Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- eerie
- macabre
- disturbing
- late night horror viewing
- cult movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film distinctive and disturbing, praising its atmosphere, Angela Bettis’s performance, and imaginative blend of psychological horror, brutality, and dark humor, while some found the buildup self-serious or slow.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
May’s childhood loneliness, difficult relationships, and lack of social connection directly shape her violent attempt to construct companionship.
The film juxtaposes May’s strange social interactions and fantasy life with brutal acts, creating humor that unsettles rather than relieves tension.
May performs animal surgery and later gathers the best parts of acquaintances to create a friend, turning bodily construction into the central visual motif.
The handmade doll given by May’s mother remains a symbol of her childhood isolation, and its accidental destruction intensifies her obsession with making a companion.
Films like May, and why
The Loved Ones
shares psychologically intimate horror, social alienation, macabre humor, and a vulnerable outsider protagonist
Excision
combines slasher violence with unsettling body imagery, dark comedy, and unstable psychological subjectivity
American Mary
connects female isolation, obsessive desire, stylized brutality, and subversive humor within independent horror
Ginger Snaps
shares outsider-focused psychological horror, grotesque transformation, and an atmosphere balancing sympathy with dread
Movie Details
- Director
- Lucky McKee
- Release Date
- 2003-04-11
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (745)
Cast
- Angela Bettis
- Jeremy Sisto
- Anna Faris
- James Duval
- Nichole Hiltz
- Kevin Gage
- Merle Kennedy
- Chandler Riley Hecht
- Rachel David
- Nora Zehetner
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is May about?
- A socially isolated veterinary assistant turns her longing for companionship into a grotesque project of love, possession, and bodily creation.
- What is May like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of May as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is May violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in May as graphic.
- What did critics think of May?
- Critics broadly found the film distinctive and disturbing, praising its atmosphere, Angela Bettis’s performance, and imaginative blend of psychological horror, brutality, and dark humor, while some found the buildup self-serious or slow.
- Which films are like May?
- Films with a similar feel include The Loved Ones, Excision, American Mary, and Ginger Snaps.
- How long is May?
- May runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch May?
- In United States, May streams on MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel.
