JoBlo

C-Desecration- · #1 08-14-2003, 10:12 PM

I just got through watching a little movie called May, but for some reason I can't stop shuddering, my stomach hurts, and I'm uneasy--wait, somebody's behind me . . . okay, never mind. Deciding to give into all the positive hype, I rented this movie at the local blockbuster, and watched it alone. I really do believe that is the best way to view this movie. This is NOT a fun horror flick that you can watch with your honey, and have some good jolts and laughs. This is hardcore, disturbing fucking stuff.

The movie starts with a quick image of a woman, screaming at her reflection, a hand cupped over a bleeding socket of her eye. Ladies and gentlemen, meet May, a young woman who was shunned from society and socialization by her lazy eye. Very socially awkward, represented by the fact that her best friend is Susie . . . a, uh, doll. That's right, you'll get the shivers when there are scenes with May screaming at her doll friend (I told you to face the wall!--brr . . .). The film follows her from befriending a young man, one that she views as "perfect", to her bizarre friendship with the deliciously funny lesbian played by Anna Faris, all the while moving her character out of her shell. She slowly comes into her own, making the movie a funny, somewhat creepy, coming-of-age story that seems to, partially, be a character study. Of course, that all changes.

Honestly, I haven't been so spooked by a movie since, well, ever. That could be because I usually check out flicks with at least one other person, something I decided against for May. Was it a good call? I think so, because whatever contributed to my presently I'm-freaked-out-of-my-fucking-mind mood is a good thing. However, despite that fact, if you sit through the whole movie, and make sure to stay for the completely chilling, unnerving ending (the first time, ever, I leaned away from the TV, ready to fast-forward), you'll find it kind of peculiar that you actually laughed out loud during that macabre show. But you will have. May is, intentionally, quite funny in it's first-half. I found myself enjoying the characters going through the motions, and chuckled every now and again. No, this comedy isn't sly winks to horror films ala Scream, it's just . . . funny, in a quirky, well-written way.

What elevates this movie to classic status (in my opinion), is the superb performance of the lead, Angela Bettis. Wow. Somehow, she managed to get sympathy even after displaying completely sadistic traits (that story about the mutt and the stitches) . . . of course, that versitality ended as soon as the movie got past the half-way mark. Still, she managed to completely keep my attention, and that goes for all the players . . . except for the blond bimbo, who would have been some nice eye-candy if I hadn't been so weirded out by the time she arrived.

I really don't feel the need to go into too much detail. The soundtrack is phenominal, especially the end-credits tune, the direction is surprisingly good for a first-timer, the script is well-written, the performances are - as mentioned above - great, and the movie tops itself off with an ending that will probably keep me up until the crack of dawn . . . next week. May isn't so much "scary", as it is disturbing, uncomfortable, disturbing, creepy, disturbing, weird, disturbing, funny, and disturbing. Oh, and it's very disturbing.

If you feel like you've been sleeping too much, check this movie out. The gore is certainly there, although not nearly as graphic as it could've been . . . except for the end (once again I mention "the end" . . . that's right, it's a kick in the nuts), so don't shy away from this movie if you're a little squeamish. Blood n' guts probably represents about 8% of this film, but the remaining 92% is good and juicy as well. Whatever your taste, May delivers.

A great surprise, and one of the best horror films I have ever seen. Is it flawless? Well, there is nothing more I could ask for. So as far as I'm concerned, there is no blemish staining this wonderful array of blood, laughs, and well-drawn characters.

10/10--a horror movie leaps and bounds over The Ring and The Sixth Sense (both movies I do enjoy quite a lot).

REVIEW DATABASE

MOVIES:
28 Days Later : 7/10
8mm : 9/10
Alien : 6/10
Audition : 7/10
August Underground : 5/10
Battle Royale : 8/10
Cannibal Holocaust : 9/10
Dawn of the Dead : 5/10
Day of the Dead: 8/10
The Dead Zone : 7/10
Donnie Darko : 10/10
The Eye : 7/10
Elephant : 6/10
Freaky Friday : 8/10
Ginger Snaps : 7/10
Hardcore : 6/10
Hellboy : 6/10
House of 1000 Corpses : 4/10
House of Sand and Fog : 9/10
Hulk : 10/10
Irreversible : 8/10
Kill Bill Volume 1 : 8/10
Kung Pow! Enter the Fist : 7/10
Last House on the Left: 3/10
May: 10/10
Memento : 8/10
Mulholland Drive : 7/10
Near Dark : 6/10
One Hour Photo : 9/10
Perfect Blue: 9/10
Requiem For a Dream : 8/10
Se7en : 9/10
Terminator 2: Judgment Day : 10/10
Thesis : 6/10
Underworld : 7/10
Willard : 8/10

TELEVISION
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 5) : A
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Perfect Collection : B-
End of Evangelion : A-

BOOKS
Stephen King's IT : 5/5 stars

psycho path · #2 08-14-2003, 10:29 PM

Great review Desecration! The first time I seen this flick, personally, I hated it. Then I thought about it and realised it wasn't that bad. So I watched it again and gave it a 6/10. And now that I think more, an 8/10. Very original and creepy(May's theme playing in the credits gave me bigtime chills!)

