Darling

Shot in black n white, arranged in non-chronological order, and evidently influenced by Roman Polanski's Apartment Trilogy (especially Repulsion), there is no denying that Darling is a stylishly directed feature but in its overambitious attempt to homage the notable horror classic, it ends up becoming an overbearing & convoluted mess.

Set in New York, the story of Darling follows an unnamed young woman who agrees to house sit at a large mansion that appears to have a notorious past. With nothing to do & unable to kill time, she begins to lose her grasp on reality as the extended exposure to the isolation that abounds the empty mansion triggers her descent into madness.

Written & directed by Mickey Keating, Darling is his tribute to the atmospheric chillers of the 1960s but the film lacks an identity of its own. Throughout its 78 minutes runtime, it applies tricks such as sporadically cutting to maniacal frames, screeching noises for its score & mindless meandering but all its intricacy lies only on the surface, for it is hollow from the inside.

The monochrome filters, confined setting & clever use of camera do manage to bring an unsettling element into the picture but the narrative is simply out of focus and fails to capitalise on that. The only one who is actually able to redeem something out of this whole clutter is Lauren Ashley Carter who tries her best to make her character work and chips in with a violent performance.

On an overall scale, Darling finds its filmmaker succeeding at replicating the look of Repulsion but he is unable to add the same level of thematic depth which turned that psychological horror into a genre classic. Deficient in numerous storytelling aspects & pretending to be something it isn't, this artistic endeavour bounces all over the place yet in the end, finds itself not far from where it started. Skip it.

"Darling" follows an out-of-touch young woman who gets a job house sitting in a large New York mansion that is reputed to be haunted—that's about all I can say without ruining the rest of the film, as it really is that paper-thinly plotted.

Writer/director Mickey Keating seems to be a serious film student, as the movie is entirely based on Polanski's "Repulsion," and has shades of "The Shining" and "Diabolique" worn on its shoulder at all times. This is perhaps the most frustrating thing about it—the fact that it lacks its own identity.

The film is nicely shot and has some great closeups which are accentuated by the black-and-white cinematography, and the setting has an off-kilter, claustrophobic vibe that is more or less effective; I did, however, find the flashy jump-cuts and strobe effects to be overwrought. Lauren Ashley Carter plays the lead of the picture, and even looks like Catherine Deneuve; her performance is solid, while Brian Morvant plays a male counterpart who takes on a vital role in the proceedings. The film has a downbeat ending at its 76 minute running time, but it's a conclusion that seems apparent from the opening scene.

Overall, "Darling," though a technically well-made film, lacks bite because it seems too preoccupied with paying homage. A meatier film could have gotten away with this, but the narrative here is far too basic and skeletal to offset a cache of cross-references. The result is stylistically effective, but unfortunately rather dull in all other areas. 4/10.

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.

I just saw this and liked it very much. The film starts slowly by design, and misdirects you into thinking this will be innocent young girl vs. ghost of devil worshipping former owner, but takes an unexpected turn i doubt anyone will see coming.

The camera is always on the lead actress, often in serious closeup, which must have been a challenge for her but she eats up the camera. Lovely black and white photography, sharp direction, great creepy old mansion location.

Like the best low or micro budget films puts bloated un-scary Hollywood products to shame. Two severed thumbs up!

I liked this movie and I think others will also. This reminded me of Polanski's repulsion. A black and white art house flick with a twilight zone feel to it. This blurs the line between mental deterioration nightmare's and reality. Lauren Ashely Carter was top notch maintaining an innocent look even when she's doing something wrong. This film takes me back to a different time. It also sends off a different feel to it. You get a little Hitchcock mixed with a lot of Polanski. I wonder if they used the infamous Hershey Syrup as blood? If anyone knows please let me know, being black and white one cannot tell. Mickey Keating might be going places. This is a good way to spend 78min. You won't regret it!