Dog’s Movie House: “Men” Ambitious, Well Crafted Horror That May Not Be To Everyone’s Taste!

“Men” tells the tale of Harper (an excellent Jessie Buckley) a young woman from London who is grieving the loss of her husband (Paapa Essiedu) who killed himself in rather graphic fashion after Harper asked for a divorce. To help herself heal, Harper rents and Airbnb in the London countryside to reflect and get a little alone time. When she arrives she is first greeted by Geoffrey (Kinnear) the owner who is a little, shall we say, off. But he’s positively pleasant in comparison to the other denizens of the town, all men (all played by Kinnear) and all exhibiting hostile behavior with varying degrees of severity. After an encounter with a naked stalker, Harper’s world gets turned upside down as the attacks on her escalate, forcing her to fight for her life and sanity, all the while trying to figure out where the death of her husband fits in.

That’s all I’m gonna tell you because, quite frankly, I don’t have the vocabulary to adequately explain it any further. “Men” is best experienced as a visual journey. Garland’s work as a writer and director merges in a kaleidoscope of imagery both beautiful and horrific. For the first two-thirds of the film Garland works the movie like a traditional horror film, with excellent build up and some great set pieces involving some seriously suspenseful moments. Buckley is a terrific protagonist, her grief and insecurity revealing an inner core of strength and intelligence that makes her one of the most fully formed characters in a horror film in quite a while. She’s matched by Kinnear, who layers his multiple characters with idiosyncratic traits that distinguish each character from the other. Expert use of prosthetics (along with one really creepy CGI de-aging technique) complete the package. Kinnear gives an all-time performance here.

Garland and his cinematographer Rob Hardy create an atmosphere that is simultaneously gorgeous and extremely at the same time. The atmosphere is enhanced by a haunting score by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury. The film still maintains the atmosphere despite a third act turn that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “balls out bonkers crazy” involving body horror and a whole lot of blood. (And let’s not forget that crazy conclusion.) However, I think I figured out the ending in a way that makes sense to me and if you can do the same “Men” is going to become a modern classic. Even if it doesn’t, “Men” is never less than engaging. 4 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!

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