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A24 has released the first official teaser trailer for its upcoming horror film Men, starring Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley. The frightful film comes from the mind of Ex-Machina and Annihilation visionary Alex Garland. The notable director stands out for his unique take on the genre and looks to continue the cryptic tone of his work in this new hair-raising endeavor.
The A24 horror film centers around a woman named Harper, played by Jessie Buckley, who withdraws to the English countryside alone after the death of her ex-husband. Harper wants to be left unaccompanied but suddenly realizes that something or someone from the enclosing woods is stalking her. The panic in Harper quickly matures into a nightmare once the appearance of a figure, played by No Time to Die star Rory Kinnear, begins to psychologically torment her every waking moment. The affliction further propels Harper down a tunnel of mental tribulation as she must combat her darkest memories and deepest fears.
The Men trailer begins with Buckley walking along a trail, heading toward a chilling tunnel, while rain pours down all around her. The thunder present in the footage serves as a metaphor for the events to come, highlighting that a storm exists internally and externally for the main character. While standing in the tunnel, Buckley screams, listening to her echo bounce back and forth as the footage jumps to the trailer's more unsettling moments. Audiences witness various situations involving Buckley where disorientation takes over her. It's unclear whether she is hallucinating or if the mysterious human-like figure is actually present, torturing her.
Based on the description of Men, one can assume that the figure haunting Buckley is her deceased ex-husband, but the reality of that notion is unclear. The teaser doesn't provide much information about the narrative, but what surfaces are the horrors of isolation. The film's description notes that Buckley's character ventured to the countryside to grieve, opening more doors into her relationship with her ex-husband. A damaged past relationship could be causing the horrible hallucinations afflicting her mind, but something else could be there, haunting her during her most vulnerable hour. The teaser trailer is definitely unsettling, but it will be interesting to see what more the mysterious A24 film has in store.
Garland enters this new film fresh off his directorial outing on the FX sci-series Devs, which earned solid reviews from critics and audiences. As stated, this isn't the director's first experience with A24, which previously released his 2015 film Ex-Machina. The film obtained two Oscar nominations at the 2016 Academy Awards but only walked away with the top prize in the Best Achievement in Visual Effects category. Garlands' pairing with Buckley should prove to be an interesting one, especially since Buckley has played a similar role once before. Her performance in Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things centered around a similar psychological clash, but Garland looks to take things a step further in his new horrifically mind-bending tale.
Men looks to take Garland down a different path, propelling the director firmly into horror and away from the comfort of science fiction. A great deal of mystery lingers around the film, but nothing in the footage indicates an exploration into anything technological. Instead, the teaser exudes atmospheric elements present in previous A24 horror narratives that embarked upon unique paths to explore the most profound emotional undertones present in its stories. Psychological horror is at the center of Men, and it will be interesting to see how Garland handles loss's psychical and emotional trauma.
Men is set to hit theaters May 20, 2022.
Source: A24/YouTube