Panic Fest 2024: Young Blondes, Stalked and Murdered does Lynch twists in abridged runtime
Courtesy Panic Fest
This is part of our coverage of local horror/sci-fi’s biggest event of the year, Panic Fest 2024. For more from the fest, click here.
A memorable twist, especially in an independent film, can often be the difference between a movie getting noticed or falling into total obscurity. It’s also a risk—plenty of movies try, but not every one succeeds. Young Blondes, Stalked and Murdered manages not only to pull off a great twist, but to do it in half the time of most other films.
Stacy (Samantha Carroll) is a typical Midwestern girl moving to L.A. hoping for stardom. She quickly learns the process is harder than she expected; by industry standards she’s too old to be young, but too young to be old. Her hair is blonde, but casting agents are quick to point out that it’s “strawberry blonde.” The parts that come her way are coveted by hundreds of girls just like her. Her one lifeline is family friend Josie (Elle Chapman), whose life appears (at first) to be exactly what Stacey desires.
Courtesy Panic Fest
The plot largely focuses on the women’s day-to-day experiences, but there’s another element at play: murder. A mysterious serial killer is on the prowl, targeting young blonde actresses and posting the kills online. Of course, because this is Hollywood, most of the characters are concerned about the victims missing out on the big jobs they had lined up. In a sea of similar faces, everyone becomes a target—meaning anyone could be the killer.
Young Blondes, Stalked and Murdered shares many elements with David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. While it’s not as overtly bizarre, it shares that same spirit of the mental toil that befalls young actresses with dreams of being the Next Big Thing. Obsession and tainted viewpoints are the name of the game, as displayed in the relationship between Stacy and Josie; Stacy covets Josie’s life, while the older Josie struggles with promoting herself in the influencer age.
What helps Young Blondes, Stalked and Murdered stand apart from other films like it is how writer-director Nick Funess allows all the pieces to play out. At equal turns it’s fractured, languid and flighty—not exactly what one would expect from its gialloesque setup. The murders are second fiddle to the rising sense of dramatic tension and cringey moments.
Courtesy Panic Fest
Funess’ film is sold as horror, but it’s the character study that comes off best. In that vein, Carroll’s Stacy and Chapman’s Josie are the glue that hold everything together. The characters leech off each other, starting friendly and eventually turning sour out of jealousy and disillusionment.
At just over an hour, Young Blondes, Stalked and Murdered is an experimental exercise in efficiency. Funess bypasses many of the standard plot elements (including a lack of resolution that some viewers might find frustrating) to focus more on his characters, their motivation and shifting desperation. While it’s a little rough around the edges, Funess’ film thoughtfully challenges cinematic form, and in doing so, reminds us just how artistically rich movies can be.
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