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May

May

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Horrible movie
Review: Ok I am into these kinds of movies but this one SUCKED!! it was to blah I mean it was just horrible I would not recomend this to anyone, BUT I will say that there was like one cool scene in the movie (hint).... temples.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not for Everyone...
Review: Although this movie is not for everyone, I found it extremely adorable.. Strange word, but it fits. This movie is for people who like their horror simple, and both funny and disturbing. Maybe it is just that I have some personality traits in common with May, or... perhaps that my tastes tend to lean towards the disgusting/morbid/gross but I loved this movie.. and recommended it to all of my friends, who like me loved it.. although they looked a little more sickly by the end.. I would recommend renting before buying.. or.. if you buy it and don't like it.. send it to me.. I know many people who would like it.. *LOL*

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful movie for the slightly twisted
Review: This movie was wonderfully disturbing. Good for fans of movies such as Evil Dead, Donnie Darko and all David Lynch movies.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Gross, disturbed, twisted, and sick
Review: I like Living Dead Dolls too, but this movie stunk. The only reason I'm giving it 2 stars is because the performances were very good. This is a really strange flick that really strange people, like May herself, will truly enjoy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: May
Review: I was originally drawn to this movie by the Jack Off Jill-esque cover art and I must say it is quite enjoyable. One part artsy student film with two parts artsy horror movie mixed with moody grrl rock, stirred with Living Dead Dolls and set with provocative montage sequences. Let simmer for an hour and a half and a fine B movie it should make. Add Clueless' Jeremy Sisto and Scary Movie's pasty protaganist Anna Faris for extra snap and sparkle.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A nice girl with just a few character flaws.
Review: Not since Pieces have I seen anyone undertake a quest of such magnitude. The good Dean would be proud. May is this poor, oddball chick that has a hard time dealing with people. She's pretty in a slender, sylphish sort of way, but she was born with a lazy eye, forcing her to wear glasses or contacts all of the time, which is still a large improvement over the patch they made the poor girl wear as a child. Her logic system is inexorably linked with a handmade doll kept in a glass case, her only friend in the world. I guess she communicates with the doll in a sense, but eventually the glass case begins to crack in perfect cadence with her failing life. Of course most of the cracks are imaginary. I did truly feel sorry for her.

She makes several attempts to connect, with a boyfriend, a girlfriend and few others. But her psychosis just seems to force its way in everywhere she turns. Also, she loves blood, taking slices out of herself frequently, seeming to find more comfort in it than anything else. Eventually, for one reason or another, everyone turns on her, while the glass doll case keeps cracking. She begins hearing the breaking of the glass even when not in the presence of the glass case. Finally, she has a kind of break, and I thought it was interesting, because her personality, voice and mannerisms actually physically change along with it. She now has confience where she was shy and awkward before. Gaining a kind of understanding of herself, her quest begins to unfold in her mind, and the killings begin, meticulously patterned along a single night, Halloween.

Unable to find all the parts she wants in one single person, she already has her grocery list ready to go. From her girlfriend she takes the throat, from another blonde chick the legs, from her boyfriend the hands, and then a few more odds and ends. She wants to make her own doll. It's not a surprise that she does these things; the movie isn't geared that way. The actions seem inevitable, but it's the journey there that makes the movie, the how and the why. This isn't a typical kind of horror movie; it's slow in places, but it's got a good punch to it. Don't watch it expecting a slasher. Watch it when you're craving something a little less linear.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Ummm....
Review: Okay, so my friend and I rented this movie tonight. I dont even know how to describe it. Some parts literally left me staring at the screen with my mouth open, either out of disgust or amazement that someone could actually think up something like that. Some parts made me squirm. These are not good qualities of the movie by the way. I do want to say though, that Angela Bettis did an EXTREME acting job. Her character was unbelievable. But, I'm glad I didn't spend $9 on that movie in the theater, because most of the time, I was laughing because it was INSANE. It's kinda scary the ideas that people come up with....whatever floats your boat I guess.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Angela Bettis Works Wonders in "May"
Review: I suspect the movie "May" snuck in under most people's radar. In fact, I am not sure many people know about this wonderful little picture even now. I only came across it through pure chance, read a short review about it, and decided to give it a shot. I am certainly glad I watched "May" because this film about a meek young woman with a desperate need to belong really delivers on multiple levels. This movie underscores the fact that there are plenty of films floating around out there that deserve more attention than they receive from general audiences. I cannot say whether "May" got a theatrical release or not, but the film is available on DVD and is well worth picking up if you are a horror film aficionado or if you just enjoy great acting performances.

Angela Bettis plays May, a young woman with several serious mental issues. Her problems started as a child, when doctors diagnosed May with an eye problem that required an eye patch. Of course, the kids at school thought May was a pirate or flat out ignored her. The parents did not provide much in the way of assistance either, as May's mother falls into the "overprotective and abrasive" category. When May celebrates a birthday, her mother presents her with a fancy doll enclosed in a glass case. Her daughter wishes to take the doll out and play with it, but Mom goes off the deep end and lectures May on the necessity of never taking the doll out of its box. This doll plays a significant role in May's later life, as the young woman believes the toy is her only real friend in the world. In short, May's childhood provides the foundations for a life loaded with insecurity, boredom, and a complete inability to connect with other people on an emotional level. May is one troubled person.

