where the music is appropriate adding just enough edge to the scene while in other parts it’s either unnecessary and or absurdly overbearing. (2 out of 5)

Writing:  I’m not the one to just downright trash a movie but there is nothing to the writing.  Mickey Keating shows promise but the final result is just barebones.  The character is written poorly, there’s no substance to the plot, and much of the writing is just boring. Of course, of all the things to make a character interesting the lack of dialogue also takes away from that. Sure the movie focuses on the psychological elements but I’m not sure if they mean the audience and not the main character. (1 out of 5)


The Verdict: In the end, Darling is an uninspiring film.  Despite an interesting premise the film does little to fully engage viewers with the main character, engaging or consistent plot, or relevant setting.  Darling gets 1 out of 5.

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