Strange Darling!

[00:00:06] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Foxley Crew Reviews. It's a podcast dedicated to talking about films. And by films, I mean any films, whether they good, bad, you know, anything in between. We'll give them a watch. We don't mind. Well, we might mind, but it's a bit tough, really. Inner. Today we have Hypes with us. I believe this is the first time on this podcast, isn't it, Hypes? [00:00:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it might be, yeah. [00:00:34] Speaker A: How you doing, dude? [00:00:36] Speaker B: Oh, I'm all right, thanks. You? [00:00:38] Speaker A: Yeah, not bad. Not bad. You mean up too much? [00:00:42] Speaker B: Not too much work hacking my 3Ds or rehacking it. Hey, Pokemon. [00:00:54] Speaker A: Yeah, Pokemon is good fun. Like, I've been playing a bit of Pokemon. I've been playing Platinum. Like, I've got the DLC of Violet to finish. I've only just started the first one and I've got like, I never. I finished black. I thought white, but never finished black. I've never even played black. White too. So I've got. I want to play them. It's just too many games, man. Too much, too much to do and nowhere near enough time. Yeah, I actually got a data for yellow on my ds. I bought it way back and I'm like, oh, yeah, I'll jump on that. I was playing there a bit and I was like, oh, I've literally got three Pokemon or something like that. Five, I think. So I was in very far into it and was playing a. Oh, well. [00:01:47] Speaker B: Few mini games. Too many games, too many TV programs, too many films, too many books, too. [00:01:55] Speaker A: Many comics, too many manga, Too much everything. [00:02:01] Speaker B: Who reads books these days? Yeah. No, indeed. We need. We need more time. More time in the day. [00:02:08] Speaker A: Quickest way to get through a book is to just listen to an audio book. That way then you can. You can do it while pooping and stuff. [00:02:17] Speaker B: Yeah, or drive. Yeah, yeah. I don't drive audiobooks on my commute, but I'm just rewinding, rewinding constantly. I was like, hang on, Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to that. I was paying attention to the road. Yeah, rewind five minutes. What's going on? I do that with books. What did I just read? Go two pages. [00:02:39] Speaker A: Yeah, it makes perfect sense, man. [00:02:42] Speaker B: Why visual media is better for me. I think so. [00:02:51] Speaker A: So today we are going to be talking about a film called Strange Darling. It is a very recent film. 2023. I think that's the information I've got. 23. And you chose the film. Is any particular reason why you picked this film? [00:03:16] Speaker B: Well, I thought I'd go for a horror film because it is the season, as they say, and I just sort of googled good new horror films and it came up with this. And what was the other one? The most recent M. Night Shyamalan film. And so I thought we'd go for this one. [00:03:47] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, that's fair enough. [00:03:48] Speaker B: There we are. [00:03:50] Speaker A: Well, I wouldn't particularly class this as a horror film for from what I saw there, it is a bit of a stranger. Like it's based. It says on the beginning is based on a true story. Is that actually true or is it just something they. [00:04:03] Speaker B: No, no, it's. It's a. This is based on a true story. It's not based on a true story. Yeah, just there for, for added flavor. Yeah, but yeah, I mean, imagine it was. [00:04:18] Speaker A: It would be pretty cool. Yeah, well, not, not pretty cool for all the people who got shot and stuff, but it would be pretty cool. But, yeah. [00:04:29] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:04:30] Speaker A: The basic, the premise of this film is there's a killer killing people and two people hook up and the girl's like saying to the guy, oh, are you some kind of serial killer? Because that's their voice now. And she. [00:04:53] Speaker B: That's pretty much it. [00:04:55] Speaker A: Yeah, that's. That's pretty much it. That's the. That's the premise. Yeah. Well, we probably will spoil it. So make sure you actually watch the film before you list the podcast or you might have things ruined. And as we've told you that it's your fault if it gets ruined. [00:05:11] Speaker B: What did you think? [00:05:15] Speaker A: Well, I actually quite think of