The Independent Horror Movie May
Gives Horror Fans Just What We Want.
May is a great example of why
we should support the non-Hollywood movie makers. Original concepts
that aren't just "outside the box", but were never "in the box" in the
first place.
Review by The Zombie Master Lee
Roberts December 17, 2006
Release:
2002 Written and Directed by: Lucky McKee
Starring:
Angela Bettis as May Jeremy Sisto as Adam Anna Faris as Polly
I love independent horror films. In Hollywood, you do not
have to appreciate or even like horror to write a script and get it on
the screen. They have formulas and rules to tell them what will and
what won’t work. True fans of the genre haven’t
been told what the rules are and what formulas they have to adhere to.
They are just trying to make the type of movie that they would like to
see in a theater. The good news about this is that the independent
horror films are the ones that push the envelope.
It’s not that they go outside the box but rather they never
put themselves into one to begin with. The bad news is that they do not
get wide theater releases so if you are not paying attention, the
really good ones will go unnoticed. May is one such
film.
May starts by
hitting the pertinent points in the youth of a very lonely girl. We
then see this girl as a woman named (as if you hadn’t already
guessed) May (Angela Bettis). May had no friends growing up so her over-protective
mother gave her a doll with a piece of wisdom attached;
“If you can’t find a friend, make one.”
As an adult, May still has this doll as her best friend. She has never
had a boyfriend, never been out on a date, and never had any real
friends to speak of.
We notice early on that May has a keen observance of body parts. She
may like the arms of one person or the neck of another. In fact, she
makes it a point to meet a man who she says has “beautiful
hands”. We also notice early on that May is weird but you do
not know whether it comes from a sheltered naivety or whether she is
just crazy as a loon.
May has a failed attempt at snagging the
“beautiful
hand” man (mental note: never take love advice from
a doll) and a jealousy episode with a lesbian friend. She is
“hurt” emotionally one too many times and then
things get serious. Hint: remember the advice that dear old mom gave. I
shall say no more.
May is an awesome movie. It is funny, twisted, sad,
gory, and disturbing all within the same 93 minutes. Who accomplished
this feat of cinematic alchemy? I am glad you
asked. Lucky McKee (writer and director) is a genius that is finally
getting his just due. If you can find it, his first foray into
filmmaking was All Cheerleaders Die but if you
watched the Masters of Horror series on Showtime,
you saw his excellent work on Sick Girl.
I cannot let my self close without giving praise to Angela Bettis. She
did a good job with Girl, Interrupted and the TV
remake of Carrie but her work in May
is fantastic. It leads on to amusingly wonder whether Angela actually
needs therapy or not.
I
used to long for Hollywood to look to the independents to see what we
as horror fans really want. Every time they do that though, they seem
destined to screw up a good thing. Now I just want the horror fans to support
the independent filmmaker by viewing their movies and, if
they are good, pass the word along. The elites call it a
“cult following”. I call it giving recognition were
it is deserved. Questions
or comments about May? Contact us!
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May starts by
hitting the pertinent points in the youth of a very lonely girl. We
then see this girl as a woman named (as if you hadn’t already
guessed) May (Angela Bettis). May had no friends growing up so her over-protective
mother gave her a doll with a piece of wisdom attached;
“If you can’t find a friend, make one.”
As an adult, May still has this doll as her best friend. She has never
had a boyfriend, never been out on a date, and never had any real
friends to speak of.
Blink
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Google
Simpy
Spurl
Technorati
Y!
MyWeb