May (2002)

Director:

Lucky McKee

Writer:

Lucky McKee (written by)

Release Date:

11 April 2003 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

If you can't find a friend... make one.

Plot:

Psychological horror about a lonely young woman traumatized by a difficult childhood, and her increasingly desperate attempts to connect with the people around her.

Plot Keywords:

Obsessive Love | Disturbing | Obsession | Insecurity | Stalking

Awards:

8 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Angela Bettis	...	May Dove Canady
Jeremy Sisto	...	Adam Stubbs
Anna Faris	...	Polly
James Duval	...	Blank
Nichole Hiltz	...	Ambrosia
Kevin Gage	...	Papa Canady
Merle Kennedy	...	Mama Canady
Chandler Riley Hecht	...	Young May
Rachel David	...	Petey
Nora Zehetner	...	Hoop
Will Estes	...	Chris, Adam's Roommate
Roxanne Day	...	Buckle
Samantha Adams	...	Lucille
Brittney Lee Harvey	...	Diedre
Connor Matheus	...	Kindergarten Boy

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence/gore, some sexuality and language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Portugal:M/18 | Italy:VM14 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

2 Loop Films

Trivia:

Originally the film opened with a lengthy introduction to May as a child. But when the film appeared to be taking too long to get to its point, most of those scenes were cut. The opening with the adult May, specifically the first scene with her and her doll, were shot quickly and only to make the point that May was lonely as quickly as possible.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: There are two shots in the ending where you can see the "zombie" move: first is after May first finishes attaching the head (breathing is obvious in lower stomach) and the second after May "completes" the head (the neck pulse). The second instance could arguably happen in May's head (as it's after her sacrifice to bring it to life) but it shouldn't be moving before that.

Quotes:

Polly: Maybe we can hang out, eat some melons.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Half-Sick of Shadows

Twisted, Bizarre, and Almost Fairy-Tale Like.

"May" is an extremely fresh, unique horror movie. The film centers around May Kennedy, a complete loner/outcast who has been that way since childhood. She grew up with a lazy eye, which she still has as an adult, which was partly the reason for her not having many friends. Her only friend in the entire world is a doll named Suzy that her mother gave her as a small child. Encased in a glass case, the inanimate object is poor May's only friend. But things start to change when May meets Adam, whom she begins to form a relationship with. But when May begins to seem a little "too weird" for Adam, he calls off the relationship, leaving May heartbroken. Now, May has began to realize that there are only certain things that she likes about people, but has yet to find the perfect person who holds all of the same physical features. So, she begins to kill those who have the perfect characteristics, with the intention of building a "perfect" friend.

The entire plot of this movie is strangely morbid, killing people to make the perfect person. It's almost Frankenstein-like except May's creation doesn't come back to haunt her. It is almost like a twisted fairy-tale, the entire movie seems to be set in an unreal city (which is in reality Los Angeles) and each of the characters are pretty interesting. Angela Bettis (who also starred in Tobe Hooper's "Toolbox Murders" remake) is an extremely underrated actress, she was excellent in this movie and delivered a top-notch performance. Some may also recognize Anna Faris (from the "Scary Movie" series) as a co-worker/love interest of May. The film's ending made the movie all the more weird, but in a good way, and what May does in order to make her "perfect friend" is quite squeamish.

Bottom line - "May" is a unique blend of horror and sometimes even comedy, and had some very similar characteristics of a Tim Burton-style movie, which ultimately worked for it. If you want to see a unique horror movie, see "May". Very well done. 9/10.