Men Review

Going into the movie “Men”, I knew nothing about it. I avoided all spoilers, and reviews of the movie, and just didn’t really focus on it too much. Then a friend told me it was scary and good, and so it was time to check out the movie that I had missed, or really just didn’t see myself watching. “Men” is not your typical slasher, or horror movie at all. In fact, it goes beyond that at times, and really sets you up hardcore for something you didn’t expect, but it’s not a Twilight Zone twist. In fact, I won’t go further into that line of thinking to avoid spoiling it for anyone, even though it appears that I’ve spoiled it for some already.

A young woman decides to grieve the death of her husband by going to a small village and staying in a large mansion. She is decompressing, and just wants to explore a little solitude amidst nature etc. This seems fair enough, but then we are treated to PTSD flashbacks of what happened, and through the story’s unraveling we get more of the backstory of what happened to the husband, and the sinister elements that could be behind it. The story is slow to unravel, and that will turn some people off. In fact, I was almost going to call it quits, as the movie took a serious time to develop any character.

After sticking with “Men” for some time, the movie picked up, and started to derail what you thought it would be. There’s a lot of metaphor to it, and things really get lost in translation when the third and fourth act usher in the climax of the movie. There are moments that are meant to illustrate pain and agony, rebirth, and more, and it’s done in an artistic way. So much so, that you forget that you’re watching a horror movie. The movie doesn’t flinch, or slide back, it continues to press buttons through the end, and leaves you with a relieved feeling, as our protagonist has gone through hell to get a semblance of peace.

“Men” is a slow burning horror movie. There are elements of science fiction, and at one point I thought it was similar to the intensity of “The Brood”, which is a classic. If you stick with the character build up, and don’t give up on the movie, you are treated to quite the stunner, and one worth checking out. It’s a tightly wound thrilling horror movie, but again, it is slow. I recommend it, that’s for sure, but I don’t think everyone will enjoy this one, as it really pushes you.