After Harper (Jessie Buckley) witnesses her husband James (Paapa Essiedu) fall to his death from the balcony of their London flat she retreats to the countryside to “heal”. However the men that she meets there (all played by Rory Kinnear) are a little less than welcoming. 

As the story unfolds we will keep returning to the day James died to discover that his plummet happened after Harper informed him that she wanted a divorce. What Harper will never know is if James fell or jumped to his death. 

Whilst at the village she has escaped to Harper sees all men as the same. The landowner renting her the cottage, a vicar, a policeman, a barman and its customer, a small child and a homeless man who seems to be following her. Each of them in their own way oppresses Harper, something it seems apparent James made her feel like before she decided to get a divorce. 

As the tension builds Harper finds herself set for a very difficult night. 

Men is the sort of surrealist horror movie that has an ending that will prompt laughter, horror and a lot of head scratching as to what it all means. At the screening I went to a group of women could not help themselves from laughing at the final moments of gory horror whilst asking each other what on earth was going on. I suspect that these final scenes will put off a lot of viewers as to the merits of the film. 

For me it seems as though writer/director Alex Garland is suggesting that the manners in which men cage and trap women for their own gratification has been happening since time immemorial. Perhaps there is also an element of how men are all the same or at least Harper sees them as all the same given their treatment of her. 

In terms of how successful that is as a horror movie I would have to say that all depends on how you take the crazy final act. Until those moments the film has successfully built a level of dread and claustrophobia perfect for a horror film. Whether it then provokes hilarity or being scared will be down to your reactions. Regardless I am pretty sure it will provoke some head scratching. 

There is a lot to be admired prior to that make or break moment though. Jessie Buckley is up to her usual brilliant standard leading the film whilst Rory Kinnear fully commits to his role of ‘men’. The vicar he portrays is particularly worrisome. Whilst the cinematography that veers between beautiful verdant green countryside and dark country home is fantastic. The music or lack of it in a lot of cases is really good as well, especially the eerie sound that Harper creates in a tunnel that produces a perfect echo.