Writer/director Alex Garland has made a career for himself in film and TV by delivering sweepingly high-concept sci-fi with horrific, surreal twists and stunning cinematography. Movies like Ex Machina and limited series like Devs have confronted the ethical ramifications and possibilities of things like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, while projects like Annihilation have dug into the existential predicaments of alien life--and while each have certainly been scary in their own rights, none have been fully realized, capital-H Horror Movies. His latest project, Men, seeks to change that, allowing Garland to pivot from sleek, modern science fiction to the unquestionably low tech world of folk horror.
And make no mistake--Men is absolutely a horror movie. It focuses on a woman named Harper (Jessie Buckley) who, in the aftermath of a massive personal tragedy relating to the death of her husband, attempts to get away from it all by renting out a sprawling pastoral country home in rural England in an effort to process some of the emotional fallout. The owner of the property she rents is an awkward but seemingly harmless man named Jeffery (Rory Kinnear) who gives her the lay of the land and then leaves her on her own. Naturally, things start to go off the rails almost immediately, and a strange encounter in the woods leaves Harper feeling alone and exposed in an unfamiliar house, surrounded by strange men who apparently wish to do her harm.
Men excels when it's leaning into its horror sensibilities. Garland's eye for composition in each shot lends itself extremely well to the set-up and pay-off of some truly gut wrenching scares, executed both in the middle of the night and the middle of the day. This is the sort of movie where every corner of the frame has been considered and used to maximum efficiency, whether that means hiding threats to build tension or offering up painterly character moments to help build up the emotional lives of the characters. Buckley, in particular, delivers an incredible performance in these moments specifically--more than once she is left to carry minutes worth of dialogue-less stretches, but she never wastes a second and never drops the ball.
Kinnear, meanwhile, is tasked with playing not only the bumbling Jeffery but a handful of other characters in the village, who all manage to be just similar enough to be uncanny, but in such a subtle way you could feasibly watch the whole movie without realizing it's all one guy playing these parts. The more violent and harrowing things become, the more Kinnear is given to play with and the more he shines as a particularly disturbing horror movie monster.
The unfortunate downside of all this, however, is the ultimate payoff. Like Garland's other projects, Men does want to have a bigger thesis statement than just "a woman is terrorized by a monster," and it does make a valiant attempt to grapple with major themes like cultural and social misogyny and the socialization of young boys into toxic masculinity, it never quite manages to stick the landing. It's unusual for a Garland movie to fumble in terms of its big ideas, but the subtlety of Men's bigger message never quite jives with the shock-and-awe of the violence and the gore and the two inevitably wind up competing for space. More than once the story hiccups in an attempt to offer up a somewhat contrived, obtrusive bit of dialogue to justify things like Harper deciding to stay in the house, or stumbles in an attempt to add another layer on top of the already complex and obvious villain. By the end, the monster feels almost too easy and too obvious given how many things Men seems to want to grapple with and expose--which is a bummer, considering how interesting the initial design and concept seemed to be.
And speaking of shock-and-awe, there is a lot of it. While Garland has definitely never shied away from blood and gore in his other projects, Men goes several steps beyond what anyone might expect, ramping up into a third act full of Cronenbergian flavored body horror. Think of that scene in Annihilation where Oscar Isaac finds eels in his friend's stomach and you're on the right track. It really is that bonkers--and almost certainly will not be everyone's cup of tea.
That said, Men is successful as a horror movie, despite its occasional trip-up. It's a slow burn spiral into dread, laced with the sort of symbolism and long, surreal sequences that are unique to Garland's style and overall aesthetic, coupled with some truly brilliant scares and stomach-churning gore. If that sounds like something you're on board for, you'll absolutely have a great time. If you're looking for something more along the lines of the clean, polished existentialism of a movie like Ex Machina or a show like Devs, however, you might leave the theater wanting.