it. Enjoyed it. I quite enjoyed it. I must be honest. I thought it was rather, rather entertaining. I will say though, when I was watching it, it got. It got to a certain point and I was like, why is it doing the chapters the way it's doing it? And then I was like, ah, now I see why they've done the chapters the way they're doing it. Because then you find out like, like in a story, usually it goes forward and you. Things get revealed as it goes along, but in this, because it jumps backwards and forwards, the. The reveal. It would happen much earlier in the film if it didn't and it wouldn't quite have the same impact as it does. [00:05:54] Speaker B: Yes. So it's in the what. What we'll call the Tarantino, even though obviously people did it before him. Out of sequence film, six chapters and an epilogue played out of order. [00:06:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:06:13] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, and an epilogue. Yeah. That was weird. Yeah. So I, I can't. Everybody starts at 5, 5, 3, 1 4, 2, 6 or something. [00:06:24] Speaker A: Yeah, it is strange. [00:06:25] Speaker B: Yeah. So it opens up on the lady Willa Fitzgerald being chased. She's initially. It's. It's her running across the field, isn't it? I think that's what you very first see. And then you sort of see her being chased by a car. The old classic, you know, car chase, car hunting you down. Classic trope in cinema. But, yeah, she's been chased in a car and then there's a crash. And I don't know if it then switches to another one. Chapters. It does. It's all out of sequence. And you think. [00:07:09] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it goes back to the beginning to where they first start hooking up and they. They start, like, getting weird in the bedroom. [00:07:18] Speaker B: It's. It's a bit of the old. What is it? Bdsm. That's. Isn't it? [00:07:25] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:07:25] Speaker B: She. She's into strange things. [00:07:28] Speaker A: Yeah. I did find it funny, though, because it shows her running away and stuff. And does this go. And Love. Love Hurts is playing. I think that's what the song's called. And it's. I think it's an aosmith song, but obviously it's not the Aeros. This song as a cover, like, much older than. Yeah, I. I've only heard that version until this film. Put it that way. I'm not that old. [00:07:55] Speaker B: Music is quite good. Did, like, little hook. Yeah. So that was good. I enjoyed how it looked and how it sounded. [00:08:06] Speaker A: Yeah. But what I liked. One thing I liked is it does the chair sequence and then it skips back to the beginning. Then it goes back to where she's running after the car accident. And it shows us sitting down, pouring, like, alcohol on her head because she got shot in the head, kind of. And she stops. Yeah, you do know. And she's sitting there having a cigarette, and I'm like, why? Why? What the. When you're on a run. [00:08:43] Speaker B: She'S gonna go up in flames. Yeah. Vodka. Yeah. Oh, you're hiding from a guy who's chasing you with a gun. Well, I wouldn't pour vodka in your ear. That's gonna make you. [00:08:55] Speaker A: Yeah, it is hilarious. Like, I understand the whole. Put something on it to kind of disinfect it and what have you. I understand that. But to sit down and just like. Yeah, I'll just. I'll just smoke a cigarette. It's like. [00:09:12] Speaker B: Yeah, and smoke a cigarette and all the smoke will go out and, you know, reveal my location. It's like, you're not thinking straight. I mean, Admittedly, you're missing your hair, but, you know, things I'd do for being chased. Then obviously ran across the field after being chased and encounters the wonderful mountain. [00:09:33] Speaker A: People, which is just hippies. They're just old hippies, man. [00:09:39] Speaker B: Yeah, actually, we're just. We're not m. People. Hippies. We're not hippies. We're. We're doomsdayers or whatever they were. Yeah, yeah. [00:09:45] Speaker A: We're not just hippies. We do. [00:09:47] Speaker B: What was that about? Just. Just in there, little hut with a recording playing out on all the speakers. That was just a bit weird. [00:09:56] Speaker A: Yeah, that was. It was like, hey, this is. I am that squad season. Stay out the far ends. That's what he was saying. Something like that. [00:10:07] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, they