Darling (2015 American film)

Last updated
Darling
Darling poster.png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mickey Keating
Written byMickey Keating
Produced by
  • Sean Fowler
  • Mickey Keating
  • Jenn Wexler
Starring
CinematographyMac Fisken
Edited byValerie Krulfeifer
Music by Giona Ostinelli
Production
companies
Distributed by Screen Media Films
Release date
Running time
78 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Darling is a 2015 American psychological horror film written and directed by Mickey Keating. It stars Lauren Ashley Carter as a young woman who slowly goes insane after becoming a caretaker in a large New York City apartment. It also features Sean Young, Brian Morvant, Larry Fessenden, Helen Rogers, and John Speredakos. It premiered at the 2015 Fantastic Fest and released to limited theatres in the United States and VOD in April 2016. [1]

Contents

Plot

The film takes place over six chapters.

Chapter 1: Her

Madame leaves Darling alone as the new caretaker of an old home in New York City. Before leaving, Madame warns that the previous caretaker threw herself off the balcony. Darling becomes fascinated with an inverted cross necklace she finds in a dresser drawer. She also finds a locked door at the end of a hallway, but Madame forbids her by phone from opening it. Darling unknowingly drops the necklace while grocery shopping and a man returns it to her on the street. It is implied that she recognizes him. After experiencing a panic attack, Darling follows the man and finds out where he lives.

Chapter 2: Invocation

Darling begins experiencing hallucinatory visions. Noises in the home lead her outside to the balcony where she finds a Latin proverb "Abyssus abyssum invocat" which means "Deep calls to deep" ("hell calls hell" or "one misstep leads to another") scrawled into a wood panel.

Chapter 3: THRILLS!!

Darling follows the man from earlier to THRILLS!!, a local lounge. They share drinks together before Darling invites him back to her house. The man mentions how the house is said to be haunted and rumored to have been a place where someone once tried conjuring the devil. Darling suddenly stabs the man to death mid-conversation, and begins raving that she is taking revenge on a man named Henry Sullivan who cannot be allowed to live because of what he did to her "that night".

Chapter 4: Demon

Darling tapes a bag over the man’s head, suffocating him, and puts his body in the tub. Darling goes to sleep, clutching the cross necklace to her chest and reciting "Abyssus abyssum invocat". Darling dreams of the dead man attacking her in her bed.

Chapter 5: Inferno

Darling finds a card on the man that identifies him as Henry Sullivan. After sawing off his head and limbs and putting them in a bag, Darling checks the ID again and sees that the name now reads James Abbott.

Chapter 6: The Caretaker

Madame calls after discovering that Darling’s reference, Dr. Abbott, was never her employer; Darling replies calmly that the doctor says she's "all right now". Madame implores Darling to leave her home. Darling asks if the locked room upstairs was the site of the devil conjuring told of in local tales. Madame doesn't answer. Darling replies, “I think I’ll become one of your ghost stories now.” Darling breaks down the locked door upstairs and is horrified by what she sees, but it is not shown to the audience. Darling paces the hall, cuts up all of her clothes and dons the cross necklace. A woman arrives at the house with two police officers, presumably having been alerted by Madame via telephone, and they find the bag of body parts after entering with a spare key. Darling hears them, climbs up to the roof and jumps off - her visions now coming full circle.

In the post-credits scene, Madame hires another young woman as the home's new caretaker, reciting the same lines she spoke to Darling upon their first meeting.

Cast

Production

Shooting took place in New York City over twelve days. Keating was influenced by Roman Polanski, including Rosemary's Baby , The Tenant , and Repulsion . After being contacted by Keating, Fessenden joined as an executive producer and brought on Young. [2] New York was chosen as a location to emphasize the alienation and detachment felt by Carter's character. After watching 1960s horror films while writing Darling, Keating said it felt "right and necessary" to shoot in monochrome. [3]

Release

Darling premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 26, 2015. It was subsequently picked up for distribution by Screen Media Films, [4] who released it theatrically in New York and Toronto on April 1, 2016. It debuted on video on demand a week later. [5]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 71% of 24 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 6.3/10. The site's consensus reads, "Darling's classic inspirations will be obvious to hardcore horror fans, but they're deployed with enough wit and flair to stand on their own chilling merits". [6] Metacritic rated it 60/100 based on nine reviews. [7] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Lauren Ashley Carter delivers a riveting turn in this stylish but derivative horror film." [8] Richard Whittaker of The Austin Chronicle described it as an "unabashed love letter to Roman Polanski's early English-language work", though Whittaker said that Keating has developed his own recognizable style, which constantly challenges audiences. [9] Madeleine Koestner of Fangoria rated it 3/4 stars and called it "unsettling, distressing and mesmerizing". Koestner praised the film's atmosphere and intensity, saying that it makes up for the lack of character development. [10] Trace Thurman of Bloody Disgusting rated it 4/5 stars and wrote, "Darling may not provide any easy answers, but it is a trippy, hypnotic ride through the mind of a woman who is slowly losing it." [11] Ari Drew of Dread Central rated it 4/5 stars and wrote that although the film "owes a debt to early Polanski", it is refreshing and "never feels cheap in its homage". [12] Alex Williams of Twitch Film wrote, "Darling lacks the patience of its biggest influences, and its overbearing attempts to frighten the audience end up derailing an otherwise moody and intriguing effort." [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Fessenden</span> American actor and filmmaker

