Men

5/22/2022

People will hate _Men_ if they go into it wanting a straightforward story or a film that has one, clear cut meaning once those end credits crawl across the screen. _Men_ doesn’t offer either of those things. The film features stunning cinematography, a mesmerizing forest sequence, and a thrilling score that is as unsettling as it is operatic. Rory Kinnear is exquisitely chilling. This is the type of horror film that is purely, disgustingly, and gloriously nasty and ambiguous. _Men_ is simultaneously a film you shouldn’t think too much about and yet absolutely think about all the time once it’s over. **Full review:** https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Men-2022-Review-A-Bizarre-Graphic-and-Unforgettable-Folk-Horror-Film

6/4/2022

"Harper" (Jessie Buckley) heads off to rural Gloucestershire in England to take a break after the apparent suicide of her husband "James" (Paapa Essiedu). On arrival at the manor house she has rented for a fortnight, she is welcomed by the typical country squire type in "Geoffrey" (Rory Kinnear). She goes for a walk, during which she notices that she is being followed - and the man following her is naked. Spooked, she returns to her home to find that this is just the start of some seriously bizarre goings on in this tiny hamlet. What flaws this all from the start for me is that we see everyone in this community - the policeman, vicar, schoolboy, pub landlord as variations of the same man - Kinnear, yet the "Harper" character does not seem to clock this; she certainly doesn't acknowledge it

8/12/2022

MORE SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/ "Men is undoubtedly one of the most unique, macabre, weird, expectedly divisive films of the year. Rob Hardy's cinematography is truly impressive, navigating viewers through eye-popping visual details with the help of mesmerizing makeup and VFX. The score by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow is also quite atmospheric and haunting. Nevertheless, Alex Garland exhaustively repeats his obvious, heavy-handed message to the point of losing all emotional connection with the underdeveloped protagonist. The last act focuses too much on excessive, unpleasant gore to prove a point over and over again unnecessarily, functioning as a distracting, underwhelming conclusion. Jessie Buckley - extraordinary - deserves much better, as does the

5/15/2023

Men, directed by Alex Garland, is a movie that fails to live up to its potential despite having some redeeming qualities. The cinematography is fantastic and haunting, with creative shots that add to the overall experience. But this quality dips towards the end, with the director focusing more on horror elements in the tune of slasher/home invasion instead of psychological. The sound design is excellent, and the sinister feel really adds to the movie's overall mood. The acting is good, but nothing too spectacular. No performances really blew me away. However, the body horror in the movie is fantastic, and it had the hair on the back of my neck standing up. Even though I do think it is not entirely needed, I have to give props in that department. Unfortunately, the script is pretty dr

9/23/2024

Men, directed by Alex Garland, is a haunting exploration of grief, trauma, and the sinister dynamics of gender, wrapped in an atmospheric and unsettling narrative. Rory Kinnear delivers a truly epic performance, embodying multiple characters with an eerie and disturbing versatility that is nothing short of remarkable. His ability to switch between personas, each more unsettling than the last, adds a layer of dread that permeates the entire film. Kinnear’s portrayal is both chilling and mesmerising, leaving a profound impact that elevates the film’s haunting themes and invites deep reflection. Jessie Buckley is equally superb as Harper, a woman grappling with her past while confronting an escalating series of horrors. Her performance is deeply emotional, grounding the film with a raw,