Shortly after The Lost Daughter star Jessie Buckley was nominated for her first (and hopefully not last) Oscar, A24 released the teaser trailer for Men. That’s also all that was released: there was no plot description for the Alex Garland-directed film, only 90 creepy seconds of Buckley wandering through the rainy woods and staring into a creepy tunnel. Never stare into a creepy tunnel. That’s the first rule of horror movies. But now, A24 has released a full-length trailer, along with some background on the plot.
Following the death of her husband (played by I May Destroy You standout Paapa Essiedu) by suicide, Harper (Buckley) takes a solo trip to the “beautiful English countryside, hoping to have found a place to heal,” it reads. “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 the trailer, Harper frequently reaches out for help and guidance, but she’s blamed for her husband’s death by a (male) religious authority figure (“You must wonder why you drove him to it”) and a (male) police officer doesn’t believe that she’s being followed in the dark. There’s also stabbings, an unwanted game of hide and seek, and body horror.
Can you blame her for wanting to take a bath (and scream)?
Men, which also stars Rory Kinnear, opens on May 20.