did start. Yeah. It's. Was. You sure it was a man chasing. You're not Sasquatch? Yes, yes, very much so. I am excited to try out. Competitive puzzling. [00:10:17] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:10:19] Speaker B: And also competitive puzzling. And their breakfast. Oh, wow. [00:10:24] Speaker A: The breakfast, to me looked quite nasty. The amount of what look like fat, like big block of lard in each frying pan. It's like butter. Was it butter? [00:10:39] Speaker B: Butter with the egg. Big knob of butter on it as well. [00:10:44] Speaker A: I know, I was just like sausages, Loads of eggs. I think a little less butter. [00:10:48] Speaker B: And I did this cream. Yeah. That's what set it over the edge. A bit too much batter. Yeah, they were quite weird. And then. Yeah, obviously. [00:11:04] Speaker A: Well, yeah, you see, the. The man dies after that first. Oh, no, you see the man's dead. And then it goes back a bit again. [00:11:14] Speaker B: You're like, oh, how's he dead? Presumably the kill. The killers come and got. Got to her and got to them. And then it flips back. So it does that obviously, throughout the first three chapters that it shows sort of, oh, how did this happen? What. What's happening next? How did this happen? What's happening next? How did this happen? What's happening next? Which I quite like. I'm a. I'm a fan of a film sort of told out of sequence. [00:11:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:11:44] Speaker B: Obviously, you've got your Martinos, your Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, but also, what is there? Eternal sunshine, Spotless mind. [00:11:56] Speaker A: Yeah, that's really good. [00:11:59] Speaker B: It gives time. It gives time for a good twist as well, doesn't it? [00:12:03] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:12:04] Speaker B: So it's. It's all. It sort of keeps you. I think it's good for keeping you intrigued and engaged in the film. [00:12:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:12:13] Speaker B: Throughout the whole start. Sometimes you be like, oh, really? Feeling this film. But I think when it does that, it's got. And then you should have each bit. [00:12:22] Speaker A: Yeah, it kind of helps as well because if it goes straight into something where something interesting is happening and then it kind of goes back to reveal how we got there as well as revealing more interesting bits all out a sequence, it can keep you more engaged. Like it doesn't work for everything. Like that film I watched on for the podcast, I can't remember it was called I got Tom Hanks in a Halle Berry and that was like three hours long. And I watched it for this podcast and I thought it was boring as. But that was the same thing but from the Sons where the book is very different. Where it goes forward in time and then back or something. [00:13:01] Speaker B: The fountain or something. The what Is that what it was? Is that the fountain or was the tree or the Tree of Life or Cloud Atlas. [00:13:12] Speaker A: Cloud Atlas, yeah, that's the. Yeah, I didn't like that one. [00:13:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:13:18] Speaker A: And it was on for three hours I think. [00:13:20] Speaker B: So it gets to three hours. It's really got to keep you engaged. [00:13:24] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:13:25] Speaker B: I like about this is it does 90 minutes. Films are too long these days. [00:13:32] Speaker A: Yeah. I don't mind a long film if it keeps you engaged. Like don't get me wrong, there were some bits of Cloud Atlas that was nice. Like the, the boobies. The boobies were nice, but only Jorgen. It was quite boring. But you know this on the other hand I really enjoyed. [00:13:54] Speaker B: Did you pick any, pick up any bedroom tips or anything? Pets in this one? [00:13:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm gonna strangle the misses every time I go to bed. [00:14:04] Speaker B: Disclaimer. [00:14:06] Speaker A: I'm not actually gonna do that. [00:14:07] Speaker B: I would also not suggest don't use ketamine. [00:14:11] Speaker A: No. One thing I like though is you know when the woman head right in the freezer, you, you don't know that you hid in the freezer until like the guy is looking around for her and then you see loads of like frozen meat on the floor and it's like well, she's in the