Review of May

Introduction

As the character May puts it, "the more you talk to someone you`ve just met, the more you see parts of them you don`t like. So what if you could take the best parts of someone and make your own friend?" May is an independent horror movie which has been touring the film festival circuit for some time now and only recently got a limited US theatrical release. I`m not sure if it was released here, but it`s likely to go straight to video.

The story is simple enough about a lonely figure wanting to make friends, but friends are not perfect and disappoint. May sees the beauty of people in parts, body parts...

Video

The clear and colourful 1.85:1 widescreen enhanced image presented here looks good throughout. Detail is sufficiently high with well-balanced colours and contrast. It`s a solid transfer.

Audio

The DD5.1 soundtrack here is good. The soundtrack suits the film well and is very much a Danny Elfman inspired fantasy gothic affair. Dialogue is clear from the front and the music creates a wide soundstage from the front. It sounds balanced and has enough power to suddenly shock an audience.

Features

Easy to navigate static menus with one extra:

• Trailer (1:43) - If you haven`t seen this film then don`t watch the trailer as it`ll spoil things.

There are no English subtitles and sadly no other extras. I really want to know more while I`ve got the disc in the player. It`s hard to track down information on the region 1 DVD as Amazon.com doesn`t have a full listing of the extras yet, but from what I can gather on unofficial May sites, two audio commentaries were recorded for the DVD. Region 2 could be short-changed, again.

Conclusion

May is a lone character with no friends and who shies away from any attention; she`s a bit kooky, but doesn`t keep friends for long. Moreover she can `out-kook` those that consider themselves a little bit `different` from the norm. Her attachment to the doll, given to her as a child and labelled as her mother`s `best friend`, is the controlling force in her life.

We jump from the time May is a little girl getting to grips with her lazy-eye condition to her as an adult. This presents a problem: we don`t get enough time and exposure to see the effect it`s had on her growing up. Though I feel this would have made a difference, we can almost fill in the gaps for ourselves. May`s a misfit. We don`t see any of May`s parents either for more than a fleeting scene or two at the start.

The first third of the film sets us up with her awkward character, then it proceeds to her disappointments with the friends she makes, which then leads us to her devil-may-care attitude and the blood starts to flow. I`ve not seen a film in so long that has made me jump from one extreme to another. One moment I`ve laughed out loud - which is rare even in the funniest of films - and the next I`m covering my mouth with one hand, then two, then I`m covering my eyes and peeping through the cracks of my fingers. I won`t go into the scene that has me jumping behind the sofa flanked by cushions... With a running time of just 89-minutes the film doesn`t linger around too long and has an even pace to it.

Angela Bettis pulls off May`s character very well; she`s awkward, frightening, then confident and vengeful. The rest of the cast are okay, especially naughty minx Anna Faris (Scary Movie). There is a distinct lack of extras on this DVD which is a shame considering the audio commentaries which were recorded. May is one film I`d like to pour over some more.

It`s a low budget horror film and if you haven`t seen it then it`ll certainly surprise you as it did me. Low budget in this case doesn`t mean low tech and it aspires to high production values. In addition, it looks very good. Despite the shortcomings of the film, I liked it and was entertained. I think it would be a shame to pass this film over and at the very least I think it deserves a Friday night rental. Recommended.