May - with many spoilers

May is a psychological Horror film from Director Lucky Mckee that hit the box office in 2002. Lucky is featured in the film as the man kissing his girlfriend in the elevator down from May’s apartment.

Verdict

My movie ratings consist of thumbs up or middle fingers as sometimes one starring something doesn’t shame it enough. 5 thumbs up = an absolute triumph. 5 middle fingers = a complete piece of shit, go fuck yourself.

May - 2 thumbs up

Awkward, uncomfortable and entertaining.

Favourite quote “I’ve always said if you can't find a friend, make one.” - May’s mother as she gives May her new doll; Suzie.

Favourite scene

Although nothing to do at all with the main story, my favourite part of the whole experience was the distressed dog owner who complains to the receptionist about his dog, who, despite having four legs when he was last seen, now appears to have only three. That’s some pretty careless pet ownership. I would like to know how this situation came about. He shows up again later after finding the missing leg to see if it can be reattached. Surely the dog was dead after such poor medical attention?

Best meme from the movie

Analysis

It’s been a long time since I first saw the movie “May” as an inebriated youth alongside Mr Paul “Bones” Jones. I remember it being the right cocktail of weird and uncomfortable for late night viewing at the end of a small gathering at someone’s house, presumably whilst their parents were on holiday or something. Watching this movie takes me right back to that time; anxiously worrying about the horrors of the working world we were slowly being exposed to, wondering what the point was in University and whether or not it was actually just a scam to rig the unemployment statistics during a double-dip recession, and of course dreading receiving the results from a set of A levels that were taken with an appalling amount of preparation and revision. Oh, to be young again.

May was exactly the film to fill those late-night, post gathering moments with as everyone slowly falls asleep. The type of film you drift off during, then wake up alarmed by some creepy music and some screaming and wonder where you are as you scan a darkened room from a pouffe you’ve dribbled on under the cover of a single bedsheet. (One of the most uncomfortable sleeps I’ve ever had was having to listen to the DVD title screen from Brasseye play on a loop for about 6 hours as everyone dozed in and out of consciousness, unsure how to turn it off.), I did lose sleep over this movie, although it was not the only factor at play.

18 year old me would have possibly rated this movie much higher but this time I had nostalgia working against me and the rose tints slowly fell from my glasses as the movie progressed. I suppose the shock reveal of May ‘Making a friend’ only really works the first time you see it. Watching this film for a second time loses a bit of the anticipation and tension, but can’t the same be said for most horror movies?

What did remain after all these years was a sometimes silly and often incredibly dark sense of humour that oversteps the mark into uncomfortable. The blind children crawling around in broken glass, for example. It was a moment the audience could see coming (ironically), dreaded, and could do nothing about. It was also somehow darkly humorous and horrifying all at once and provoked the response “Haha.. Ha.. fuuuuuuck.” from me. Then a full minute of stone silence.

Another thing that works in May is a sort of throwback to older horror films of the 80’s. There are a lot of horrible, uncomfortable noises that go on for far too long. The glass cracking on her doll; Suzie’s case, that seems to last the entire duration of the film is unsettling in it’s own right. This reminds me of film’s like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Carrie where very uncomfortable noises are pumped throughout the films to unsettle the audience.

Cindy from Scary Movie is playing the character of Cindy from Scary Movie but gay. She was annoying and I’m glad she was murdered.

The bottom line

Definitely worth watching once. Possibly worth buying the DVD, if only to leave on, cycling through the chapters as your friends attempt to sleep on the floor. Probably not worth stabbing your eye out over.