This film is way better than its IMDB rating of 5.5 suggests. Lauren Ashley Carter brings a disturbingly erotic, almost feral quality to the Lolita-ish title character, a troubled young woman whose inner demons (or the house's demons--you be the judge) drive her to an unspeakable act of murder. One gets the impression she's done this before, but despite the meticulousness with which she dismembers her victim and cleans up the crime scene, she carelessly leaves the body bag in full view for the police to discover. Larry Morvant gives a strong performance as the hapless victim. The dismemberment scene is hard to watch. Mac Fisken's moody black and white photography imbues even the most ordinary household items with a sense of menace, and Mickey Keating's direction is spellbinding. The film is hypnotic, hooking you with the first shot and reeling you in in only 77 minutes. There's not a wasted frame of film or word of dialogue. The casting of Sean Young as "Madam" was a stroke of genius, since Lauren Ashley Carter somewhat resembles a young Sean Young. This is a deeply unsettling film you won't soon forget.
Review of Darling
