Angela Bettis plays May, a young woman with several serious mental issues. Her problems started as a child, when doctors diagnosed May with an eye problem that required an eye patch. Of course, the kids at school thought May was a pirate or flat out ignored her. The parents did not provide much in the way of assistance either, as May's mother falls into the "overprotective and abrasive" category. When May celebrates a birthday, her mother presents her with a fancy doll enclosed in a glass case. Her daughter wishes to take the doll out and play with it, but Mom goes off the deep end and lectures May on the necessity of never taking the doll out of its box. This doll plays a significant role in May's later life, as the young woman believes the toy is her only real friend in the world. In short, May's childhood provides the foundations for a life loaded with insecurity, boredom, and a complete inability to connect with other people on an emotional level. May is one troubled person.

Most of the film deals with May's awkward attempts to function in real life. Her job as a medical assistant at a veterinary clinic allows some contact with a verbally challenged doctor and a goofy lesbian co-worker who keeps her eye firmly fixed on May, but May longs for a boyfriend to fulfill her ambitions. This dream of love takes on a new dimension when she notices Adam (Jeremy Sisto), a guy who spends his time slouching around in a cafe, smoking cigarettes, and attending Dario Argento film festivals. Obviously, Adam doesn't even notice the existence of May until the she makes several painfully inept maneuvers designed to grab his attention. May succeeds to some extent, but ultimately her fragile mental state causes problems that threaten to send May into a downward spiral of bloody violence committed against anyone who ever wronged her.

"May" is Angela Bettis's film, body and soul. Since she fills the shoes of the title character, Bettis's performance should command most of the audience's attention. Thank goodness she possesses the necessary chops to carry out the role to perfection. I cannot remember the last time I saw an actor/actress convey the range of emotions that Bettis adroitly delivers in this film. The viewer knows May has serious problems, but at the same time the character is oddly charming. The embarrassing interactions with Adam, the painful encounters with her trampy co-worker, and her attempts to reach out and help a class of blind children all reveal a young woman desperate to make friends and live like a normal person. Even more disconcerting for the viewer is the realization that May is, well, cute. Just when you notice May doing something bizarre, you cannot help recognizing that this girl is alluring no matter how quirky she is. That's the mark of a fine actress when a performance conveys two opposing emotions at the same time, and Bettis does it with ease. Who is this amazing young lady? The only other role of note I found for her was in the Winona Ryder vehicle "Girl, Interrupted." Keep an eye on Bettis because if "May" is any indication, this gal ought to go far in the future. You seldom see a performance of this caliber in a low budget horror film.

My only complaint with "May" concerns a lack of sufficient background about the title character. We do get a few scenes about May's childhood, but I think a bit more development in that area would have helped flesh out the story. It's a niggling complaint because the picture works splendidly overall. Kudos to Lion's Gate for releasing this on DVD with a great film transfer and two commentaries with the director and actors. It's a darn shame more people don't know anything about this movie. The time has come to spread the word about "May": this is an immensely entertaining horror film with a great actress doing great work in the lead role.

Jeremy Sisto (who fans of Six Feet Under will know can be creepy himself) plays an artist who worships Dario Argento (really!) only to find himself involuntarily the middle of a real life Argento film. Anna Farris (from the Scary Movie series) plays her flaky, promiscuous co-worker, who I'm pretty sure is a lesbian (yes, I'm being sarcastic, she's all over May like a cheap suit about 3 seconds after meeting her).

May tells her doll, who she still has and keeps in a glass case, all about her new potential friends... but slowly begins to become unhinged when things don't work out the way she wanted... and her doll gives her bad advice.

Some critics complained that the movie tries to 'have it both ways' and be funny and scary, but I thought it found an OK balance, there's plenty of pitch-black humor that doesn't seem out of place. Again, nearly any horror fan will guess where the movie is going, but it's still fairly original, well-made and so twisted for a fairly mainstream release movie that it's still entertaining and worth at least a rental. Great acting from Angela Bettis. I'm pretty hard to gross out, but I'm squeamish about eyes, and I had to cover mine during at least two scenes. NOTE: Cat lovers should also skip the scene titled 'Cat Lover' #15 on the DVD.

Includes nods to Maniac, Night of the Living Dead, Pieces, Opera, and most strongly, Polanski's Repulsion, so that's always cool. I also can't help but admire the filmmakers who somehow managed to get May financed and made-- no WAY could this have been an easy sell, no matter how they pitched it.

The DVD includes two commentary tracks, both of them have oddball commentators such as 'Craft Services Guy'. The commentary is a little too self-consciously wacky in parts, but has some interesting trivia. The easter egg can be found by clicking on the nearly invisible Lion's Gate logo on the main menu--there's a trailer for May, as well as others. If you want to preserve some sort of surprise, don't watch the May trailer till after the movie.

Just friends...thats all May ever wanted....