(Plex/tubi/VOD/Vudu) I skipped THE WOMAN (2011) as I’m not a huge fan of Lucky McKee (although I intend to revisit MAY (2002) soon, and KINDRED SPIRITS (2019) is a quality ‘jealous woman’ film) but I really don’t care for Jack Ketchum. That said, DARLIN’, a sequel to THE WOMAN, is written and directed by Pollyanna McIntosh who played the title role, and reprises it here.
I’m sure I’m missing out on some lore but, despite the cannibalism, the blood and the grime and the stink, DARLIN’ is more of a character study of a -wild child- , complete with an astounding array of idiosyncratic players, some sympathetic and some despicable. It’s sharply shot, features some very sly dialogue but, most importantly, is concerned with calling out exploitative men.
I’d love to see more writers/directors hand over their characters to the people that gave them life, because this was far better than I ever expected.