May (2002)

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

Director:

Lucky McKee

Writer:

Lucky McKee

Stars:

Angela Bettis, Jeremy Sisto, Anna Faris

11 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

When May was a child, she was a lonely girl with a lazy eye and without any friends except a weird and ugly doll kept in a glass case given by her bizarre mother on her birthday. May becomes a lonely, weird young woman, working in an animal hospital and assisting the veterinarian in surgeries and sewing operated animals most of the time. Her lesbian colleague Polly has a sort of attraction for her. When the shy May meets the mechanic Adam Stubbs, she loves his hands and has a crush on him. They date, but the weirdness and bizarre behavior of May pushes Adam away from her. Alone, May has a brief affair with Polly, but she feels rejected again when her colleague meets Ambrosia. When her doll is accidentally broken, the deranged May decides to build a friend for her, using the best parts her acquaintances can offer.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | doll | birthday | surgery | lesbian | 

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Taglines:

Be Careful... She Just Might Take Your Heart.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 2003 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Frankenstein játékai

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$9,070 (USA) (6 June 2003)

Gross:

$145,540 (USA) (4 July 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

2 Loop Films, A Loopy Production LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

When young May blows out the candles on her birthday cake one candle is left lit and in the next shot all candles are out.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young May: What's wrong with my eye, mama?
Mama: Doctor says it's lazy eye. But, we're going to make you look perfect.

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Crazy Credits

No animals were harmed in the making of this film. All scenes involving injured, maimed, bloodied or deceased animals were accomplished through the magic of taxidermy and/or prosthetic appliances.

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Connections

References L'Age d'Or (1930)

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Soundtracks

"Where Did the Home Team Go"
(1997)
Performed by The Kelley Deal 6000
Written by Kelley Deal
Courtesy of Bug Music, Inc. and Body Butter Music (BMI)

User Reviews

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.