Men

A challenging film. If you loved Hereditary, Midsommar, Mother !, Us and their like, you should not miss Men. Alex Garland is a seasoned director and his pieces like Ex Machina and Annihilation speak volumes, but I wouldn't have expected him to be able to stand alongside Ari Aster or Jordan Peele and, world wonder, he did and Men is another piece from A24 that is its own and different and yet has so much in common with the aforementioned films. Men is not at all accessible to the average viewer, but the fringe "perverted" audience will squeal with delight. Words can't describe how fantastic the film simply is; from the excellent and colourful visuals alone, to the tons of symbolism and parables, the incredible audio accompaniment, the insanely suspenseful pacing and directorial talent, to the final mindblowing conclusion that smashes the "sort of" down-to-earth story into a twisted rollercoaster ride that doesn't slow down until the end credits. It's not perfect, and it's not for 90% of the audience, but it's damn original, it's its own, it's chilling, and I simply adore this fringe genre, so I can't help but give it full marks. (2022-07-01)

I tried and I tried, I guess I missed the point in the end, but that doesn't mean I'm not satisfied. On the contrary, Men is one of those films that doesn't tell you everything, but doesn't annoy you with it and lets you think for yourself. Wonderfully immersive atmosphere, an excellent Jessie Buckley and a superb Rory Kinnear (I don't know him much, so I admit I had no idea how many roles he actually played until the end). I will gladly watch it again some day. (2023-01-15)

The first half is a brilliant set-up for psychological horror and works visually, musically and in the overall building of tension. In the second half, it all blurs into long monologues, metaphorical scenes and agonizingly long shots where you slowly pray for the end to come – knowing that there will be no answers. (2022-12-30)

Alex Garland (Ex-Machina, Annihilation) tries his hand at folk Horror under the A24 banner and it's properly controversial and only for a fringe audience, but those who like his directorial style might find it to their liking. The story focuses on Jessie Buckley who, after the death of her husband, arrives in a remote village to come up with new ideas, but the magical surroundings and a naked man stalking her from afar give her more nightmares. Garland delivers quite an original mystery oddity full of metaphors, symbols, interesting dialogue, beautiful scenery and unconventional horror. Rory Kinnear is excellent, playing all the male characters in the film and being a proper weirdo and sleazeball (I can't remember a film where one actor played 20 different roles in one film), making Garland stand out again. The first hour is a lot of slow building but once Garland switches into horror mode he conjures up some interesting stunts (the hand ripped in half by a knife is impressive!). The atmosphere is cramped and at times uncomfortable and the final body horror sequence is downright glorious, one that even Cronenberg would not be ashamed of. I immediately thought of The Fly, Alien and the famous Zygote all rolled into one. Garland built the film on the mythology surrounding the Green Man and it's quite similar to the recent Gaia from Africa. Story 4/5. Action 2/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 3/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 4/5. 7/10. (2022-06-28)

I went for the horror film of the year, came away rather disappointed with a nicely made oddity. I can't come up with any meaningful or thought-provoking interpretation, and the ones I can think of feel banal. And without any supporting ideas, Men is left with a few creepy scenes and one delicious body horror sequence, though in terms of scares, however, the film is not intense enough for this alone to satisfy me. Judging by the final half hour, when the narrative, still relatively anchored in reality, falls apart, Men obviously wants to be first and foremost a parable, not narrative horror that will thrill and frighten the viewer. And, at least after the first screening, I simply can’t figure out what it wants to say (or rather, I want to believe that it wants to say more than what I actually see in it), and at the same time it didn’t engage me enough to enjoy thinking about it. Definitely the weakest Garland so far, I’m even thinking of knocking it down to two stars. (2022-06-27)