May (2002)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Lucky McKee

Writer:

Lucky McKee (written by)

Release Date:

11 April 2003 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Romance | 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:

Doll | Hand | Eye | Sewing | Surgery

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:

Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/18 | Italy:VM14 | 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:

The scene where Blank and May meet was a re-shoot. In the original scene, May was not cold and vague, but angry, and insulted people as they walked by on the street. The scene ended with the two of them in the park. That scene is still in the film but entirely replaced and reedited. It is now the scene where Adam and May meet and have there final talk in the park. The scene is told only through close ups, with both May and Adam glancing off camera. They were originally looking at Blank who was sitting beside her. But he was edited out of the scene completely.

Goofs:

Continuity: When May and Adam are having lunch on the bench and May begins her "gross story" Adam alternates between having both hands in front of him and having one hand on the back of the bench next to May.

Quotes:

May: Okay. A couple of weeks ago, and old man comes in, and says his dog is dying. And he begs us to save it. A 90-pound black lad named Seymour. We take him in and run some tests, and find that he has a twisted bowel, and needs to be operated on immediately. So we shave Seymour's tummy, we cut him open, and take out a piece of intestine about--about the size of a hot dog. Everything went smooth, but...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Do You Love Me Now?

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.