Enys Men

This movie made me angry. Literally nothing happens throughout the entire film. It's clear that this was supposed to be an artsy film, but it did not resonate with me at all. The ONLY redeeming quality about this film is the cinematography, which was pretty good. Other than that, this film is just a waste of time to watch.

I love the way this film looks and I wanted to love the story as much, but alas I cannot say I did. It is monotonous, repetitive, and also very much a head-scratcher, but not in a solvable way. There's forming your own conclusions then there's this, which is forming your own stor out of fragments. I can imagine some people loving it though, especially if you can make the most of the complicated narrative, you need to test it out for yourself.

Oh, to be on a secluded, British isle, making a pot of tea in a cozy cottage while wearing a turtleneck. Life could be worse. Or it couldn’t be worse, depending on what “life” is real and not real for “The Volunteer” (Mary Woodvine). This is another psychological horror (like Skinamarink) that is lots of style with little substance. Shot on 16mm, Enys Men looks great; it takes place in the 1970s and looks like it was made then too. But as far as a story, or even an experience, is concerned, the movie does that thing with psychological horror where you’re shown a bunch of characters doing weird things and disjointed timelines with little cohesion or satisfaction. It’s folksy, so you know there’s gonna be kids in white outfits, religious overture, and just like…stuff made out of sticks? Common in folk horror is that the land itself is an antagonist. It felt like it was headed in the right direction when “The Volunteer” stumbles underground, for some reason, and her image begins to violently shake. But then anything in that vein stops. Psychological horror is the abstract art of the broader genre. Sometimes it strikes a nerve and is exceptional, other times it’s a total dud. Like the gigantic gulf between the critics and audience (80/24), I’m much more with the latter. The most disturbing aspect of this movie is her dirty fingernails.

Scenic experimentalism is metaphorical expressionism only gripping the gist of the folk “horror” with an effective pattern that brews from questionably bland to something unsettling, enabled by the aesthetically stark visuals to colorfully saturate “The Lighthouse” surreal grip, nothing else. (B-)

I’m the type of person who can sit through and enjoy slow burner horror films. They’re great. However, that CAN’T be said for this movie. I had to force myself to sit through this, because I was already done with it within the first half hour of absolute NOTHING going on. Rarely do I ever walk out or pass on a movie partway through it, but this is one I wish I had. Nothing happens, and whatever does happen visually doesn’t actually add to any story (because there isn’t one either). Enys Men’s rating from critics is truly baffling to me. It’s a beautifully shot, retro-style movie, but that’s the BEST compliment I can give it and that can only take you so far. For me the worst quality any horror film can have is be boring, as well as lacking any sort of entertainment value, and Enys Men has ALL of that. Just don’t bother.

I feel like a website like rotten tomatoes should definitely remove comments that give 5 stars to this movie (or 4) because they are liars 100% to improve the quality of reviews. Bad movie that is just a wasted of your time. Don’t give more budget Mark Jenkin please, thanks

i cannot say a single thing about this movie other than that it was unwatchably boring. the 16mm film does the project no favors, and it seems that the director assumed the retro film grain automatically adds meaning or nuance to a shot. i'm reminded of "we're all going to the world's fair", another film where absolutely nothing happens, and the creator also expected us to find meaning in something far too esoteric and sloppily arranged to resonate with the viewer.

A Cornish masterpiece.

One of the most dull, vapid, and punishingly slow movies I've ever watched. Ignore the critics and dipshit audience reviews praising this movie. Nothing happens. Nothing. There are hints of what the movie means, but the end result is a boring mess with no clear storyline or coherent premise.

Can't believe I'm saying this but this movie is too abstract. It really could have been great if it kept the style and retro feel but used some more traditional movie scenes. Instead it is a jumble of impossible to understand symbolism. 10 minutes into the movie and i was excited that i found a retro folk horror film. I thought it was going to be a real hidden gem. 1/4 of the way through the movie I found myself completely annoyed with how arty a vague it was. It never recovered and frankly I'm surprised I watched the entire thing.