Giovanni Ribisi is best known to audiences as an actor. What few know is that Ribisi also has a passion for photography, of both the still and moving variety. After a number of years making commercials and music videos, Giovanni Ribisi has now made his debut as a feature film Director of Photography for JT Mollner’s exceptional film, Strange Darling.
We at THN have been championing Strange Darling since we first caught it at 2023’s Fantastic Fest. The film works best when shrouded in secrecy, and as such it is best to go into the film as blind as possible. The official synopsis simply states that “In Strange Darling, nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.” The participants of the one-night stand are played by The House of Usher’s Willa Fitzgerald, and Dinner in America’s Kyle Gallner. Both are at the top of their game here, but to go into specifics as to why would risk spoilers. What we can safely share however, is that Strange Darling looks incredible. This may be Giovanni Ribisi’s first time in control of the camera for a feature film, but his talent is plain to see.
In order to create such beautiful imagery Giovanni Ribisi worked closely with Strange Darling’s writer and director JT Mollner and the result is breathtaking. Shot on 35mm, Strange Darling is a visual delight and one that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. In the leadup to the US release of Strange Darling on 23rd August (with a UK release following on 20th September) THN were granted time to pick both JT Mollner and Giovanni Ribisi’s collective minds about Strange Darling’s gorgeous aesthetic, watch the video below to see what they had to share.
Strange Darling is released in cinemas across America on Friday 23rd August. Pigeon Shrine FrightFest will host the European premiere of Strange Darling on Saturday 24th August. Strange Darling will arrive in UK cinemas from Friday 20th September.