The ending was haunting and gross, and for some odd reason, it worked.

Cronos · #3 08-15-2003, 08:20 AM

i loved it, great acting, good script, great direction, i thought they didn't use the camera a lot as in it remained motionless a lot.

a great film that gets more messed up as it goes along

10/10

Gluttony · #4 08-15-2003, 11:23 AM

Surprisingly, I really did not enjoy this movie that much. I was especially let down by many of the supporting characters which were intrical to the plot and yet were both one-dimensional and damn obnoxious. Not only that, but the film was weakened by the lack of disturbing imagery I had heard so much about.

Though, May does at least deliver osme good perfromances and allows the two more important characters to build a strong (if negative) relationship. That a few bits of the humor (Jack and Jill) were funny even if overall, the humor is not successful.

I was impressed by some of the direction but the movie's script just did not do it for me.

I guess I was expecting a grandoise spectacle of gore and shock, but it looks liek hype killed May for me. Too bad. It does hit enough marks to get an okay rating.

5/10

KillerKlown · #5 08-17-2003, 06:16 PM

I was lucky to catch this film on the big screen and I was totallt engrossed by it. Although, at the end *Spoilers* I ended up feeling really sad for poor May as she lay dying next to her "creation".

C-Desecration- · #6 08-18-2003, 09:56 AM

This post is going to have some SPOILERS, in reply to the one above.

May was dying? I never had that impression, despite the scissor to the eye. That little diddy almost got me to turn off the television. But I didn't think she was about to die, just . . . well, she was taking comfort in her new friend.
Since we're discussing spoilers, does anyone know exactly what the ending means? I mean, the crazy-fucking-Frankenstein monster-thing actually moves, which obviously isn't reality. So is that last bit May's imagination?

KillerKlown · #7 08-18-2003, 02:17 PM

***SPOILERS***

Yeah, that's the impression I got, C-Desecration...That she was finally at piece with her new friend. The ending is well open to interpretation, but from such a nasty eye trauma I reckon she would go into shock and eventually die.

countchocula · #8 08-18-2003, 02:49 PM

Highlight...

Yes, May died. As KK asserted, she found eternal peace, companionship, and acceptance. Her "creation's" movement is purely metaphorical.

XCoRyX · #9 08-22-2003, 06:47 AM

Am I the only one who found this to be the worst film of 2003?And the biggest letdown,if not the worst of?

Had SUCH potential,with the great cast,and good reviews and word of mouth,but when it came time for me renting and watching this with my mother...who IS a horror fan,we both had the same sick stomach like feeling,not like it was sick and gory in a cool way,but like it was so fucking bad I was going to regurgatate the past 90 some odd minutes out my mouth....or however you spell regurgatate....

Nonetheless,the film is fucking horrible...overrated,like many films in my view,and just wow...so fucking horrible....

3/10...thats being nice,and I deserve a kiss on the lips from every female connected with this film for being this sweet.

orangestar · #10 08-24-2003, 03:39 PM

I partially agree with xCoryx. It was pretty good, but it could have been MUCH better. I loved the whole romance thing going on with Adam, but after they broke up it just got weird, and not good weird. The ending was so incredibly predicatable I could have crapped myself. But (Im going to continue to contradict myself) I liked it over all because it was kind of a character study and May was sweet in her own sense. I would have loved some more graphic gore, but it was decent.

Overall : 5.5/10

DaRkToOtH · #11 08-27-2003, 12:01 AM

anna faris was a welcome to my eyes..also with the lesbian scene YUMMY...it was a very creative idea and quite disturbing for movies these days...i give it a good 6 for being creative but i agree, it could have expanded to something much better

C-Desecration- · #12 08-27-2003, 07:11 PM

What's up with all the sudden negetivity?

First thing's first: do you three above (who seem not to deem this horror classic too good) like One Hour Photo? I suppose that's a good 'basis' movie, as in a basis for what kind of film you enjoy. Personally, I'd say OHP gets a solid 9/10, mainly because of the phenominal performance by Robin Williams . . . in fact, I think I'll review that soon.

