After watching Strange Darling, many fans are left wondering if the events of the movie are based on any real-life influences.
The 2024 horror movie follows Willa Fitzgerald's 'The Lady' and Kyle Gallner's 'The Demon.' From the looks of it, a one-night stand goes awry, leaving The Lady running for her life.
As the movie goes on, audiences learn that is not the case. The Lady is actually The Electric Lady, a well-known serial killer who tricked and nearly killed Kyle Gallner's character––who ended up being a cop.
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Strange Darling Director Comments on the True Story Aspect of the Film
In a recent interview, Strange Darling director JT Mollner commented on the real-life influences of his latest horror movie.
The film starts with a warning, telling audiences that what they are about to watch is based on a true story, following the events of those terrorized by a serial killer in the American Northwest.
When asked by Comic Book Resources if the events of Strange Darling were based on real happenings, Mollner slyly noted, "perhaps," while adding that he wants people to "decide for [themselves] how much truth [there is]:"
"Perhaps! [laughs] And I would encourage you to do as much research as you'd like, and decide for yourself how much truth you feel like there is in the movie. I'd rather not get deeply into that – because at this point before the movie comes out, I feel like getting too deeply into the inspirations for these crimes could end up venturing into spoiler territory! But to me, it's all real – inside my head and inside my heart! No, it feels very real to me, and hopefully it feels real to you after watching it."
Admittedly, that answer is extremely vague and does not reveal much.
The truth to the matter is that much like the classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre, nothing in Strange Darling happened in real life. The "Based on a True Story" tag is only there to enhance engagement and try to squeeze a little more horror out of its premise.
That is not to say that JT Mollner and his team did not take inspiration from real-life events or serial killers, but the Electric Lady never existed.
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What Were the Real-Life Influences Behind Strange Darling?
It does feel misleading that, despite its "True Story" tag at the beginning of the film, no real-life events line up with Strange Darling.
Instead, the creatives almost certainly just used inspiration from various violent crimes or serial killers in the past. As previously mentioned, this is something Texas Chainsaw Massacre did, as did the original The Strangers.
In turn, Willa Fitzgerald's Electric Lady killer does not exist. The closest one might get to her is with serial killer Aileen Carol Wuornos.
Between 1989 and 1990, under the guise of street prostitution, Wuornos robbed and killed seven different male victims across highways in Flordia. Her defense was that all of them had raped (or attempted to) her, with her murders being self-defense.
While the connection to Aileen Wuornos is not confirmed, it is easy to see how those events could have inspired Strange Darling. They also bring up the same conversations about gender and violence–despite any general assumptions that might be made by the world.
Strange Darling is now playing in theaters worldwide.
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