The movie subtly darkens its tone until, when the horrifying ending arrives, we can see how we got there. There is a final shot that would get laughs in another kind of film, but May earns the right to it, and it works, and we understand it.
Call it a horror movie, a psychological thriller or a feminist splatterfest, but this sort of story is tough to get right. May gets it more than right.
This is a brilliant movie! Don't listen to the negative reviews! It is the most original, darkly DARKLY funny movie I've ever seen.
It's one of those movies that will stick with you forever. There are moments of pure genius that should have made it a much bigger success than it was.
You want to see not the typical slasher!?
You want to see a film that makes you think!?
here you got one!
One of the best slasher movies ever made!
Believe me!
Satisfyingly, May also turns out to be lowdown genre fun, a film that nearly makes up in slacker wit and high-spirited gore what it lacks in budget and elegance.
Led by Ms. Bettis's discreetly campy May, the performances are a cut or two above what you would find in the average slasher film. But in the end that's all it is.
I can see why people don't like this movie. It's really a movie pitched at outsiders, people who grew up spending a lot of time alone. And it hits the mark in so many ways.
Of course it's campy and silly, but it knows what is. It blends elements of horror and clever dialogue, but there are moments that seem slow and unnecessary.
Strange story about a young woman desperate for friends and attention who decides to "make her own friend". Very well acted and directed in a style that's very sad at times, this is not a happy movie. It's very gory and a whole essay could be written on the psychology behind what makes May tick. This is a sort of modern take on the whole "Frankenstein" experience. Not bad once you get past the very slow first act.
I'd like to start with my biggest gripe - the ending of this film **** beyond belief. You were told the ending right at the start with a flash cut in the opening credits. Then the little bit of an ending after the flash cut is just plain silly and badly placed. It would have been cool earlier and with more movement. I'm trying not to spoil the ending but the film would have been a million times better if the ending went further. The rest of the film was good and shocking. The story was copied but the script and direction as well as the stunning acting made up for the unoriginal plot. It is worth a watch so long as you know that the ending is going to be very disappointing. Some scenes are shocking and disturbing and the social aspect is very well told. Overall disappointing though.
There is some god awful line delivery, dialogue and acting in this movie, but the soundtrack is really quite good at parts. This doesn't persist, however, as the soundtrack gets cheesy and droning at parts too. The dogleg looked very much like plastic. I understand that May is supposed to be an awkward character, but some of her line delivery feels like she has never read the script before. And when she is on screen, her awkward nature just emanates. Honestly just watch dancer in the dark. The gag with the one doctor not being able to pronounce anything was really dumb, and the cheesy cut that came after the second instance was even worse. May was not a likeable character at all, nor was most of the rest of the cast for a majority of the films run time. The first half was slow, obnoxious, and cheesy at parts. I did appreciate that her partners claimed to 'like' and then 'love' weird after May says she is weird. Since in both cases, that weirdness ends up being the factor that leads to their divide. The romance in the film felt like it was trying much too hard, and almost unnecessary. After May is with Anna Faris, who is a bad actor in this flick, the film really feels like it is trying to be something that it can't feasibly be. Feasibly be, that is, under the current director. The film within the film started out looking and feeling like a generic, trashy romance, but it improved tenfold with the cheesy, fun cannibalism. I enjoyed the way that the scene of Adam trying to avoid May at the laundromat was put together. With a constant focused close up on Adam, and then where he was after he leaves. This same angle remains as May hesitantly walks over and then realizes that he lied to her about the machine's functionality. This conveys information to the viewer in a way that would be lost if the film's signature cheeseball dialogue had been present. Shortly after this scene, May throws her ashtray at her cat. After the ashtray is thrown, it breaks into millions of pieces upon coming into contact with the apparently very sturdy cat. After being hit, the cat then teleports backwards a few feet and opens the door wider. Also, can we talk about this man's wack hair-doo? I mean, it looks like what would happen if you gave the blind kids a **** of pipe cleaners. The is so clearly not that type of person, that it makes it even more cringy when he delivers lines such as, "It's getting hella hot in here...". Skip to when May is taking neck measurements, and continue through the self-realignment montage, and you get an example of what this movie could be. This section is tense and thrilling, showing and implying what is going to happen without indirectly stating it. It all concludes as May steps out of the elevator, made out to look just like her doll. Since I like juxtaposition, the part where Anna Faris is leading May on asking her to, "please not hurt her", really drew me in. This is because it just made clear that Anna Faris was oblivious, then immediately kills her with the inverse of her words. It does similar things later, but this was the first big example. The rest of the last act is really quite intense and well done, side the slasher-style gore. Overall, this movie is inconsistent, having cheesy, nonsense dialogue mixed in with well directed and engaging sequences that show a lot of potentials. If you really want something like this, watch either "Raw", or "The Dancer in the Dark". If you do watch this, watch it as a comedy that takes a turn for the worse. I won't be returning to this one anytime soon.
I don't think I have seen a more disastrous film. And I doubt it does anything for the various genres it could be for.
Slasher genre? Worst slasher I ever saw.
Horror? It has potential and throws it out the garbage with cliche and tiring reused character developments that have become annoying at this point.
Thriller? Nothing of the sort here.
Makes you think? No it does not. The themes portrayed and the protagonists evolution is unrealistic and the least thought provoking element of the film.
It had potential and it threw it out the window for a couple of girl on girl scenes and what not. It started out nice and great, although on a reused and common plot-line, and instead of turning it into something new and different it goes and does the same thing as the rest of such films (not mentioning any to avoid spoilers).
Also needlessly depressing. The character evolution in the end does not make you feel for the protagonist, neither route for them, whilst the actions of this protagonist are un-called for (to put it in plain English) within a society no matter what they have gone through. Which makes it even harder to like the protagonist, neither understand them, neither agree to anything about them. I've seen worse scenarios in real life and none resulted in such a plot s to speak.
Perhaps that was their intent and they were going for exaggeration? Even so, it is poorly developed and the pace is all over the place as well. I couldn't recommend this film if I tried.
Don't waste your time unless you are curious, there are far better films out there to see.
Giving this a 2/10 for the effort alone and the initial potential it created. Damn, this could have gone in so many different ways though it tries desperately to portray the effects of loneliness in a completely un-relate-able way. There are much better masterpieces out there that go for the same thing and do it in a grand fashion. This is not one of those films. Steer clear of it.