Review: The Strange Ones, 2018, dir. Christopher Radcliff & Lauren Wolkstein

Here: Have some context. I saw The Strange Ones back in the summer of ’17 when a team of publicists were nice enough to send me a screener for the purposes of adding to my #52FilmsByWomen list. I waited for the film to become commercially available, and I waited some more, and then I stopped waiting because I figured that no one felt like the film deserved a theatrical release (or even a VOD run). Frustrating, right?

Well! Cut to now and The Strange Ones is close to enjoying its limited theatrical run, and is also currently available via DirecTV. (How about that?) Hence my thesis on my review for Paste Magazine, because I gave the film a second watch for review purposes, and let me tell you, it worked better for me. It worked for me the first time, too, but it’s that kind of film, one that hypnotizes you once and encourages you to check it out twice just to pick up on its nuances and details.

I hope someone gives Radcliff and Wolkstein lots of money for their next project; if I have one complaint about The Strange Ones, it’s that it’s a bit unpolished in a couple of places. But that speaks well to the talents of its directors, because for the (meager) polish it lacks, it’s still pretty darn good.