Most of the film deals with May's awkward attempts to function in real life. Her job as a medical assistant at a veterinary clinic allows some contact with a verbally challenged doctor and a goofy lesbian co-worker who keeps her eye firmly fixed on May, but May longs for a boyfriend to fulfill her ambitions. This dream of love takes on a new dimension when she notices Adam (Jeremy Sisto), a guy who spends his time slouching around in a cafe, smoking cigarettes, and attending Dario Argento film festivals. Obviously, Adam doesn't even notice the existence of May until the she makes several painfully inept maneuvers designed to grab his attention. May succeeds to some extent, but ultimately her fragile mental state causes problems that threaten to send May into a downward spiral of bloody violence committed against anyone who ever wronged her.

"May" is Angela Bettis's film, body and soul. Since she fills the shoes of the title character, Bettis's performance should command most of the audience's attention. Thank goodness she possesses the necessary chops to carry out the role to perfection. I cannot remember the last time I saw an actor/actress convey the range of emotions that Bettis adroitly delivers in this film. The viewer knows May has serious problems, but at the same time the character is oddly charming. The embarrassing interactions with Adam, the painful encounters with her trampy co-worker, and her attempts to reach out and help a class of blind children all reveal a young woman desperate to make friends and live like a normal person. Even more disconcerting for the viewer is the realization that May is, well, cute. Just when you notice May doing something bizarre, you cannot help recognizing that this girl is alluring no matter how quirky she is. That's the mark of a fine actress when a performance conveys two opposing emotions at the same time, and Bettis does it with ease. Who is this amazing young lady? The only other role of note I found for her was in the Winona Ryder vehicle "Girl, Interrupted." Keep an eye on Bettis because if "May" is any indication, this gal ought to go far in the future. You seldom see a performance of this caliber in a low budget horror film.

My only complaint with "May" concerns a lack of sufficient background about the title character. We do get a few scenes about May's childhood, but I think a bit more development in that area would have helped flesh out the story. It's a niggling complaint because the picture works splendidly overall. Kudos to Lion's Gate for releasing this on DVD with a great film transfer and two commentaries with the director and actors. It's a darn shame more people don't know anything about this movie. The time has come to spread the word about "May": this is an immensely entertaining horror film with a great actress doing great work in the lead role.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sick- I loved it.
Review: This movie wasn't scary, just really gory. And you could find humor in it as well. You can really sympathize with the character-even when she goes insane (can you blame her she had a doll as her only friend, and every person she liked started to hate her.) The ending was obvious because of the very beginning when blood was gushing out of her eye socket, but still very exciting! The main thing that really bothered me was the corny music every scene May was on the edge. All in all it's a good gory flick that kinda makes you think.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If you can't find a friend, make one
Review: That takes on a different meaning once one sees this one-of-a-kind movie. May tries to make friends, really tries, but there are many things going against her. She is not exactly a looker, being thin, a bit awkward, shy, the kind of girl no one would notice or that girls would tease in high school. In fact an eyepatch she had to wear as a child did not make her friends, as they didn't consider her normal.

There are two quirky characters at the animal hospital where May works. One is the goofily flaky Polly, a lesbian who is turned on by new things, including being cut with a scalpel after seeing May do it to her own finger. Another is an older Latin doctor whose incomprehensible messages May understands--"fecoxam on miskatay" turns out to be "fecal exam on Miss Kitty."

Key to May's life is a doll in a glass case her mother gave her when she was a girl. The pale white Suzy has blown-out auburn hair, staring blue eyes, and tiny red lips, and a brownish-red dress. This is the one constant friend she has. However, May's frustrations at being shut out and hurt is reflected when the glass of Suzy's case cracks. In short, it reflects May's secure little world. As a result, her house is full of dolls and doll parts, mirroring some 90's alternative/goth band album covers, q.v. Curve's Doppelganger.

She meets and falls for Adam, a Jim Morrison-lookalike whom she sees one day. He says his tastes are weird, and for May, that's okay--she likes weird. However, after seeing one of his film school movies, she tries to emulate a scene from his movie, which freaks him out and puts him off, much to May's surprise. She tries to get back with him, but she is brushed off many times.

Cruel disappointment after cruel disappointment follows, and the ultimate vengeance May takes is horrible, but given what she's gone through, I would've asked her, "Ooh! Can I help?" As someone who's experienced cruelty when I was at school, I've wanted to get revenge in that same way, but more brutally.

The attempt to connect with someone but getting the wrong message or that lack of communication that results in disappointment plays a part as well. And trying to fit in and find friends if one isn't popular or good-looking? Trying to explain why one is different? Looking for a certain someone to call one's true love? That too.

Comparisons between May and Carrie (Stephen King)? Both Carrie White and May Canady don't fit in with the normal world, but May had supportive parents and no supernatural powers, although ironically, Angela Bettis (May) played Carrie in the recent TV movie version. May though is prettier than Dawn in Welcome To The Dollhouse, an ironic title given May's penchant for dolls.

Angela Bettis does wonders as May. She has a fragile and quirky sort of prettiness which sparkles when she's happy. When she has been disappointed or cries in frustration, I felt her pain. I was also surprised to see Anna Faris as Polly, totally different from the squeaky virginal Cindy in the two (soon to be three) Scary Movies. And Nichole Hiltz as Ambrosia is a Jessica Simpson-lookalike who becomes Polly's squeeze, definitely a cheerleader type who is scornful of May.

I was considered a freak by others at school, and with that sense of alienation and anger, I really identify with May. Why is it that normality is so valued among children, who exclude others because of some handicap, and even among adults, who shun misfits and outsiders because of some difference, I'll never know, but it should be outlawed.

In the end, maybe the way May makes a friend, albeit in more conventional ways, may be the only way to make a genuine friend.


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