A24 has released a new trailer forMen,Alex Garland’s(Ex-Machina,Annihilation) upcoming low-budget horror film. While the new trailer reveals more about the horrors hidden in Garland’s next film, it also keeps the secrecy surroundingMen, which may or may not feature a shape-shifting apparition.
The trailer opens with a cheerful tone as Harper (Jessie Buckley) arrives in the idyllic country home where she intends to retreat from the world after trauma struck her life. The house is cozy and warm, with apple trees filled with fruit in the garden. However, as the house host (Rory Kinnear) keeps asking Harper about her husband’s existence, she starts to have visions about a man (Paapa Essiedu) falling to his death before her eyes. From that moment on, the trailer’s atmosphere changes drastically from that moment on, with the happy soundtrack replaced by an ominous song.
Just as in thefirst trailer forMen, the new trailer focus on Harper’s stroll through a tunnel, where she gets a glimpse of a mysterious figure. Then, the shape starts to follow Harper everywhere she goes, like the memory of her husband killing himself by jumping from their balcony. Even hidden in the countryside, Harper cannot escape her trauma, andMenpromises to be a scary meditation on grief and loss.
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To make things even more disturbing, almost every male character in the trailer seems to be played by Kinnear, who takes the role of a priest, a police officer, a bartender, and even a child. All these men are trying to corner Harper into admitting she feels guilty for the death of her husband and that she might be responsible for his suicide. It’s unclear, however, if all these men are manifestations of the apparition Harper inadvertently calls in the tunnel or just a reflection of her troubled mind.
Garland became internationally famous after he partnered up with A24 to releaseEx-Machina—a sci-fi thriller that explores the limits of human conscience and the ability of Artificial Intelligence to mimic it. Garland’s second film, Netflix’sAnnihilation, failed to captivate the public and the critics in general, but it’s still a fascinating exploration of identity and human nature. Now, withMen, Garland is back together with A24. It’s curious to notice howMenlooks very different from what Garland has done so far, presenting itself as a pure horror film with nothing related to science fiction. Even so, the provocative secrecy of Garland’s work is plastered all overMen’strailers, making it a highly-anticipated release.
Menhits theaters on May 20. Check out the new trailer below:
Here’s the official synopsis forMen:
In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper (Jessie Buckley) retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to have found a place to heal. But someone or something from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her. What begins as simmering dread becomes a fully-formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears in visionary filmmaker Alex Garland’s (Ex Machina, Annihilation) feverish, shape-shifting new horror film.