freezer. [00:14:31] Speaker B: Like if you're gonna hide in a freezer, someone else. Sure. Sort of change between chapters. That was a bit. I didn't quite get. I, I thought it showed him coming to the freezer, shooting the gun at the freezer and then opening it and her screaming at him. Yeah, whatever. And, and out or whatever. But then when you went to the next chapter in sequence three chapters later or whatever, she seemed to be asleep or out cold. So I'm not quite sure. [00:15:11] Speaker A: I'm not sure I, I not sure if where she shot he Shot them. She just like freaked out. Just. I know. That's the only thing I can think of. The shock, like, maybe she, she. Gosh, she. The shock of being shot at with a shotgun in there was a bit. I don't it now. [00:15:34] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:15:35] Speaker A: That is one thing that we'll have to. For the director about in a minute. [00:15:41] Speaker B: I'm not one of the director with all the. The. The sex and the gore heads. [00:15:48] Speaker A: Bring it on. I see. [00:15:49] Speaker B: Fine. Utterly decent. [00:15:51] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I was fine. [00:15:52] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean I was mostly the one bit that got me slightly was bit which I don't quite want to spoil, but it was blood in not a great way. And I was like, oh, that's a bit nasty after the freezer. [00:16:21] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I think. I think I get what you're saying. [00:16:25] Speaker B: I think the bitey bit. [00:16:28] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. It's a good film. I love one bit where it's like, this is very spoilery is the guy turns out to be a cop and he gets people to come to help and he's already dead by then. And she just pulled the kegs down a bit and starts screaming. Oh, he was going, that's so cool, kid. And he's like. And then the other woman's like, oh, you know, help me help her, like. And the guy's like, no, we need to follow protocol. And she's like, yeah, but if something happens to her. Yeah, full on in. [00:17:09] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:17:11] Speaker A: And it's like I was laughing, I was laughing and I said to the Mrs. Like, it's funny because obviously she just like, oh, you, you know, attack me kind of thing. And obviously you should give people a benefit of the doubt. But in that situation, it turned out bad for. Because she ended up killing a couple more people. [00:17:28] Speaker B: Well, one. So, yeah, full spoilers. Turns out she's actually the killer. [00:17:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:36] Speaker B: And then, yeah, it was the ending and I thought, yeah, okay, she's tricked the cops. You know, she can trick them, kill them, go off. End of film. I don't quite get why it really needed all the. Right, I drive with, okay, now I've got a gun. You can go run off, you can drive on a bit and then I'll shoot you. And then I'll I out the car into another car. [00:18:11] Speaker A: Think that it was. She didn't want to kill other women, even though she did. But she also said herself, sometimes I see demons instead of people. So I think she just. Sometimes I think she was basically nuts. So, like, she wasn't gonna kill the cop when she's like, right, no, I'm not gonna kill her because I don't want to. And then all of a sudden she like looks at the mirror at him and she's like. And then shoots him. So as if it's as if it's like, oh no, he is actually a demon. I'm gonna shoot him. Like, you know. And then when she climbs into the final car, there's like a flash of like a demonish kind of look to it. So I'm not sure if I thought. [00:18:50] Speaker B: She was gonna kill herself then I thought that. Yeah. [00:18:54] Speaker A: But I'm not. Because it looked like she was looking at the wing mirror, at her own reflection. So I'm not sure she was gonna shoot herself. But by the time she pulled the gun out, it's kind of like the other one was like, oh. And then, you know. Or if it was like she was gonna kill the other. I. I just don't know. And I never will. [00:19:18] Speaker B: Yeah, she obviously shot everyone every time they tried to call the police or whatever. So that was. [00:19:24] Speaker A: Yeah, anytime the police was trying to get involved, she'd kill the person. She stabbed the old guy. She stabbed the woman in