Exclusive: The Walking Dead's Pollyanna McIntosh rides again as The Woman in Darlin'

Pollyanna McIntosh doesn't shy away from horror or gore. In 2011, she broke through playing the literal man-eater at the center of Lucky McKee's wildly controversial The Woman. She was ravenous, raw, and riveting, playing a feral woman captured by a seemingly average family who subject her to their hideous desires. While the movie sparked outrage, McIntosh went on to bring her steely stare to The Walking Dead as the no-nonsense zombie fighter Jadis. Now she is bringing fresh blood and new insights to the franchise that launched her career with Darlin'.

Darlin' sees McIntosh reprising the Woman, the role she played first in 2009's Offspring, then in McKee's Sundance-stunning sequel. But also, this daring horror film marks her debut as a screenwriter and director. Inspired by the Jack Ketchum novels from which this film series was spawned, McIntosh penned a screenplay that follows the Woman and her newly acquired clan after they disappear into the woods. However, while McIntosh's grisly cannibal has a major role in this film, the titular Darlin' (Lauryn Canny) is at its center. The little girl who was snatched away from civilization 10 years before returns as a young woman with some big questions and big troubles hanging over her. And she's not the only one who has emerged from the wilderness.

With Dark Sky Films unleashing Darlin' on Friday, SYFY FANGRRLS is proud to reveal this exclusive clip, "The Woman Hitches a Ride." In it, the Woman (McIntosh) is on the trail of her adopted daughter and finds an unexpected ally in The Walking Dead's Cooper Andrews.

Darlin' opens in theaters and on VOD in the U.S. on July 12 and makes its Canadian premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 15.