A24, the production company responsible for the popular filmsUncut Gems,Moonlight,Midsommar, andHereditary, will soon be releasinga new horror film project,Men. This film is directed byAlex Garland, who gave us the beautifully stunning filmsEx MachinaandAnnihilation. This much anticipated new film has created much buzz around the internet.
Perhaps a reason for the buzz is that the plot of the movie is steeped in mystery. The film’s creators are keeping their cards close to their chest for this one, a tactic that served them well with the instant fame ofHereditaryamong horror fanatics. In fact, the only insight into the plot is in the words of A24 describing the film as:
“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…”
The trailer, while intriguing and spine-tingling in its own eerie way, does not go much further in advancing the storyline of the film. Here’s everything we know so far.
Trailer Breakdown
The official trailer opens with the protagonist Harper diving through the English countryside with a smile on her face while a cheerful tune plays in the background. As she drives up to a lovely cottage, she is greeted by a man with a creepy demeanor who inquires if she would be staying there alone, presumably implying that there might be a significant other. By Harper’s reaction to the question, it is clear that the topic struck a nerve. The scene immediately cuts to a visual of a man falling to his death with Harper inaudibly screaming all while the cheerful tune eerily continues. With the juxtaposition of Harper’s reaction to the man’s question and her memory of this traumatic scene, one is to presume this man was her husband.
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Harper is then seen strolling through a lush and green stretch of forest and approaching an old tunnel. In a manner that is reminiscent of the vocal click that haunted theHereditarytrailer, Harper can be heard singing a note that then echos throughout the damp and dark tunnel. That echo is then played several times throughout the rest of the trailer as the tension builds to a fever pitch. As she walks into the tunnel, Harper sees the silhouette of a man on the other side, who subsequently begins to run toward her. She turns and runs away.
In the next scene snippet, Harper is seen speaking with a priest. She alludes to the fact that her late husband committed suicide, and the priest bizarrely suggests that she “drove him to it,” not exactly the comforting words one would expect from a man of the cloth. The pace and rhythmic music of the trailer proceed to intensify as Harper realizes the man from the woods has followed her into town, a revelation that, when recounted to several men in a bar, is not met with shock or awe. As the pace of the visuals quicken, we see cuts of Harper threatening a young child with a knife, a bloody figure walking in the rented cottage, and Harper screaming underwater. This all mounts to a frenzy when Harper screams, “Why are you doing this?” followed by an eerily calm, “What are you?”
Playing the lead protagonist and recent widow, Harper, isJessie Buckley. She was most recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actressfor her role inThe Lost Daughter. The Irish singer and actress began her career in British theater after competing and placing second on the BBC’sI’d Do Anything. She later starred in Stephen Sondheim’sA Little Night Music. Since then, she has played in several films and television shows, but her role inMenappears to be her first foray into the horror genre.
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Alongside Buckley, Rory Kinnear plays Geoffery, the owner of the home in which Harper is staying. While that is the largest role Kinnear plays in the film, it is certainly not the only one. In the style of Peter Sellers inDr. Strangelove, Kinnear seems to play several characters throughout the film. This is perhaps most apparent in the bar scene snippet from the trailer. The careful observer might notice that every man in the scene, a total of five,are all different versions of Kinnear. Like Buckley, Kinnear began his acting career on the stage, working with the acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company. Many fans of theJames Bondfranchise will recognize him as Bill Tanner from the most recentBondfilms likeQuantum of Solace,Skyfall, andSpectre. But unlike Buckley, Kinnear is a veteran of the horror genre as he played Frankenstein’s monster in the Showtime television seriesPenny Dreadful.
Release Date
The cinematographer for the film, Rob Hardy, posted on Instagram that principal photography for the film began on August 17, 2025, with the simple caption “…the horror”. Just a few months later, on June 12, 2025,the filming had wrapped, prompting Hardy to post a “thank you” message on Instagram to director Alex Garland and the two lead actors, Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear.
Menis set to make its theatrical release in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on August 22, 2025.