the shop. So. Because they wanted to phone the police, but she's like, no cops, no cops. I had they not wanted to phone the police. [00:19:41] Speaker B: Shot the mounted woman who ran towards the car. [00:19:45] Speaker A: Yeah, she shot the mountain woman who run towards the car because she knew her, who she was her. She knew it was her who killed her husband, weren't it? Or by man friend, boyfriend. It sounds weird. Say now for like a 70 year. [00:19:59] Speaker B: Old couple, you'll end up shooting a lot of people after that bit. Yeah, yeah. [00:20:04] Speaker A: But she let the other cop run away. It's like, oh yeah, I don't want to kill you. Go away, honey. Sarcastically said like. [00:20:13] Speaker B: But there you go, you, you, you, you let. You got me out of the handcuffed to the fridge and let me escape. So I'll let you escape. [00:20:23] Speaker A: Yeah, it seems that way, doesn't it? [00:20:25] Speaker B: Yeah, I should say I think, I. [00:20:29] Speaker A: Think there was a whole thing of, you know, the whole thing was, is all those demons maybe, but I don't know, maybe that was just a thing they come up with towards the end. [00:20:41] Speaker B: Goes on a bit of a rampage. She's obviously still a serial killer before this, isn't she? What? She's the Red lady or something? I can't. [00:20:53] Speaker A: Electric Lady, I think. [00:20:56] Speaker B: Electric lady, that's it. Yeah, yeah. She, she's car obviously carving that into him when he's out of his head on. Yeah. [00:21:07] Speaker A: I mean. Yeah, well, the thing is, is she says, I've never carved her into someone there, but she was. She was like. She was doing stuff. And I. I think up to a point she's like. I know she's bit weird throughout the entire thing in the whole hotel, but at some point that flash happens and that's where she's like, all right, I gotta kill the guy. That's how it seems. Not sure if that's how it is, but, you know, who knows? [00:21:34] Speaker B: Yeah, maybe. [00:21:36] Speaker A: Who knows? Because. I don't know. [00:21:38] Speaker B: Fine line in wigs as well. [00:21:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:41] Speaker B: Isn't she? But, yeah, just how you sort of constantly call back to previous things. I mean, like, right at the start, you sort of see him chasing her down and him sniffing his hand and obviously, like, taking drugs. And you're like, oh, why is he doing that? And then five chapters later, it's the bit before where you see, oh, he's taking cocaine to wake himself up because she's drugged him with ketamine. Yeah, yeah. [00:22:13] Speaker A: Well, when it starts, it starts. I know we said it started with the woman running and stuff, but then he's a little bit before that, where it starts with a car radio being played and it's on about, like, a serial killer. And then after that, it says about. It shows her and him talking in the car. I'm not sure if that's before or after the run in sequence. And she says, you're not a serial killer, are you? And he's like, no. And then it cuts to the bedroom where you see him strangling up. But, like, just from hit. Like from his elbows up, sort of. [00:22:51] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:22:51] Speaker A: So it gives the impression that he is actually a serial killer. Like. [00:22:55] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:22:56] Speaker A: And then obviously he reveals that she's asking him to strangle her. [00:23:02] Speaker B: Yeah, it's very weird, but yeah, yeah, it's rather weird. Uses those first three chapters out of sequence, too. Builds the idea that you know, someone else is the serial killer when actually it's her. [00:23:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:18] Speaker B: You see all the killing in the other chapters. [00:23:21] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:23:22] Speaker B: Did you work it out, pets? [00:23:24] Speaker A: I did say at some point. I think by the time the guy was dead, the old guy was dead. I was like, yes, pro. It's gotta be her doing it. But I'm clever like that. I watch a lot of mystery stuff. I'm a nerd. Sometimes I just go like, yeah, I. [00:23:46] Speaker B: You know, I think perhaps it thinks it might be cleverer than it actually is. You know, I'd work it out. [00:23:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:54] Speaker B: Before explicitly told you, but not Too far that