The twists, turns, and ending of Strange Darling explained

Strange Darling is out now and is filled with twists and turns, so here’s how the serial killer thriller movie plays out, including an explanation of that wicked ending, if there’s a post-credits scene, and if it’s based on a true story.

Strange Darling hit US screens on August 23, and it caused a stir in genre circles, through stellar festival reviews and master of horror Stephen King calling it a “masterpiece.”

We are fans, awarding the film five stars, and writing in our spoiler-free Stranger Darling review: “By messing with chronology, structure, and genre tropes, Strange Darling defies convention and expectation, with J.T. Mollner taking the serial killer thriller, spinning it around, then smashing it head-first into the ground.”

But now it’s time to talk SPOILERS, as the fact that the movie jumps back-and-forth in time means there are surprises and switcheroos we’ve been avoiding… until now. So feel free to read on, but only if you’ve already watched the sensational Strange Darling.

What’s the big twist in the Strange Darling ending?

The big twist in Strange Darling is that the seeming victim for the first half of the movie is really a serial killer, meaning the perceived serial killer is really the victim. Let us explain…

Strange Darling is a story told in six chapters, though they play out of order, enabling writer-director J.T. Mollner to withhold information and repeatedly wrong-foot the audience.

The new movie opens with a woman (Willa Fitzgerald) asking a man (Kyle Gallner) if he’s a serial killer. It then cuts to him appearing to kill her, before we jump into Chapter 3, where he’s chasing her, shooting at her, trying to run her over, before pursuing her through the woods.

Chapter 5 is next, where she’s hiding from him in a house, followed by Chapter 1 where the pair flirt before embarking on some S&M-charged sex in a motel bedroom.

Chapter 4 follows, with the woman – our protagonist until this point – seeking refuge in a house, which is where the switch happens. She kills one of the owners and it quickly becomes clear that she is the predator, and the film’s antagonist is really her prey.

Does the serial killer get caught in Strange Darling?

Yes, the serial killer gets caught at the end of Stranger Darling. But she doesn’t go down without a fight…

Miramax

The woman in question is the ‘Electric Lady,’ who the film’s prologue states was “the most prolific and unique American serial killer of the 21st century.”

During Chapter 6 – at the end of the movie – she’s handcuffed to a freezer, but manages to do what she failed to manage earlier in the movie: kill Gallner’s character, in this instance by biting his jugular and watching him bleed out.

She then plays the victim to the cops who arrive on the scene – a strategy that’s worked multiple times earlier in the movie – and ends up being set free before killing them both.

Battered, bloodied, and bruised, she stumbles up a dirt track, and hails down a passing truck. The woman driving pulls up, helps her into the vehicle, then sees her pulling a gun. In response, the driver draws a gun of her own, and shoots the Electric Lady.

As the film’s belated hero drives to town, we watch the killer finally get killed, her life draining away as color drains out of the picture, until the Electric Lady is dead.

Strange Darling’s post-credits scene explained

There’s a post-credits scene at the end of Strange Darling. Kind-of.

It occurs at the very end of the credits, and is audio-only, and spoken by actor Giovanni Ribisi, who doesn’t appear in the movie but is the film’s cinematographer.

Ribisi plays a radio DJ in the post-credits scene, who says the following: “From the high desert in the majestic American west, I bid you all good evening, or good morning, or good afternoon, wherever you may be across this great land of ours.”

He then name-checks his show, and introduces himself as Art Pallone, before the credits end.

Is Strange Darling based on a true story?

You’ll be relieved to know Strange Darling isn’t based on a true story, but there’s a reason why so many people were asking that question.

Much like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the movie starts with an opening crawl. “Between 2018 and 2020, the most prolific and unique American serial killer of the 21st century went on a calculated, multi-state spree that began in Denver, Colorado, continued through Grand Lake, and expanded across Wyoming and central Idaho before culminating in the dense forest of Hood River County, Oregon,” it states.

“Drawing from police interviews, detailed accounts of eyewitnesses, depositions, and observations of various law enforcement, this is a dramatic of the true story of the final known killings in that rampage.”

Although this sounds like a realistic true crime case, similarly to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, none of the claims in the opening crawl are real. They were made up for dramatic effect, dousing Strange Darling with a sinister air of realism.

Mollner explains the ending’s twists and turns

Following Strange Darling’s release, Mollner opened up to Variety about the surprise ending, saying it wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the strong cast, including Fitzgerald and Gallner.

“I talked to Willa and Kyle about always playing to the truth, the emotional truths of their characters and not paying any attention to performing in a way that would misdirect the audience,” he told the outlet.

“They’re both great actors and we’ll worry about misdirection in the framework of the story and the way the narrative is told. If you go back and watch the movie, their performances feel honest and people aren’t feeling like they’re being lied to. I believe that’s why it’s working for so many people.”

Elsewhere in the movie, the Electric Lady explains she killed her victims as she saw them as demons. “The idea was to create a serial killer who’s not a sociopath, necessarily,” added Mollner.

“She has other issues but does feel remorse and compelled to do these things, but feels bad about doing them. There’s a justification for it, and there are all kinds of different motivations rooted in some sort of mental illness if you’re killing people.

“But we wanted to make sure that there was humanity in both characters. Even though they’re doing awful things at times, we wanted to make sure we were showing their perspective and point of view.”

Strange Darling is available to watch in theaters now. For more scary stuff, check out our list of the best horror movies of all-time, plus why we think scary movies are the new summer blockbusters.