May is not a horror movie

Opinions vary.

Funny, I could've sworn there were several bloody murders and dismembered body parts. There are certainly elements of black comedy in the movie, but there's an equally strong streak of horror in there. To deny it in "any way shape or form" is a bit over the top. Some will find it funny, but I reckon most will see it primarily as horror.

How many threads does this make for the film now?

Exactly, if you didn't find that scene with the blind kids horrific than I wonder what you would...

Many horror films are "not scary" to many people... it doesn't make them any less horror.

For example:

THE EXORCIST
DAWN OF THE DEAD
EVIL DEAD II
RE-ANIMATOR
THE OMEN
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
THE BEYOND
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

None of these films scare me in the least. But, they are all brilliant horror movies, and amongst many horror fans, including myself, classics.

Of course, it's horses for courses. But just because a film doesn't have an effect on one particular person, doesn't mean it immediately shouldn't be classed in that genre.

I wasn't gonna touch my feeling on this film dueto the amount of praise you guys give it, but WTF. First off I did enjoy the movie. It was not spectacular, but i did enjoy it, escpecially Angela Bettis (was that her name?) performance. I though she did great.
i didn't find this to be much of a horror film though. To me it felt more like the troubled teen drama with a slight uncurrect of horror stitched in until the last...what? 20minutes? Okay, then horror came out, but up until then, it was like watching Lucas for adults (AGAIN I STATE BEFORE HATE MAIL-i did enjoyit! ReALLY!)
The whole thing with the blind kids for me was rather silly. I can see them wanting to touch te doll. I can see them rending the doll to get a feel. I cansee them stampeding to get to the doll. But to continue to do so over the broken glass? That just didn't seem....plausible? I mean, if i step on something sharp or cut my hand, i yank it away yet these kids kept moving forward. And th whole thing the "Do you have any ice i can rub on my nipples?" HUH? didn't like that much either,but its just a minor thing.
Yeah, differnet strokes for different folks. Still enjoyed it, but not the pointof owning of repeat renting...

I thought May was the HAWT!

I thought May was the most disturbing movie I've seen in a long time. It just got under my skin and made me uneasy the entire time I was watching it because of that little flash at the very beginning. We know what is eventually going to happen and watching May break down over the course of the film was just heart breaking. At least to me. Anything that causes me that much discomfort is horror and I didn't see much humor in it. Of course, I had to wear a patch over my eye because of a tumor a few years ago so I may see it in a different way than a lot of people. Just a great horror film and I hope Angela Bettis can win some award for it.

Very well spoken, I can't explain it much better than that.

I thought May was about as straight up horror as a horror movie can get down to the 'Opera' shrine. Horror probably has a different definition for every person. Watching May struggle to become a "normal" part of society which she wanted so badly beginning in her childhood (who doesn't want to be considered normal) but failing miserably at every attempt was pretty horrifying for me to watch. The bonus was the gore at the end with the brutal murders and dismemberment. He also threw in that excellent short, 'Jack & Jill' which I want to see in its entirity dammit, to add some gore to the first half of the movie. Her story about the dogs guts falling out was a nice touch as well as the three legged dog dude.

Everyone will have a different view obviously but for me it was almost perfect and most definitely horror. Hell it was inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein which is a horror classic.

I think we need a few spoiler warnings in this thread.

Theres an older movie,from the late 80's I think called Summer School with Mark harmon where they A) watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and do a report on it B) two gore hound students and C)the class stages a FX massacre inthe classroom that is rather bloody to drive away the substitute teacher and get Mark harmon back as their regular teacher. Does this make that a horror movie? no, its still a comedy with some undertones in the horror genre. Thats all i am sayign withMay (except at the very end). As far as her tryinng to fit in and failing, its sad, it depressing, its something that alot of teens and young adults go through but up until she finally breaks, its Lucas without the laughs, its Angus without the gigles (and please just keep telling yourselves before you lash out in any sort of anger, just keep remembering the idead that has been expressed many times here-Horror is differebt for each and every person0
As far as the glass and blind kids and the glass, isn't it human nature or instinct that if it hurts, you pull back regardless of if you are blind deaf mute metally handicapped or even an infant? Yet these kinds kept moving forward....don't get it...

you do know they were blind, right? plus given the facts most of them were of the age 7-8. the fact that they were blind and young makes it all plausible.

