Kelly WandMay
November 18th 2006 00:34
I’ll be honest with you. I’ve seen a lot of low budget horror films come and go. For every “Blair Witch Project”, there are a hundred lesser wannabes. Years ago, it seemed like you couldn’t go to the cinema without tripping over the next “Evil Dead” or “Basketcase”. These days, there’s so much crap going straight out to DVD that the new classics are thin on the ground.
When I saw “May” hit the racks, I didn’t give at a first, let alone a second glance. So convinced was I that this was going to be more tedious hack, it completely failed to register. It wasn’t until my friend John Doe wrote such a glowing review that I even thought about watching it. Go check out his site.
It’s not my fault. Apparently, if you went to University in the Renaissance, you could learn all the knowledge the world had to offer. I am told that there was a time back in the early seventies where you could still say you’d seen every movie ever made. Well, clearly, neither of those feats is impossible today but, that being said, a Renaissance graduate would be seen as little more than a semi functional illiterate today.
“May” is, in fact, quite wonderful; a kind of “Amelie” for the Romero (de)generation. Angela Bettis plays the titular protagonist, a nurse in an animal hospital. She’s a little bit different (pitched somewhere between Angel’s Fred and Firefly’s River) and whoever she does come across seems to treat her really badly. Things get grimmer but blackly funnier. I kept thinking of a remake of Polanski’s Repulsion starring Bruce Campbell in drag. You’d go and see that, wouldn’t you?
As May’s psychopathic mother would say, “If you don’t have a friend, make a friend.” May has surgery skills and she’s a pretty dab hand at sewing. Things go from bad to worse but, just when you think this is going to be the grimmest film ending you’ve ever seen, you get a touching surprise.
Rent, buy or steal a copy now. You will thank me just as I thanked John.
Fans of the Master of Horror series should check out director Lucky McKee’s episode “Sick Girl” which takes a similar tone and is perhaps even better. My only concern with this man’s work is that he may have put all his tricks out there at once. “May” and “Sick Girl” are two brilliant films. Their themes, however, are a little too similar and McKee can’t make a career by recycling parts.
His new film, “The Woods” is due soon. As well as Angela Bettis, it does actually star Bruce Campbell. Well, that’s good enough for me to want to check it out.
When I saw “May” hit the racks, I didn’t give at a first, let alone a second glance. So convinced was I that this was going to be more tedious hack, it completely failed to register. It wasn’t until my friend John Doe wrote such a glowing review that I even thought about watching it. Go check out his site.
It’s not my fault. Apparently, if you went to University in the Renaissance, you could learn all the knowledge the world had to offer. I am told that there was a time back in the early seventies where you could still say you’d seen every movie ever made. Well, clearly, neither of those feats is impossible today but, that being said, a Renaissance graduate would be seen as little more than a semi functional illiterate today.
“May” is, in fact, quite wonderful; a kind of “Amelie” for the Romero (de)generation. Angela Bettis plays the titular protagonist, a nurse in an animal hospital. She’s a little bit different (pitched somewhere between Angel’s Fred and Firefly’s River) and whoever she does come across seems to treat her really badly. Things get grimmer but blackly funnier. I kept thinking of a remake of Polanski’s Repulsion starring Bruce Campbell in drag. You’d go and see that, wouldn’t you?
As May’s psychopathic mother would say, “If you don’t have a friend, make a friend.” May has surgery skills and she’s a pretty dab hand at sewing. Things go from bad to worse but, just when you think this is going to be the grimmest film ending you’ve ever seen, you get a touching surprise.
Rent, buy or steal a copy now. You will thank me just as I thanked John.
Fans of the Master of Horror series should check out director Lucky McKee’s episode “Sick Girl” which takes a similar tone and is perhaps even better. My only concern with this man’s work is that he may have put all his tricks out there at once. “May” and “Sick Girl” are two brilliant films. Their themes, however, are a little too similar and McKee can’t make a career by recycling parts.
His new film, “The Woods” is due soon. As well as Angela Bettis, it does actually star Bruce Campbell. Well, that’s good enough for me to want to check it out.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Great review of a modern gem, (I like the "Amelie for Romero (de) generation." line)
For those interested you can read my review of may here