I wasn't. Yeah, well, I mean you'd obviously believe it to be something else because of stereotypes and how it was played. So. [00:24:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it was done well. Yeah, you know, I think it's the. The main thing is it kept me entertained and I thought it was interesting and by the time I got to it's actually playing properly from like chapter five, six and then the epilogue or whatever is. Yeah, I was hooked. And like what the is gonna happen next? How is this woman who's clearly crazy and likes murdering people going to continue to get away with what she's doing? And then it, she continues to get away with it by preying on other people's sensibilities. I guess she's like using the fact that, oh, he tried to do something to me because there's a female cop there who would kind of have a understanding of the situation in a sense, I guess of oh no, like he's done something to her. We need to sort this out ourselves. Whereas the guy's more like. No, that, let's do the who protocol thing. And then he comes around to the idea of helping her because clearly have gone on but obviously the that have gone on is not actually what had gone on. [00:25:14] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, it all sort of deals with the issues of sojourny, isn't it? And your beliefs in what men can do and women can do. And then a bit with the police officers and her chain to the, to the freezer. What actually believes going on. You know, empathy and well man approach to know we've got to sort things out. Yeah, it's. It's a bit of sexual politics say in there as well. But a good film. [00:25:50] Speaker A: It is a good film. We're going to wrap it up soon if you'd like and. But I would like to share your like final thoughts on the film. And would you recommend it? [00:26:06] Speaker B: Yeah, fun thoughts. I enjoyed it. It's probably 7 out of 10, 8 out of 10. [00:26:18] Speaker A: Sometimes a 7 is better. [00:26:22] Speaker B: That's true, that's true. And sometimes the greatest film of all time is worth a five or a four. No, it was a good film. Obviously it, it's. It's a bit we and a bit sexual. Not one to show your kids. [00:26:41] Speaker A: It is rated 18 in the UK. Saw. [00:26:46] Speaker B: Yeah. I do enjoy an out of sequence film. I enjoyed this nice 90 minutes, good thriller. Not too much of an investment, I'd say. Watch it. I don't know if this guy's. The director's done any other films, but. [00:27:04] Speaker A: I have no idea. I think it was written and directed by the same person. [00:27:07] Speaker B: A good film. And good acting by the woman, certainly. And the other guy as well. And some nice, interesting side characters as well. [00:27:19] Speaker A: Yeah. Even if they're not very long. Yeah, I agree with you, man. I think it's definitely worth a watch. I enjoyed it. I'd agree. 7, 8 or 10. One of the two. It's hard to judge because I did actually rather enjoy it. The only disappointing thing right now is my Mrs. And you're saying, what do you think, love? And then she'll give me her opinion at the same time. She's in bed, I got to go up and strangle her in a minute. And I'm not actually going to strangle her. [00:27:50] Speaker B: Wake her up and say, what did you think? [00:27:53] Speaker A: No, she'd strangle me. [00:27:55] Speaker B: That's what she wants. Well, there you go. And that's the role reversal. See the twist again. [00:28:03] Speaker A: Yeah. Honestly, I. I recommend doing this, watching this. Yeah. Don't do domestic violence. And if you are in a relationship where there's domestic violence or any sort of abuse, seek help. Genuinely. And I. I mean this. Seek help. Bit of a serious. Not though, but I think we're gonna end here. I recommend the film. Please check it out. I'll be back hopefully in a fortnight. I can't guarantee that, but I should hopefully be back soon with another game podcast, which is Pez's game shark, but yeah. Take care, everyone. Thank you for taking part Hypes. It's been a pleasure chatting with you. [00:28:52] Speaker B: Let's chat with you as always. [00:28:54] Speaker A: That's good, that's good. You're not going to try to say what I need talking to you, but. Oh, well. Bye, everyone. Thanks again, dude. [00:29:05] Speaker B: It's good to talk. Yeah. Bye. Bye. [00:29:10] Speaker A: Bye. [00:29:23] Speaker B: What the fuck? He's got a gun. [00:29:27] Speaker A: So do I.