Film Review: MEN (2022): Jessie Buckley is Featured in a Scarefest that Redefines Haunted House Pictures

Men Review

Men (2022) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Alex Garland and starring Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin, Sarah Twomey, Zak Rothera-Oxley and Sonoya Mizuno.

Haunted house movies don’t come any more complex than filmmaker Alex Garland’s terrifying new film, Men. An edge-of-your-seat scarefest (which is also, shockingly enough, a creature feature), Garland’s movie packs a wallop as it makes a statement about the creepiness of men and the coldness of women, simultaneously. One can argue that the lead female character in the movie, Harper (the always wonderful Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley), is a selfish woman but then again, you can argue that her ex-husband James (well played by Paapa Essiedu) is mentally ill. Then, vice versa, you can similarly label each of the characters the other way as well. Harper could be mentally ill, and James could be the selfish one. The beauty of the movie is how it doesn’t simply let its characters be pigeonholed into specific characterizations. There’s too much going on here for that. In letting the audience form its own opinion of the characters, the movie excels in many different areas where other haunted house movies have failed.

We learn early in the picture that James seems to have died either through a slip or, intentionally, through a suicide shortly after being given the cold shoulder by his ex-wife, Harper. James loves Harper and she loves him too, but she has a life that has plans that don’t necessarily include James. Upon his death, Harper takes to a nice home in the English countryside for a vacation getaway. For this retreat, she wants to try to overcome her feelings of despair for the loss of her ex-husband. That will be easier said than done when you meet the cast of surrounding characters which initially includes the bizarre homeowner, Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear, ever weird here) who is a character the audience won’t know what to make of.

As Harper makes her way across town, she is told by a priest at one point that she could have been responsible for her husband’s death and that every man should have a bit of leeway when it comes to hitting women. You see, James was a bit abusive, and now, the more Harper gets around, the more she sees how sleazy and disrespectful most men can be. But is she disrespectful for putting James into the situation where he possibly took his own life? You be the judge.

There is also a man who walks around naked and stalks Harper and though a cop takes him away, he is soon released which leaves Harper fearing for her life. There are other characters here as well who I will let you discover for yourself.

Men is a terrifically made haunted house movie. The men Harper meets are creepy to the tenth degree, but things are going on in that rented home which defy logic and reality. When she tries to have her sister (Gayle Rankin) take down the address so the sister can come help her, the phone service is tampered with (by ghosts, perhaps, but what kind of ghosts?). Also, why does the sister call her a bitch shortly after? Some evil force is working behind the scenes. Or is it? You have to see the movie for yourself to appreciate it and interpret the events of the picture accordingly.

Let’s talk about those “creature” effects. Late in the film, one man comes out of another in a grotesque fashion resembling the way a woman gives birth. These scenes are well crafted, scary, gory and effective. They also help bring into light the serious themes of the picture. Do women give birth to the evil the men become simply by their actions or are men simply born with evil tendencies from the get-go? These are just two of the questions the film could leave you pondering by the time it reaches its unsettling conclusion.

Buckley’s performance goes back and forth between weakness and determination like a well-oiled machine. One minute, she’s scared and vulnerable and the next minute, she’s tough as nails and fierce. Her nomination this year for her work in The Lost Daughter was no mistake. Buckley’s work in Men is of the highest caliber.

While the picture falters a bit in its closing by putting the end title up before the movie is actually finished, it’s a scary good time. The utter creepiness of the men in the picture is only intensified by the performance of Kinnear who does a surprising turn here which you will be intrigued to see.

Men will have you scared at every interaction Harper embarks on in the film and Garland keeps the movie moving at a fast pace. I only wish the very closing scenes didn’t feel so tacked on to what should have been a more sinister conclusion. Still, make no mistake, Men is a portrayal of the sexes that needs to be seen and analyzed even if you have to see the movie more than once to do so. It’s a fright-fest that will keep you thinking for days.

Rating: 8/10

Leave your thoughts on this Men review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Flipboard.