Laurence T. Fessenden is an American actor, producer, writer, director, film editor, and cinematographer. He is the founder of the New York based independent production outfit Glass Eye Pix. His writer/director credits include No Telling, Habit (1997), Wendigo (2001), and The Last Winter, which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. He has also directed the television feature Beneath (2013), an episode of the NBC TV series Fear Itself (2008) entitled "Skin and Bones", and a segment of the anthology horror-comedy film The ABCs of Death 2 (2014). He is the writer, with Graham Reznick, of the BAFTA Award-winning Sony PlayStation video game Until Dawn. He has acted in numerous films including Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Broken Flowers (2005), I Sell the Dead (2009), Jug Face (2012), We Are Still Here (2015), In a Valley of Violence (2016), Like Me (2017), and The Dead Don't Die (2019), Brooklyn 45 (2023), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Glass Eye Pix is an American independent film studio based in New York City, New York known primarily for producing horror films.

<i>The Tenant</i> 1976 film by Roman Polanski

The Tenant is a 1976 French psychological horror thriller film directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gérard Brach, based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Roland Topor. The film stars Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, Jo Van Fleet, Bernard Fresson, Lila Kedrova, Claude Dauphin and Shelley Winters. It is the final installment in Polanski's "Apartment Trilogy", following Repulsion (1965) and Rosemary's Baby (1968).

<i>Wrong Turn 2: Dead End</i> 2007 American slasher film by Joe Lynch

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is a 2007 American slasher film directed by Joe Lynch and starring Erica Leerhsen, Henry Rollins and Texas Battle. It is a sequel to Wrong Turn (2003) and the second installment in the Wrong Turn film series. The film received a positive response from critics and remains the best-reviewed film in the franchise. It grossed $9.2 million in home video sales.

<i>I Sell the Dead</i> 2008 American film

I Sell the Dead is a 2008 horror comedy, the feature film debut from Irish director Glenn McQuaid. It is a period film about grave robbing, starring Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman, Larry Fessenden and Angus Scrimm.

<i>I Can See You</i> (film) 2008 American film

I Can See You is a 2008 American psychological horror film written and directed by Graham Reznick. Ben Dickinson, Christopher Ford, and Duncan Skiles star as advertising workers who go on a camping trip to find inspiration for their latest campaign, only to find their sanity tested in the woods.

<i>Here Comes the Devil</i> 2012 Mexican film

Here Comes the Devil is a 2012 Mexican horror film that was directed by Adrian Garcia Bogliano. The film had its world premiere on September 11, 2012 at the Toronto International Film Festival and stars Francisco Barreiro and Laura Caro as a couple who finds that their children may have been exposed to something completely evil.

<i>Housebound</i> (2014 film) 2014 New Zealand film

Housebound is a 2014 New Zealand horror comedy film written, edited, and directed by Gerard Johnstone, in his feature film directorial debut. The film had its world premiere on 10 March 2014, at South by Southwest and stars Morgana O'Reilly as a woman sentenced to house arrest in a potentially haunted house.

<i>Late Phases</i> 2014 film by Adrián García Bogliano

Late Phases is a 2014 horror drama film by director Adrián García Bogliano and his first feature film in the English language. The film had its world premiere on March 9, 2014, at South by Southwest and stars Nick Damici as a blind war veteran who becomes the victim of a werewolf attack.

<i>Pod</i> (film) 2015 American film

Pod is a 2015 American horror film written and directed by Mickey Keating. It stars Lauren Ashley Carter, Dean Cates, Brian Morvant, Larry Fessenden, and John Weselcouch. Carter and Cates play siblings who stage an intervention for their unstable brother, played by Morvant. As the situation spirals out of control, they begin to wonder if what they had dismissed as their brother's paranoid delusions may be true. Writing was influenced by The Twilight Zone and classic horror films of the 1970s, including the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which inspired the title. Shooting took place in Maine in winter 2014. It premiered at South by Southwest on March 16, 2015, and was released theatrically on August 28, 2015. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 67% approval rating based on six reviews.

