A horror movie that’s so ‘disturbing’ viewers walked out of the cinema is now streaming.
The last few years have been huge for the horror genre, with a number of films seeing hugely positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
One of these movies was Terrifier 2 (2022), which became a viral sensation, scored a juicy 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and left audiences reportedly throwing up and passing out during screenings.
Now, another movie is producing similarly dramatic reactions from viewers.
Making its cinematic debut in May 2022, the movie has been reviewed positively by critics – and left viewers well and truly ‘traumatized.’
In fact, many who watched it at the cinema claim it’s so disturbing that several people could no longer watch and had to leave the theatre.
“On my life, I have never seen multiple people walk out of a theatre before. If I had the opportunity to capture my face in the last act I would because I have no words to describe it,” one person writes.
“Almost threw up during the final scenes but wow,” a second writes.
Whereas a third admits they ‘had to leave halfway through.’
“Hands down the scariest thing I’ve ever sat through. I’m scared I’ll have permanent psychological damage after it lol,” another horror fan jokes.
Someone else expresses it was ‘the most disturbing thing I’ve watched/experienced in a long while.’
Another simply claims that they’ll ‘never sleep again’ after watching it.
The revered horror stars Judy actress Jessie Buckley and No Time To Die star Rory Kinnear.
Written and directed by Alex Garland, best known for Ex Machina and Annihilation, it’s a star-studded production both on and off-screen.
The movie also comes from A24, the studio behind some of the most critically acclaimed horror films of recent times, such as Midsommar, Hereditary, Tusk, and The Lighthouse.
It grossed $7.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $3.6 million in other territories, achieving a staggering worldwide total of $11.2 million, per Box Office Mojo.
Speaking to the British Film Institute, writer and director Garland describes the movie as a ‘folk horror movie’ somewhat inspired by Robin Hardy’s Wicker Man (1973).
It isn’t just horror fans who have been praising the movie since its release.
Critics have also been raving about the movie,
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter calls it ‘riveting,’ ‘menacing’ and ‘an unconventional genre standout.’
The Washington Post‘s Michael O’Sullivan calls it a ‘visually gorgeous, heady, deeply unsettling horror film’ and YouTube-reviewer Zach Pope says it is an ‘immersive, disturbing, eerie, and incredibly off putting film that will disturb you all the way up till it’s jaw dropping finale. It’s vividly layered from its writing to its direction. I’m shocked.’
The La International Cinéfila Poll’s Jonathan Rosenbaum placed the film on his ‘Best Films of 2022‘ list.
Speaking to The Independent about the response to the film, lead actress Jessie Buckley said: “I like the extremes of opinion it’s going to instil in people. At a screening of the film the night before, I noticed nervous laughter at scenes that I found more disturbing than funny.
“I think different responses depend a lot on what people bring to the film, and how open they are to a film like this. You need to allow it to ruminate and sit with you.”
The film follows a woman escaping to the countryside after the death of her husband.
But from the moment she arrives, something doesn’t feel right.
The landlord of the home she’s renting, the vicar of a nearby church, the local police, random passers-by (all played by Rory Kinnear) impose an unsettling presence.
“What begins as simmering dread becomes a fully-formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears in visionary filmmaker Alex Garland’s […] feverish, shape-shifting new horror film,” A24 writes.
Men is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