I found the scene implausible and poorly executed as well. I like the film, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if I end up owning the DVD, but it has some definite flaws.

Okay, mayb i wasa bit vague with the Summer School reference, or didn't clarifiy it decently. I DID NOT think May was a comedy, black dark or anything. I thought it was mostly drama up until the last 20-30 minutes. it was mentioned by someone (can't remember who) that they thought it horror all the way down to the "Opera" shrine. i don't think that a shrine like that has any bearing on whether a film s horror or not (although who ever mentioned it gave other examples why they felt it was horror) and bringing in Summer School was just an example of how i see it. Just because Summer school had all the elements i mentioned earlier does no makeit a horror film. Its still a comedy. And just because May has a character that made a cannibal film and has a shrine to Opera does not make it a horror film. Its still a drama (up until the ending where it shifts gears, in my opinion).
Now to the blind kids thing. Just because they are blind and 7-8yrs old DOES NOT make it plausible. I've seen infants grab something that hurts and back right the fuck away. So because they are under the age of ten AND blind it makes them incapable of even an elemntary thought that infants exhibit? Now ifthe kids did indeed back the fuck up, I'd be fine wth the whole scene. Butthey kept on coming, gotta touch the doll, don't care about getting sliced up by glass, gotta touch the doll. Nope, sorry, i find that to be way too much of a stretch.

Alright, you didn't quite get my drift. I probably made my points sound too mundane. Of course, alot of people have issues with fitting in, I and you I'm sure, see them every day. That was one of the themes of Frankenstein obviously. But to me May was a little more horrifying than your average recluse, loner, socially inept person because of a few reasons. She talked to a doll kept in a glass case. She worked at a vet and had a fascination with cutting things and the macabre in general and was basically known to be completely insane from the git go thanks to the cool opening scene.

You're right also that an 'Opera' shrine does not a horror movie make but an 'Opera' shrine in a great horror movie tells me a few things. The director knows his horror and especially his foriegn horror, which to me is alot better as a whole than American horror. So I can relate to where he's coming from as a fan better than someone from Hollywood that wants to make the next teen franchise flick to cash in. That's just a personal thing as always.

A Black Comedy to me is 'Rules of Attraction' which to be honest I couldn't make it past the rape very easily cause I have a weak stomach for that sort of thing. Especially when it is trying to be comedic.

Ya, I agree. You can't say "it's a drama until the end, then it gets sort of horror", that whole argument isn't very valid to me.

Mainly because once you've seen the ending (or the flash of violence in the opening frames) it changes the ENTIRE context of the film. It can no longer be viewed as a 'drama', because at that point you are not watching a movie about "a socially inept girl trying and failing miserably to fit it in". You are watching a film about a "socially inept girl who is trying to fit in but ultimately is going to meet a very sick and twisted demise".

It changes the tone, and yes even the genre of the ENTIRE film to 'Horror', even the funny moments... because they are horrificly tragic.

Perhaps we should just agree that 'May' is just far too excellent of a film to be classified. It's the kind of thing that should be left ambiguous in my opinion.

Here's a hypothesis: May, Donnie Darko and Ginger Snaps represent a trend in horror films. We could call it "angst horror," or maybe "Salinger-esque horror." Defining characteristic is the emphasis placed on the lead character's feelings of alienation, but I think there's a stylistic similarity between these three films as well. They share a visual style, and they all seem to take place in the same world.

I agree, I like "Angst Horror", it's fitting.

I do like the whole "angst horror" angle-that just feels better. that pretty much hits it onthe headfor me. I think we should also add in Carrie and its sequel to that new sub-genre.
you guys raise some very valid points, and yeah, i agree completely that it was very heart renching (sp?) to see May spin further and further away. It was also cool to see the Opera shrine. I thought the director did a good job with the May and i really did think the ending was pretty cool and i was kinda waiting for it to happen.
ah shit, i'm pretty much braindead tonight...
So, the main lesbian girl that May worked with, was that the same girl from the Scary Movie series? And what was the deal with the "icecubes for my nipples" things? Is that the new coy way of turning someone on, or was that just meant asa little humor before the storm?