phancy.com - horror reviews - MOH 2022
Men
IMDb Info
Release Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 40m
Country: UK, USA
Language: English
Genre Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Plot Summary: A young woman goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside following the death of her ex-husband.
Poster - Title Card
phancy.com rating:
phancy.com notes: Not sure who the target audience for this movie is. If you're able to grapple with the ideas and symbolism it presents about misogyny and performative masculinity, you probably already agree with its premise that those things are harmful at best, deadly at worst. Thematically, it's not bringing much to the table beyond that. That said, conceptually it's very inventive, sustains a palpable sense of dread and is thought-provoking enough that we spent lunch discussing it. Definitely an arthouse movie about ideas, wrapped in the trappings of a horror movie.
Outside Reviews:
Christy Lemire
3 out of 4 stars -
rogerebert.com
Whatever your reaction is to the latest meticulously made mind warp from writer/director Alex Garland, it won't be indifference. This is a visceral experience, and it reinforces Garland's singular prowess as a craftsman of indelible visuals and gripping mood. As in his previous films, "Ex Machina" and "Annihilation," he establishes a feeling of dread early and holds you in it, unyielding, for much of the film's duration. The methodical pacing, eerie cinematography, startling sound design, and vivid visual effects all work in synergy to create an almost merciless tension. But then we reach his wild, muscular climax—and that's where things ultimately fall apart.
Kristy Puchko
A horror movie about misogyny should have something more to say
While I was in the thick of it, my heart thudded hard. My eyes scoured the windows behind our headstrong heroine, watching her back when no one else would. I screamed in terror at a smartly executed jump scare that plays to a pretty common nightmare among the women I know. I was hooked. I was on the ride...but I was left wanting. While that final act is full of violence, gore, and some bizarre body horror, it lacks the daring to make a statement. So in the end, its title feels less like a threat and more like a tired groan: Men.