Alex Garland presents…MEN!

Alex Garland has a pretty great CV. Writing 28 DAYS LATER and SUNSHINE. Adapting Kazuo Ishiguro’s NEVER LET ME GO for the screen. Writing and then secretly directing DREDD. Then the two films he officially wrote and directed—EX MACHINA and ANNIHILATION. Lastly is the series he created and steered, Devs, which had lots of good stuff in it, if a bit of lack of focus (though it let Nick Offerman be a hippie type and Zach Grenier be a terrific heavy, so those are worth watching for alone).

Well look who’s back with a new film from A24, complete with a poster, some stills, and a teaser trailer! MEN looks like a twisty/turny horror film where the question is what’s real and what’s not…which is an extension of Garland’s recurring theme that examines how we define humanity. While the promotional materials make it seem more of a straight horror film, it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s some existential sci-fi thrown in as well.

Here’s the plot summary that A24 is offering up at the moment:

In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper (Jessie Buckley) retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to have found a place to heal. But someone or something from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her. What begins as simmering dread becomes a fully-formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears in visionary filmmaker Alex Garland's (EX MACHINA, ANNIHILATION) feverish, shape-shifting new horror film.

Watch the teaser trailer below:

Intriguing stuff! Biblical imagery (the snake writhing underneath the title, the apples falling from the tree—which could also be an intersection with science, and the offering of a tunnel), an emphasis on shadows, hints at some folk horror elements (the Celtic sun god’s facial effigy), and the horrible possibility this will be a “it’s all in her mind” film (I don’t think Garland would do that…but god help us all).

MEN stars Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, and Paapa Essiedu. It’s expected to hit theaters May 20.