men movie review - Aussieboyreviews
IS MEN AS UNSETTLING AND DISTURBING AS ANY A24 HORROR MOVIE?
Unsettling, disturbing, creepy and just as over-the-top as 2017’s Mother!, Men is a well-crafted horror film by Alex Garland. But it’s certainly not for everyone.
Storyline
Following the suicide of her ex-husband, a young woman retreats on a vacation by herself to the English countryside to find a healing place. But she finds her worst nightmares coming true when she feels that someone or something out in the woods is stalking her.
Movie Images
Movie details
Director: Alex Garland
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Zak Rothera-Oxley, Gayle Rankin, Paapa Essiedu
Writer: Alex Garland
Release Date (Australia): 16 June 2022
Runtime: 100 minutes/1h 40m
Genre: Horror, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Language: English
CONTENT GUIDE (warning: May contain spoilers)
The film features strong horror themes of threat, as well as disturbing scenes that feature depictions of domestic violence, the aftermath of a suicide, birth and sexual assault.
The film features scenes of strong horror violence, including a character stabbing another character’s forearm and the knife being pulled through to their hand, and the aftermath of a suicide. These scenes are accompanied by gory injury and blood detail.
The film contains use of the word “f**k”, as well as use of the words “s**t”, “bitch” and “damn”.
None.
The film contains several scenes of male full frontal and buttocks nudity, as well as a close-up depiction of a vagina during a disturbing birth sequence.
A character makes verbal references to sexual activity.
mpaa rating
R (for disturbing and violent content, graphic nudity, grisly images and language)
Aussie boy's thoughts
A24 does it again with writer/directors Alex Garland’s Men, reaching the over-the-top levels of 2017’s Mother during the third act and intriguing audiences with a build-up that’s non-stop unsettling after the first 15 minutes. All of this means it’s not for the faint-hearted, but even big fans of the A24 studio, the director or just horror movies may have hate this film (which is perfectly understandable if you’ve seen it).
The good thing about this horror film is how it feels fresh and original from the very start, although the premise sounds like a dumb and overused concept for horror or thriller movies. Men stars Jessie Buckley who gives a lifelike performance as a young woman on a holiday by herself after the suicide of her abusive ex-husband. This movie achieves what other movies like Midsommar and Mother! achieved; it’s extremely over-the-top to the point where even some horror fans might find it genuinely hard to watch, however, the unsettling tone starts early and doesn’t fall apart until the end.
The problem with the film is that the extremely intriguing first half, great actors and effective scares only lead to the third act that falls short of the previous acts’ steam. It sure makes for a twisted and mind-bending horror film with a psychological element, but the ending is convoluted, messy and feels unfinished. It’s also worth noting that it’s not a feminist film, just because the men in the movie are all portrayed as creepy, uncomfortable or sinister. Men is just a movie about a woman dealing with her ex-husband’s death and also crossing paths with several weird men. The only times the tension really decreases is when the main character is talking to her other female friend over video chat.
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