Movies
[SXSW Review] Pollyanna McIntosh’s ‘Darlin’ is an Underwhelming Follow-Up to ‘The Woman’
In 2011, Lucky McKee unleashed The Woman on the world. That film was a sequel to the 2009 film Offspring and now, eight years later, the saga of The Woman continues (concludes?) with Darlin’. The Woman was a brutal, uncomfortable piece of cinema that offered a unique look at gender dynamics and civilization. Darlin’, though well-directed by franchise star Pollyanna McIntosh, suffers from an underdeveloped script with odd tonal inconsistencies and some heavy-handed messaging that makes this sequel somewhat of a disappointment. The passion is there, but something got lost in the execution.
Found at a Catholic hospital filthy and ferocious, feral teenager Darlin’ (Lauryn Canny) is whisked off to a care home run by The Bishop (Bryan Batt, Scream: The Series) and his obedient nuns (one of whom is played by The Descent‘s Nora-Jane Noone) where she is to be tamed into a “good girl.” However, Darlin’ holds a secret darker than the “sins” she is threatened with, and she is not traveling alone. The Woman (Pollyanna McIntosh, The Woman) who raised her is ever present and is determined to come for her no matter who tries to step in her way.
If you’ve never seen The Woman, never fear. Darlin’ operates as a standalone film, though you’ll undoubtedly get more of a payoff if you’ve seen The Woman and/or Offspring. Darlin’ opts to shift the focus from The Woman to its titular character (whom you may remember rode off into the sunset with The Woman at the end of the previous film), but still doesn’t seem fully compelled to keep her in the limelight. Screen time is split fairly evenly between Darlin’s adventures in Christianland and The Woman’s journey to find her. This wouldn’t be a problem if it didn’t feel like the two were in wildly different films, but it does. The Woman is in some kind of bizarre black comedy slasher film whereas Darlin’ is in a film that plays somewhat like a remake of The Woman with the religious aspects amped up to 11. It is this film that takes itself seriously, which isn’t surprising when it comes to the subject matter (i.e., sexual assault), but it just doesn’t mesh well with the kooky comedy that The Woman is in.
In attempting to tackle so many issues with such a large variety of tones, Darlin’ loses its focus. It also rushes through plot points at a rapid pace, rarely giving any of them time to resonate. This is especially true in Darlin’s taming process. The timeline is established via a character’s pregnancy so you know it’s taking place over the course of nine months, but Darlin’ is feral in one scene and then speaking full sentences in the next. It’s all rather abrupt and narratively unsatisfying.
Where Darlin’ does excel is in McIntosh’s direction. For a debut feature, she has a remarkably confident hand. Her passion for this world and (some of) its characters shine through every frame. It’s also refreshing to see a woman behind the camera in a film that is so female-centric. McIntosh proves equally adept at filming the softer moments just as well as she does the violent ones. It is a solid directorial debut and I’m looking forward to what she has in store for us next.
As mentioned above, The Woman is a brutal film, and Darlin’ doesn’t skimp on the gore, either. Cannibalism plays a fairly large role in the proceedings, but there are plenty of stabbings to go around as well. It’s all appropriately icky, but it does somewhat lack the in-your-face grotesquerie that The Woman possessed. In that film, you felt the violence. In Darlin’, the violence doesn’t feel quite as visceral, which is saying something for a film that features a sequence in which The Woman cuts the stomach off of a fresh corpse before eating it.
Performances run the gamut from nuanced and sincere to flat-out caricatures. Canny makes a strong impression as Darlin’, making the transition from feral to civilized seem natural even when the editing betrays her. Similarly, McIntosh feels right at home as The Woman surprising no one who has seen her perfectly embody this role before. Noone and Cooper Andrews (as a nurse who befriends Darlin’) also do well in their smaller roles. When it comes to the Bishop, however, all nuance is lost. He might as well be twirling a Snidely Whiplash mustache, both because of the way he is written and because that’s how big Batt plays him. It’s certainly a choice. Similarly, there is a convent of homeless women that take The Woman in that feel like they’re in an entirely different film. Just when you think they are meant to serve some kind of narrative importance they abruptly leave the picture, making you wonder why they were even introduced in the first place.
Darlin’ is clearly a passion project for McIntosh, and that passion is evident on screen. It’s just not enough to make Darlin’ wholly successful. If you are a fan of The Woman and want to see the story continued, then definitely give it a watch. Otherwise, there’s just not much here to recommend.
Darlin’ had its world premiere at the SXSW film festival on March 9, 2019, and is being repped by MPI and Dark Sky Films.
This week’s new releases offer everything from giant monsters to Spielberg aliens to ass-kicking martial artists and even an ash-eating medical student. Do we have your interest?
Here’s all the new genre movies that released on Friday, June 12, 2026!
These aren’t all HORROR movies, but we want you to be aware of them all the same…
Norwegian creature feature Kraken is now available on Digital.
The film was also unleashed in select theaters. Check your local listings.
In the monster movie Kraken, “unnatural behavior in wild salmon, followed by inexplicable deaths in Norway’s deepest fjord, points to the mythical Kraken. The ancient, multi-armed monster has awakened, ready to crush everything that moves or makes a sound.”
Pål Øie (The Tunnel) directs Samuel Goldwyn Films’ Kraken from a script by Vilde Eide, Kjersti Jelen Rasmussen, and Natasha Arthur. Sara Khorami, Mikkel Bratt Silset, Øyvind Brandtzæg, Jenny Evensen, Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes, Jon Erik Myre, Hans Morten Hansen, Steinar Klouman Hallert, and Filip Bargee Ramberg star.
