Director: Pollyanna McIntosh
Writer: Pollyanna McIntosh (Screenplay) Jack Ketchum, Lucky McKee (Characters)
Starring: Lauryn Canny, Cooper Andrews, Bryan Batt, Lauren Ashley Carter, Pollyanna McIntosh (The Woman), Nora-Jane Noone (Hidden Assets)
Plot: Found at a Catholic hospital filthy and ferocious, feral teenager Darlin’ is whisked off to a care home run by The Bishop and his obedient nuns, where she’s to be rehabilitated into a “good girl” as an example of the miraculous work of the Church. But Darlin’ holds a secret darker than the “sins” she is threatened with, and she is not traveling alone. The Woman who raised her, equally fierce and feral, is ever present in the shadows of Darlin’s psyche and is determined to come for her no matter who tries to get in her way.
Tagline – Don’t Mess with Mother’s Nature.
Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Darlin’ starts when the feral teenager Darlin (Canny) ends up in a hospital, where kind nurse Tony (Andrews) is the only person who can get through to her, with the local church care home run by The Bishop (Batt) offers to take her in.
AS Darlin starts to get reformed back into society, her Sister (McIntosh) goes in search of her, leaving bodies in her path to save her daughter from this world that made her suffer so much before.
Thoughts on Darlin’
Thoughts – Darlin’ is a horror thriller and the third instalment in the franchise, following on from The Woman. This version of the story will take a very different approach, moving away from the torture placed upon the woman in the last film, focusing more on the religious motivation being thrown towards a younger member of the group who is being put back into society in different way. Everything we follow on the religious side of the rehabilitation comes off on a disturbing level, as we learn what the Bishop character has planned, but this is taken away from following the original Woman searching for Darlin’, with most of the scenes being random attacks to have violent side of her shown, rather than the calmer side Darlin’ could be living. The performances in the film are strong through with Lauryn Canny taking the Darlin’s role and showing us every side of the transformation, she is going through.
Final Thoughts – Darlin’ is a disturbing movie, on a different level to the torture filled fellow films in the franchise.
