Forget standard apology videos and brand sponsorships. Jaime King and Natasha Lyonne are teaming up to show us the absolute worst-case scenario of influencer culture in Darlene. This upcoming dark-comedy thriller puts a bloody, Southern Gothic spin on the quest for internet fame.
The film is set to roll cameras this late summer in Louisiana under the direction of horror royalty Mary Lambert. Variety reports.
Fake Content, Real Body Count
King stars as the titular Darlene, a trailer-park influencer who secures her digital empire on a massive lie: an entirely fabricated pregnancy. When her digital house of cards inevitably begins to collapse, Darlene doesn’t log off. Instead, her desperate bid to maintain viral relevance spirals into a chaotic cocktail of murder, kidnapping, and a high-speed, blood-soaked road trip across the American South.
Along the way, her delusions drag in a devastated father searching for answers, turning a desperate scam into a full-blown cultural circus. Lyonne co-stars as Annie, presumably dealing with the fallout of Darlene’s catastrophic clout-chasing.
Penning the script is Chad Darnell, who describes the film as a “high-octane, pitch-black Southern Gothic fever dream.” Think Raising Arizona meets Nightcrawler—a savage satire targeting generational poverty, terminal narcissism, and our modern obsession with digital immortality.
The Creative Powerhouse
Behind the camera is Mary Lambert, a director who knows exactly how to balance camp, terror, and pop culture. Best known for helming the iconic 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary (and its sequel), Lambert also directed some of Madonna’s most legendary music videos and recently lent her talents to Shining Vale and Law & Order: SVU.
The project is a true collaborative effort, with the stars pulling double duty behind the scenes. Jaime King and Emma Comley are producing via Hooligan Dreamers Prods. Natasha Lyonne is producing under her banner, Animal Pictures. Mary Lambert rounds out the producing team via Vertical Films.