An all girls trip into the desert for escapism fun instead implodes in violence in the revenge thriller Find Your Friends, now streaming only on Shudder.
In the film, “Amber and her four best friends flee Los Angeles for a girls’ trip in Joshua Tree, only to find themselves unwelcome in a desert town simmering with quiet hostility. As isolation sets in and encounters with aggressive locals grow more threatening, festering resentments within the group begin to surface.
“What begins as fun and reckless escape spirals into a violent struggle for control and survival, as past wounds and present dangers collide in a night that turns their trip into a nightmare.”
Bella Thorne (The Babysitter), Chloe Cherry (“Euphoria”), Helena Howard (I Saw the TV Glow), Sophia Ali (Uncharted), Zion Moreno (“Gossip Girl”), and Chris Bauer (“True Blood”) star in the feature debut by writer/director Izabel Pakzad.
Steven Spielberg is more sure today than he was when he made Close Encounters and ET that aliens are very real, and with Disclosure Day, he aims to make you a believer too.
Okay so it’s not a horror movie, but the sci-fi blockbuster is now playing in theaters.
The vague synopsis for Disclosure Day reads: “If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to seven billion people. We are coming close to Disclosure Day.”
The film stars SAG winner and Oscar® nominee Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Josh O’Connor (Challengers, The Crown), Oscar® winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman franchise), Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, The Perfect Couple) and two-time Oscar® nominee Colman Domingo (Sing Sing, Rustin).
Based on a story by Spielberg, the screenplay is by David Koepp, whose previous work with Spielberg includes the scripts for Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Combined, those films earned more than $3 billion worldwide. Koepp also wrote the script for Jurassic World Rebirth.
Steven Spielberg is of course no stranger to extraterrestrial encounters, directing two of the greatest alien movies of all time: Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977 and E.T. in 1982. It’s an arena he returned to in 2005, directing an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds.
Here in 2026, Steven Spielberg sees hope in the existence of aliens. He notes in the final trailer for Disclosure Day, “How will disclosure change us? I believe for the better.”
Another movie that’s not a horror movie but worth mentioning here is the violent martial arts revenge thriller The Furious, which is now playing in theaters from Lionsgate.
Xie Miao (The New Legend of Shaolin) and Joe Taslim (Mortal Kombat) star.
After his daughter is kidnapped by a criminal network and he receives no help from the corrupt police, Wang Wei sets out on a rampage to find her himself.
His only ally is Navin, a relentless journalist whose wife has mysteriously disappeared. Fueled by a furious vengeance, the unlikely duo ruthlessly fights against the kidnappers.
Kenji Tanigaki (Enter the Fat Dragon) directs from a script by Mak Tin Shu (Kung Fu Jungle), Lei Zhilong, Shum Kwan Sin (Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In), and Frank Hui.
A disturbing weight loss craze involving human ashes opens up a haunting world of hurt for a young woman in Saccharine, which is now available on Digital outlets at home.
From writer/director Natalie Erika James (Relic, Apartment 7A), the Australian supernatural body horror film follows lovelorn medical student Hana, who becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes.
Midori Francis (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Danielle Macdonald (Patti Cake$), and Madeleine Madden (“The Wheel of Time”) star in Natalie Erika James’ latest nightmare.
From directors Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz, I Am Frankelda is billed as the first ever full length stop motion movie from Mexico, and it’s now streaming on Netflix.
The history-making stop-motion film is a dark fantasy set in a world of monsters.
Here’s the synopsis: “In 19th-century Mexico, Frankelda is a gifted writer whose dark tales are ignored and dismissed. Forced to suppress her voice, she refuses to give up, even as many try to silence her. But when she is thrust into her subconscious, the very monsters she created come to life.
“Guided by Herneval, a tormented prince trapped between dreams and nightmares, she must restore balance between fiction and reality before both realms collapse. Meanwhile, the sinister writer Procustes and his conspirators plot to seize control. As Frankelda and Herneval grow closer, their bond becomes both a strength and a curse.
“To rewrite their fate, she must confront a love that defies existence and reclaim her power as a storyteller—before dark forces consume her imagination and reveal horrors beyond her creation.”
The directors said in a joint statement, “As brothers, we grew up inventing worlds together, drawing, playing, imagining. Over time we understood that fictional characters were not only companions but guides. Sometimes they felt closer than the people around us. They provided us courage, wisdom, and solace. We believe fiction is not an escape from reality but a way of understanding it. A way of converting truth into palatable chunks. I Am Frankelda comes from a lifelong love of storytelling.”
Mireya Mendoza, Arturo Mercado Jr., and Luis Leonardo Suarez lead the voice cast.
Meagan Navarro writes in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Mexico’s first stop-motion animated feature is a macabre beauty.” Meagan also notes in her review, “I Am Frankelda is a gothic fantasy feature whose boundless creativity is matched by its ambition.”
The lines of reality and delusion blur in Time of Death, now available on Digital.
Michael Kelly (“The Penguin,” Dawn of the Dead 2004) stars with Kevin Pollak (End of Days), Mena Suvari (Vampires of the Velvet Lounge), and Dennis Haysbert (Send Help).
In the horror-thriller, “When a prisoner vanishes without a trace, Detective Frank Morley (Michael Kelly) is sent to a decaying prison on the verge of shutdown. What begins as a routine investigation quickly spirals into a dangerous search for answers.”
Will Wernick (Escape Room 2017, Follow Me) directs from a script by Jason Rosen. They also produce alongside Kelly Delson, Jeff Delson, and Kyle David Crosby.
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