May

May is a 2002 horror movie about a lonely young woman (played by Angela Bettis) and her efforts to develop some sort of meaningful connection with another human being. This is somewhat complicated by how shy, socially awkward, and just plain weird she is. As each attempt fails, the already unstable May starts going further and further down the rabbit hole...


 * Abusive Parents: While she isn't shown very often, May's mother comes across as more than a little condescending and emotionally abusive.
 * Adorkable: You just want to cuddle her and tell her how to interact in a socially acceptable manner...
 * Alpha Bitch: Ambrosia.
 * Asshole Victim: Arguably
 * Ax Crazy: May becomes this towards the end.
 * Beware the Quiet Ones: Indeed.
 * Black Comedy: There's a good amount of this in the movie. A good example would be when May,
 * Blood Is the New Black: May returns to her apartment absolutely covered in the blood of herself and
 * Break the Cutie: And how.
 * Chekhov's Gun:
 * Chekhov's Skill:
 * Companion Cube: A darker example - May starts out (apparently, we don't know for sure) just pretending Susie is real, but then she starts to actually believe it. Oh, and of course there's
 * Then there's
 * Creepy Doll: Susie, a little bit. Most notably when you can hear her whispering, or the glass on her case cracking - not that these are real, this is all in May's head. She certainly looks very creepy, too. Also
 * Creepy Monotone:
 * Cute and Psycho: May.
 * A Darker Me
 * Depraved Bisexual
 * The Dog Bites Back
 * The Doll Episode
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: May appears this way in most of the movie posters, such as this one.
 * Emotionless Girl: May, once she's she becomes very upset again.
 * Eye Scream:
 * And prior to that, she.
 * Fetish: May appears to have one for blood (especially after viewing Adam's film), and Polly promptly develops a fetish for cutting after May cuts her thumb with a scalpel, requesting that she do it again.
 * For Halloween I Am Going as Myself: Sort of.
 * Foreshadowing: Lots.
 * With the biggest example being the scene with.
 * Freak-Out: May has a huge one after
 * Genre Busting: It's a weird, creepy, depressing romantic dramedy-ish... thing...
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: Angela Bettis, who plays May, also played the title character in the 2002 remake of Carrie. Prior to that, she appeared in the film adaptation of Girl, Interrupted as Janet Webber. It also has Anna Faris in a rare semi-serious role.
 * How We Got Here:
 * I Just Want to Have Friends
 * I'm a Humanitarian: Adam's film is a black and white short about a couple who go for a picnic and then start to devour each other. May becomes turned on by it.
 * Kids Are Cruel: As a child, May was ostracised by her classmates on her first day at school - simply because she wore an eyepatch.
 * Le Film Artistique: Jack and Jill, the film Adam made which he shows May.
 * Lipstick Lesbian: Polly.
 * Living Emotional Crutch: Adam, which makes their breakup all the more... dangerous.
 * Loners Are Freaks
 * Lonely Doll Girl: That'd be May. Later
 * : The horrifying conclusion.
 * Madness Makeover: Interesting example. Contrary to the usual pattern of becoming more sloppy and disheveled as one goes crazy, dowdy May becomes much more stylish and sexy as she plunges into homicidal insanity.
 * Meganekko
 * Mood Whiplash: As noted above, the film starts out as a quirky romantic dramedy. However, the moment, the entire film quickly descends into horror.
 * No Social Skills: May has a severe lack of social skills due to living in isolation for most of her life.
 * Playing Against Type: Anna Faris in a non-comedic horror role.
 * Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: May, after.
 * Really Gets Around: Polly has shades of this.
 * Sanity Slippage: May, slowly and steadily, right up until she
 * Self-Harm: At one point May cuts into the tip of her thumb with a scalpel, apparently as a form of relaxation. She then tries it on Polly, who unexpectedly finds that she likes it.
 * She's Got Legs: Ambrosia again.
 * Shrinking Violet: May's only comfortable social interactions are with Susie, and she's so shy that she can barely talk in the presence of other people at all, even when they're clearly interested in getting to know her. However,  she becomes much more confident.
 * Significant Anagram:
 * Slashed Throat:
 * Stalker with a Crush: May towards Adam.
 * Strange Girl: May. Oh so much.
 * Stripperific: Ambrosia.
 * Trailers Always Spoil: The trailer and synopsis on the back of the DVD (although it's slightly more vague than the trailer) completely spoil the fact that
 * Twist Ending: ... and also unexpected.
 * : May becomes one of these.
 * Woman Scorned: One of the driving forces behind May's descent into insanity.
 * X Meets Y: Five Hundred Days of Summer meets Carrie meets.
 * Stripperific: Ambrosia.
 * Trailers Always Spoil: The trailer and synopsis on the back of the DVD (although it's slightly more vague than the trailer) completely spoil the fact that
 * Twist Ending: ... and also unexpected.
 * : May becomes one of these.
 * Woman Scorned: One of the driving forces behind May's descent into insanity.
 * X Meets Y: Five Hundred Days of Summer meets Carrie meets.