A24 only recently released two new horrors: Ti West’sX, which follows a group of porn stars harassed by an elderly couple, and Halina Reijn’sBodies Bodies Bodies, about a group of 20-somethings that turn on each other at a party. Now theindependent entertainment companyhave another upcoming horror, titledMen.
The trailer forMenis as eerie as one can expect from an A24 movie. Beginning calmly, to the tune of Lesley Duncan’s “Love Song,” viewers watch a woman (Jessie Buckley) acquaint herself with the beautiful countryside house she’s renting, before things take a dark turn. Suddenly, the woman is reminded of her late husband’s (assumed) suicide and is made to feel guilty by the male villagers who stalk her and, creepily, share the innkeeper’s (Rory Kinnear) face. It’s a terrifying premise that has viewers wanting to know more. Fortunately, here are some answers to those questions.
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The Director
Menis written and directed by British novelist andfilmmaker Alex Garland. As a novelist, Garland is best known as the author of the hugely successful 1996 novelThe Beach, which was adapted into a 2000 movie directed by Danny Boyle and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Garland also wrote screenplays for Boyle’s movies28 Days LaterandSunshine, and for the moviesNever Let Me GoandDredd. He made his directorial debut with the Oscar-winning sci-fi movieEx-Machina, about a young programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) who falls in love with a female robot (Alicia Vikander). His second movie,Annihilation, is also a sci-fi movie, based on the 2014 Jeff VanderMeer novel of the same name. Garland also wrote and directed the sci-fi thriller seriesDevsfor Hulu.
The director will be joined by cinematographer Rob Hardy, who collaborated with Garland onEx-Machina,Annihilation, andDevs. Hardy won a Bafta for his work on the John Crowley-directed movieBoy A, which stars Andrew Garfield as a convicted child killer.Menwill be produced by Cahal Bannon, Andrew Macdonald, and Allon Reich.
The Plot
A24 describesMenas a “feverish, shape-shifting new horror movie.” As the trailer shows, it follows a widowed woman, Harper (Jessie Buckley), who retreats to the English countryside following the death of her husband (Paapa Essiedu). Here she runs into one giant problem preventing her from healing: men. It seems the male villagers are insistent on reminding her of her trauma, and blaming her for it too. But not only that — they also stalk her. And when she voices her concerns, they gaslight her.
Harper runs into several men in the trailer, and aside from her late husband, all of them share the innkeeper Geoffrey’s face. These other versions of Geoffrey are a priest, bartender, pub-goer, police officer and school kid (whoseCGI face might be the creepiest thingof all).
The Cast
The star ofMen, Jessie Buckley, is an actress to watch. Having made her big-screen debut as Moll Huntford in the British psychological thrillerBeast, Buckley has since had leading roles inWild Rose, about an aspiring country singer from Glasgow, andI’m Thinking of Ending Things, about a young woman whose trip to meet her boyfriend’s parents turns strange. For her recent movie,Lost Daughter, where she starred as the younger version of Olivia Coleman’s Leda, she was nominated for an Oscar but lost the award to Ariana DeBose who won Best Supporting Actress as Anita in Steven Spielberg’sWest Side Story.
Rory Kinnear, who plays most of the men inMen, is known for his role as Bill Tanner in the James Bond moviesQuantum of Solace,Skyfall,Spectre, andNo Time to Die. Kinnear also starred alongside Benedict Cumberbatch as Detective Nock inThe Imitation Game. As for Paapa Essiedu, who plays Harper’s husband, the actor had a small role as Sergeant Campbell inMurder on the Orient Express, but is best known for playing Kwame in the award-winning British miniseriesI May Destroy You; a role for which he himself earned Primetime Emmy and Bafta nominations.
The Release Date
Menis set to be released in theaters on May 20, and fans of Garland and Buckley will be pleased to know they have other projects coming up too. Earlier this year it was announced Alex Garland is writing and directing a new movie, titledCivil War. As withMen,Civil Warwill be released by A24, and whilst plot details are being kept under wraps, it will be a near-future action movie, starringKirsten Dunst(The Power of the Dog), Wagner Moura (Narcos), Stephen McKinley (Lady Bird), and Cailee Spaeny (Mare of Easttown).
Buckley, on the other hand, is set to star inWomen Talking, an upcomingAmerican drama moviebased on the 2008 Miriam Toews novel of the same name.Women Talkingfollows a group of women grappling with their faith after being sexually assaulted by the male members of their religious colony. The movie, which is written and directed by Sarah Polley, will also star actresses Frances McDormand (Nomadland), Rooney Mara (Carol), Claire Foy (The Crown), Judith Ivey (The Devil’s Advocate), Sheila McCarthy (The Day After Tomorrow), and Michelle McLeod (Don’t Talk to Irene).