One last question: the ending was predictable? Wha-? This is obviously going to have SPOILERS below so read at your own risk. Did you mean May collecting parts of bodies was predictable, or the final few minutes? Because if you're speaking off the last few frames, then why not say you saw Jeepers Creeper's ending coming a mile away.

XCoRyX · #13 08-28-2003, 11:06 AM

C-Desecration,I dont remember saying much about what you mentioned so I dont know how to write back...I'll just say this flick simply isnt my taste,and was a letdown...I wanted and hoped it would be my taste,it just wasnt.

C-Desecration- · #14 08-28-2003, 12:11 PM

Sorry about the lack of specifying, XCoryX. It was actually orangestar who mentioned the ending was predictable, and I was just generalizing the negetivity to the three above the post.

Hope that clears things up.

XCoRyX · #15 08-28-2003, 04:37 PM

ah okay,yes sir it does...

BadCoverVersion · #16 09-01-2003, 07:34 AM

Bugger it. I'm just COPYING and PASTING this from the video review forum.

Good flick...not great, but a decent Saturday night filler.

Bettis definitely carried the film, and Faris was amusing in her small doses...the bloke wanting ice for his nips was quite classic.

After hearing all the talk of eye-gouging and cruelty to animals, I was expecting WAY more gore...but I found the film chilling above all else.

One observation though...

***Spoilers***

Why did Amy end up with a pair of legs fit for a fucking wrestler...!? Would amputation cause a slender set of bronzed pins to transform into a rather grotesque pair of HUGE pasty tree-trunks?

Perhaps I'm missing something...but Amy's other "features" seemed perfectly proportioned.

***Spoilers End***

Anyway 6/10 for now...I wasn't overly keen on the finale.

Gluttony · #17 09-01-2003, 08:35 PM

C-Desecration- I really don't see where you are coming from about the predictability, I never said such, and for the most part did not have a problem with the eding.

I did like One Hour Photo but I also liked and cared for the characters which is a basis in both movies, I found May and her victims to be inhuman in feel, I did not care about what they were doing, nor if they died of live. Which made many scenes lack the punch they needed.

Gluttony · #18 09-01-2003, 08:36 PM

oh silly me, missed that second post. Never mind the predictable ending statement.

PackBacker · #19 08-30-2005, 08:19 PM

"May" 2002

Directed by: Lucky McKee
Written by: Lukcy McKee
Starring: Angela Bettis, Anna Faris, Jeremy Sisto

Tagline: Be Careful... She Just Might Take Your Heart.

Rating 9/10

Plot: May has been a social outcast all of her life due to her lazy eye and quirky personality. Her best friend is a freakish doll. As May begins to form friends/love interests, her sanity slowly slips away as she faces rejection. She takes it into her own hands to make herself the ultimate companion.

Review: "May" is a nice little kick in the pants. Part horror film and part black comedy, it delivers on all fronts.

"May" is sort of a modern day take on the Bride of Frankenstein tale. Pieces and parts to make loneliness go away. It works so well because May is so engaging. She's portrayed like a young teen in love- awkward, naive, and swept off her feet at first sight. It's funny and touching all at the same time. Her rampage towards the end can be seen as recognizing the cruel, bitter rules of love and making her own.

What gets the film such high marks has to be the acting of Angela Bettis. She runs the gamut of emotional highs and lows- puppy dog love, rejection, obsession, psycho, and dedicated veterinary assistant. Her quirky portrayal is hilarious, heart-breaking, and powerful all in one. Sisto and Farris deliver solid supporting roles as well.

The humor also really helps to keep the film together. It is dark as dark can get. It allows you to alternate between giggling and clapping in delight at some kills. The red stuff is pretty light but it works with May calmly walking around with her cooler full of goodness.

I think that if the filmmakers had played it completely straight the film would have failed. The humor is really what drew me in and I stuck around for the actual story. It's a fun ride with a deeper subplot than most genre flicks.

the dead one · #20 08-30-2005, 10:46 PM

'May' Psychological horror at its finest...Riveting! 8/10

C-Desecration- · #21 08-31-2005, 08:55 AM

Did anyone check out the May follow-up Lucky? Has to do with a bizarre talking dog? It just seemed too out-there for me, and carried none of the incredible buzz May did (which, I still love, if not as ecstatically as my knee-jerk reaction up there).

It'd be nice to see some more of these heavy, twisted character studies (one hour photo, may). I really take to them, and if they're done well it's almost a sure-fire bullseye with me.

countchocula · #22 08-31-2005, 02:01 PM

Lucky wasn't a follow-up to May. The two films aren't related.

C-Desecration- · #23 08-31-2005, 03:15 PM

Then I shouldn't have said follow-up, because I know that. It is from the writer/director of May, right? Because I got two names-lucky and the woods-, one just has angela bettis and the other is from the writer/director.