May

May, a film from writer/director Lucky McKee, is the haunting, sometimes disturbing, tale of a troubled young woman searching for love, friendship, and acceptance. Forced in youth by her mother to wear an eye patch to cover up her lazy eye, May's lonely childhood was highlighted by her only friend, a homemade doll she was told to keep in a glass case and never touch. As a young woman, May now has lenses to correct her lazy eye as well as a job at an animal hospital. However, she's still isolated, shy, and troubled, only liking pieces of people but never the whole…that is, until she spies Adam. Unfortunately, as her newfound relationships with Adam and a coworker spiral out of control, her sanity begins to further unravel.

May isn't a traditional horror film in many senses, although it is quite unsettling and certainly has a horrific ending (in a good way…although I won't spoil it). Fairly quaint and low-key, most of the movie is spent observing May's interactions with the world and slowly developing the events that would lead to the film's ending. Through an excellent script, terrific acting on the parts of all 3 leads (Angela Bettis as May, Jeremy Sisto as Adam, and Scary Movie's Anna Faris as May's coworker), and great direction and editing, the film really allows you to connect with May and the other characters and almost understand each character's behavior and reasoning. However, watching May's behavior and her degrading level of stability (along with the excellent metaphorical imagery of the cracking glass on the doll case) is still quite disturbing at times. Also of note is the film's amazing indie rock soundtrack. Featuring a few tracks by The Breeders, the music is universally excellent and effective and fits the movie perfectly.

May is one of the best new horror films I've seen in years, certainly better than just about anything that's been in the theaters recently. With a quaint fairytale vibe that's almost reminiscent of Edward Scissorhands, the film is an almost surreal spiral into May's madness. While it's probably not a film that will please action-oriented horror or slasher fans, it's nonetheless an amazing movie that I very highly recommend to all fans of atmospheric/psychological horror.