Amy Everson is an American artist, actor and screenwriter. Everson re-appropriates objects from pop culture and presents them in humorous or disturbing ways. Many pieces are made of felt. She is also known for creating cloth masks and body suits often with exaggerated genitalia. Her work has been interpreted a critique of rape culture.

<i>Let Us Prey</i> (film) 2014 horror film by Brian O’Malley

Let Us Prey is a 2014 horror film directed by Brian O'Malley and written by Fiona Watson and David Cairns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giona Ostinelli</span> Swiss–Italian composer

Giona Ostinelli is a Swiss–Italian composer who resides and works in Los Angeles.

<i>Southbound</i> (2015 film) 2015 horror anthology film

Southbound is a 2015 American horror anthology film directed by Radio Silence, Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, and Patrick Horvath. Produced by Brad Miska and Roxanne Benjamin, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 16, 2015, and was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on February 5, 2016. The film was included on numerous Best Horror Films of 2016 lists including those by Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed and the Thrillist.

<i>Dont Kill It</i> 2016 American film

Don't Kill It is a 2016 American comedy horror film directed and edited by Mike Mendez. Written by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, it stars Dolph Lundgren as Jebediah Woodley, a demon hunter who travels to Mississippi in the hopes of destroying an ancient, homicidal demon. Kristina Klebe, Tony Bentley, James Chalke, and Miles Doleac appear in supporting roles.

<i>Ritual</i> (2013 film) 2013 American film

Ritual is a 2013 American horror film written and directed by Mickey Keating. It stars Lisa Summerscales and Dean Cates as a married couple who must deal with a murderous cult. It was released in the United States on December 31, 2013.

Mickey Keating is an American film director and writer. His work includes Ritual, Pod, Darling, Carnage Park, and Psychopaths.

<i>Psychopaths</i> (film) 2017 film

Psychopaths is a 2017 American horror film written and directed by Mickey Keating. It stars an ensemble cast that includes Ashley Bell, James Landry Hébert, Mark Kassen, Angela Trimbur, Ivana Shein, Jeremy Gardner and Samuel D. Zimmerman. It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2017. It was released on December 1, 2017, by Samuel Goldwyn Films.

<i>The Similars</i> 2015 Mexican film

The Similars is a 2015 Mexican supernatural thriller film written and directed by Isaac Ezban. It stars Gustavo Sánchez Parra, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Fernando Becerril, Humberto Busto, Carmen Beato, Santiago Torres, and María Elena Olivares as people who are trapped by a hurricane at a bus station around the time of the Tlatelolco massacre in 1968. As the passengers wait for a bus to arrive, they are horrified to find that everyone's face is slowly transforming. The Similars premiered at Fantastic Fest in September 2015. It was released in Mexico in October 2016.

<i>Offseason</i> (film) 2021 horror film

Offseason is a 2021 supernatural horror film written and directed by Mickey Keating. It stars Jocelin Donahue, Joe Swanberg, Richard Brake, and Melora Walters. The film premiered at South by South West in March 2021 before a theatrical release by RLJE Films on March 11, 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "'Darling': The Films That Shaped Mickey Keating's Hypnotic Classic!". 9 April 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  2. ↑ Thurman, Trace (2015-10-05). "[Interview] Mickey Keating and Brian Morvant Talk 'Darling' at Fantastic Fest!". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  3. ↑ Fonte, Bears (2015-10-02). "Fantastic Fest Interview: Mickey Keating On DARLING And Stranding The Audience With A Questionable Viewpoint". AMFM Magazine. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  4. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (2015-09-29). "'Darling' Acquired By Screen Media After Fantastic Fest Bow". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  5. ↑ Gingold, Michael (2016-03-31). "On Set: Mickey Keating's Psychological Creepfest Darling". Fangoria . Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  6. ↑ "Darling (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  7. ↑ "Darling". Metacritic . Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  8. ↑ Scheck, Frank (2015-11-03). "'Darling': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  9. ↑ Whittaker, Richard (2015-09-26). "Fantastic Fest 2015: Darling". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  10. ↑ Koestner, Madeleine (2015-11-03). ""DARLING" (Scary Movies Review)". Fangoria . Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  11. ↑ Thurman, Trace (2015-09-27). "[Review] 'Darling' is a Hypnotic, Trippy Ride!". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  12. ↑ Drew, Ari (2015-10-08). "Darling (2015)". Dread Central . Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  13. ↑ Williams, Alex (2015-10-04). "Fantastic Fest 2015 Review: DARLING Is Too Shrill To Scare". Twitch Film . Retrieved 2015-12-15.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.