Alex Garland is one of those sci-fi names that instantly makes you pay attention. Ex Machina, Annihilation, Devs, 28 Days Later, Never Let Me Go, Dredd, he’s had his hands on some of the best genre films in recent memory. His latest film, Men, is out May 20 and while it at first looks like a departure for him, you can somehow tell it’s going to hit just as hard as those films mentioned above.
Written and directed by Garland, Men stars current Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley (I’m Thinking of Ending Things) as Harper, a woman who needs to get away after a horrible life incident. She heads to the English countryside hoping to heal but then begins to notice something stalking her. An earlier teaser for the film made the identity of that creature a mystery but this new trailer is a bit clearer, only raising more questions along the way. Check out the disturbing full trailer for Men.
That’s Rory Kinnear (Black Mirror, No Time to Die) in what appears to be multiple roles, none of which are very kind to Harper. And while it seems like Harper very well might have done something wrong, whatever it is she can’t have deserved… whatever it is that’s happening in this trailer.
So, what is happening in Men? Well, this new poster might begin to explain.
That bold, creepy image of Kinnear with the title stamped on his face really makes you think about that word: “Men.” And once you do, the safe bet is that Garland has created an elaborate story as a metaphor for the horrors of toxic masculinity, specifically when directed at women through sexual harassment and probably worse. You get the sense that men and women alike will be equally disturbed by the film, but just in different ways. If that’s what it’s about. We’re just making an educated guess.
We’ll all find out soon when Men opens in theatres May 20.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.