Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'Men' (2022)

You know, there was a lot to like about this movie but I don't think it quite pulled off what it was going for. Honestly, I'm not sure why it tried to be so psychedelic. It had a solid premise, a solid antagonist, well-developed characters, and immersive atmosphere. But you know A24 can't just leave it at that. There needs to be symbolism and hidden meaning and... well fuck. I just don't think it was necessary. It's like my review of Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010), sure, even donkey shows are art in some way shape or form. But is there really any value to being this cryptic when what you have already works?

First off, the acting was fucking fantastic. Oscar-worthy, really (and remember I say that purely as an example because the Oscars are an out-of-touch, racist, circle jerk that functions mostly on bribes and not at all on merit). But I really mean it, the acting was next level. All the characters were perfect.

The atmosphere was also superb. One of the good things about psychedelic atmospheres is that they really can get into your head. The use of light and sound was fucking brilliant.

And the plot, when it wasn't jerking itself off, was also on point. I mean, on the surface, without having to dig through donkey spooge, we have an isolated woman being harassed by a series of stranger and stranger characters until things take a supernatural turn. And it is a sort of creature feature in that sense as there is something supernatural out to get the female lead.

It's just all the extra bullshit that takes away from what worked. This movie didn't need any of that crap. On the surface, it was just fine. Do we really need to ponder the meaning of an apple when a woman is being chased by a naked man from the woods? Do we really need to dredge through the cross-sections of motherhood and relationships when the female lead already has a compelling background? This all really just takes away from a movie that was completely fine in its own premise.

So do I recommend this colorful shit show? Well...

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SPOILERS!!!

So, what this movie does right is set up the background of its main character. Basically, the female lead went through an extremely traumatic breakup with her husband. She was clearly unhappy, for whatever reason, asks her husband for a divorce and this ends explosively. He starts off by saying he'll kill himself, then he hits her, then she throws him out, and then he dies. The questions left therein, did he kill himself, or was it an accident spurred by their fight? Neither realities are good and both leave the female lead feeling guilty. It all feels like her fault. She wanted the divorce, she threw him out, she ignored his pleas and threats to kill himself. That's all hogwash, of course. She's not responsible for her husband's insane reaction nor his accident/suicide, but anyone could understand WHY she would feel guilty.

And then this ancient being just latched on to that. The Celtic Greenman becomes infatuated with the female lead and her struggles with guilt and intimacy. It, much like her dead husband, seeks to possess her and her love, even going so far as to manifest itself as her dead husband at one point. Being a masculine entity, it believes she was in the wrong and that it can fix her. It does so by manifesting itself as several different kinds of men in order to both punish her and woo her. It's clearly mad at her for her role in her husband's death, but it also wants her to love it.

You see that right there? That's a fantastic fucking story that doesn't fucking need anything else. It doesn't need all the weird cerebral crap. That actually works against it.

In the end, it was still worth the watch. There was some absolutely beautiful body horror towards the end and the rest of the movie works rather well. I would recommend giving it at least one chance.