At 11:28 PM,
Friday, February 14, 2003
Star Drifter posted the following:
Below is my review of
May, written for a message board I hang out at but don't really feel like linking to.
MAY (
Official Site) (
IMDB)
Spoilers have been made as light and vague as possible, sometimes at the expense of the review. Some of them are things you can find on their site or from television commercials. Others might be the kind that would creep up on you while watching the movie. I apologize in advance.
Synopsis: Without giving away too much of the film, May was a girl whose appearance led to her being ostracized as a child. Naturally, her feelings of being an outcast carried on through adulthood. From this point, one quote from the movie – one which appeared in the commercials as well – sum the movie's ultimate focus up nicely: “If you can't find a friend, make one.”
Review: This movie is simply intense, from the very beginning to end credits. While amazingly humorous at times, most of the comedy is either very tense or very macabre. Sometimes, it's both. I've seen better effects come from Troma films, but they were easily and enthusiastically forgiven.
It seems to me that every true revival of horror is heralded by a low budget but very high quality horror film. May definitely has what it takes to bring in and inspire another golden era of the genre. Riskier scenes might delegate it to cult classic status, but the film was simply too intelligent to be dismissed entirely.
Total: 8.06 / 10. (This places it at #2 on my spreadsheet. Scare factor counts double, nudity counts for much, much less.)
Each in a scale from 1 to 10.
Plot: 8. This movie pulls itself off much more intelligently than one would expect. Even its weaknesses are acknowledged if only briefly.
Gore: 9. Oh yeah. It sucks at times, but it's there when it's needed. Beautifully done.
Body Count: 6. Would have been a five, but the first victim just left me feeling like I should bump this up.
Effects: 7. Would have been a five on its own, but one scene (you'll know it when you see it) pulled things off so well that it raised the score significantly.
Charm: 9. This movie just drew me in and shamelessly held my attention.
Mock proof: 9. It covers its tracks well, while exploiting the same human weaknesses which get heckled in other films.
Scare Factor: 10. This film shares a dubious honor with House on Haunted Hill (1999) as one of the only two movies I've had to step away from to catch my breath. Like Haunted Hill, it worked its magic by putting me in a place to scare myself.
Nudity: 2. No real skin to be seen, but the clever use of nipples visible through clothes adds an element of class.
This truly is a horror movie made for the theater. It's a shame this received a limited release, since it really has to be seen on the big screen. I fear that once video reviews come in, the special effects are going to leave a sour taste in some peoples' mouths. If anyone here is fortunate enough to live in one of the cities this was released in, I highly recommend going to see it.
