Recent Viewings and Recommendations

I've put up a list of my 10 most recent viewings and my grade for each one on the sidebar at the left side. I'll be updating this every time I get to see a new film. I'll also be recommending some films that I feel did not get as much attention as they should have. For this week, it's a nice, dark little treat called May (2002).

When this was shown in theatres here in the Philippines, I ignored it, having easily dismissed it as another one of those horror films with angry, crazy girls popping up almost every week. But then I managed to catch it on cable TV, and I was mesmerized by the lead actress (the eponymous May) and the plot development.

May was played with eerie brilliance by Angela Bettis (who I'd want to see making more films), who captured the ticks and mannerisms of an unstable girl who needed just a push to go overboard. The score of the film, designed to play a creepy, almost innocently sinister background to May's deeds, succeeds in casting an odd light on May's character development. The inherent eerieness of dolls and their subsequent influence on May's act of revenge are used very effectively, but of course I won't spoil it for you and go into that. To give you an idea, though, take note of this tagline: "If you can't find a friend, make one."

If you want to see a disturbing but also entertaining film on how far a girl's psychosis would bring her, then May is definitely something that you have to see. I'll easily give this one a B. Why not a B+? Because Angela Bettis happens to have annoying, vapid costars named Jeremy Sisto and Anna Faris.

Source of photo: IMDb