What I Watched in September 2024

J.T. Mollner’s STRANGE DARLING (2024) is one of my favorite films of the year. It’s a clever, well-crafted thriller that keeps you guessing and announces from the opening couple of minutes that things are going to be off-kilter. The only thing you need to know going in is that this is a film about a serial killer. And that’s about all I can say about it to keep from spoiling the fun. The film carefully reveals information about the killer and the reasons for the actions we are witnessing not just carefully but out of chronological order. Mollner breaks the story into six chapters and tells it  starting with chapter four. There is a method to this mad jumbling of the film’s timeline but it can only be seen in the story’s final act. I cannot wait for more people to see this movie so that discussions of it can be had without fear of ruining first time viewings. If you enjoy thrillers that lean into the horror genre, put this one on your must-see list.

The List 

STRANGE DARLING (2024) – 9

PURANA MANDIR (1984) – 6 (mad Bollywood horror film)

BORDERLANDS (2024) – 3 (what a terrible, sad thing)

THE BAT WOMAN (1968) – 6 (the Blu-Ray makes it lovely!)

BLUE STEEL (1990) – 5 (rewatch) (as I felt in 1990, it becomes too ridiculous in the third act)

THE HOT SPUR (1968) – 6 (western roughie)

THE MUMMY’S GHOST (1944) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

TELEPHONE OPERATOR (1937) – 6 (would love to see a complete print)

HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP (1980) – 7 (rewatch)

TRAMPA INFERNAL (1989) – 5 (a.k.a. Hell’s Trap) (not bad, low budget Mexican backwoods slasher)

FUNERAL HOME (1980) – 7 (solid mystery chiller from Canada)

FINAL CUT (a.k.a. Death Games) – 5 (slight thriller from Australia)

ALIEN: ROMULUS (2024) – 8 (had to see it again in the theater – better on second watch)

BAR 20 RIDES AGAIN (1934) – 6 (the second Hopalong Cassidy film)

MS STILLETO (1969) – 6 (sexy, fun fumetti adaptation)

MALIGNANT (2021) – 8 (rewatch)

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE (2024) – 8

IN A VIOLENT NATURE (2024) – 7

THE MAD BOMBER (1972) – 6 (Bert I. Gordon’s adult crime film)

CHILDREN OF THE CORN (2020) – 3 (just awful – but it looks good)

THE SUBSTANCE (2024) – 8

JAWS OF SATAN (A.K.A. King Cobra) (1981) – 6 (rewatch)

MEGALOPOLIS (2024) – 8

THE BLACK ROOM (1935)- 7 (rewatch on Blu)

CRUCIBLE OF TERROR (1971) – 6 (British thriller)

DIABOLIK (2021) – 7

HOUSEBOAT HORROR (1989) – 5 (Australian SOV slasher)  

THE SPIDER LABYRINTH (1988) – 7 (rewatch on Blu)

RE-ANIMATOR (1985) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)

PENNY GOLD (1973) – 7 (British murder mystery)

GYPSY WILDCAT (1944) – 6 (fun, colorful adventure story)

CRAZE (1974) – 7