# May (film)
**May** is a 2002 American independent psychological horror film written and directed by Lucky McKee, starring [Angela Bettis](https://www.edgepedia.org/angela-bettis) as May Dove Canady, a socially isolated veterinary assistant whose need for connection turns violent after repeated rejection.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303361/) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62833-MAY?cxt=filmography) It was McKee's directorial debut and became a cult horror film.[3](https://lionsgatelimited.com/pages/lucky-mckee)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Lucky McKee, his feature directorial debut[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303361/) • [3](https://lionsgatelimited.com/pages/lucky-mckee) |
| Lead cast | Angela Bettis (May Dove Canady), Jeremy Sisto (Adam Stubbs), Anna Faris (Polly), James Duval (Blank)[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303361/fullcredits/) |
| Production | 2 Loop Films; distributed by Lions Gate Films; rated R; 95 minutes per AFI[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62833-MAY?cxt=filmography) |
| Release | Premiered in 2002; US theatrical release February 7, 2003; New York opening June 6, 2003, Los Angeles June 20, 2003[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/may) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62833-MAY?cxt=filmography) |
| Reception | 70% Tomatometer from 71 reviews, 75% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; US gross $145.5K[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/may) |
| Awards | At the Sitges Film Festival it won Best Screenplay for McKee and Best Actress for Bettis[6](https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/13588) |
| Key crew | Cinematographer Steve Yedlin; composer Jaye Barnes Luckett; editors Debra Goldfield, Rian Johnson, and Chris Sivertson[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62833-MAY?cxt=filmography) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and themes
May is a young woman with a lazy eye (amblyopia) whose childhood isolation left her socially awkward as an adult, even after contact lenses corrected the visible condition.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/may) She works as a veterinary assistant, is well practiced at sewing, and her only real friend is a glass-cased childhood doll named Suzie.[7](https://www.fangoria.com/review-may/) Her mother's advice, "If you can't find a friend, make one," frames the story.[8](https://www.grimoireofhorror.com/the-banshee/may-2002-film-review/)
She first becomes involved with Adam ([Jeremy Sisto](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeremy-sisto)), a man who shares her taste for the macabre and has made a short horror film called *Jack & Jill*; her odd proclivities prove too much for him, and her strangeness drives him away.[7](https://www.fangoria.com/review-may/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/may) She then takes up with her co-worker Polly ([Anna Faris](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-faris)), who also rejects her.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/may) In the final act, May decides to create a perfect companion by assembling her favorite parts of other people, a Frankensteinian act in which no one in her orbit, from Polly to the street punk Blank ([James Duval](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-duval)), is safe.[9](https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3885551/may-blu-ray-review-lucky-mckees-2002-movie-stands-the-test-of-time-as-a-true-cult-classic/)
The film is structured as a slow-burn character study that only reveals its full horror late. Fangoria's Michael Gingold, a longtime horror journalist and former Fangoria editor, compared its effect to [Brian De Palma](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-de-palma)'s 1976 adaptation of *Carrie*: the audience comes to know the heroine well enough to understand her descent into violence.[7](https://www.fangoria.com/review-may/) Critics have also read the film through [Mary Shelley](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-shelley)'s *Frankenstein*, with May serving as both creator and monster, and through its black comedy tone.[9](https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3885551/may-blu-ray-review-lucky-mckees-2002-movie-stands-the-test-of-time-as-a-true-cult-classic/) • [6](https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/13588) Later commentary has treated it as a queer allegory of sexuality, given May's relationships with both Adam and Polly.[10](https://horrorpress.com/editorials/9707/may-2002-a-bloody-queer-allegory-of-sexuality-in-horror/)
## Production and release
The film was produced by 2 Loop Films and A Loopy Production LLC, with Marius Balchunas (credited in some sources as Marius/Maryus Vaysberg) and Scott Sturgeon among the producers.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62833-MAY?cxt=filmography) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/may) Steve Yedlin, later known for his work with [Rian Johnson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rian-johnson), served as director of photography, and Johnson himself was one of the film's three editors alongside Debra Goldfield and Chris Sivertson.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62833-MAY?cxt=filmography) The score was composed by Jammes Luckett, credited as Jaye Barnes Luckett.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62833-MAY?cxt=filmography)
Release timing varies across sources: the film premiered in 2002 and screened at Sundance 2002, where Bettis's performance helped her win the title role in NBC's television version of *Carrie*.[7](https://www.fangoria.com/review-may/) Rotten Tomatoes lists a US theatrical release of February 7, 2003, and the AFI records a New York opening on June 6, 2003, followed by Los Angeles on June 20, 2003.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/may) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62833-MAY?cxt=filmography) It was not a box-office success, grossing $145.5K in the United States, but it gained cult status on release.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/may) • [3](https://lionsgatelimited.com/pages/lucky-mckee)
## Reception and legacy
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 70% Tomatometer from 71 reviews and a 75% audience score from more than 25,000 ratings; the critics' consensus calls it an "above average slasher flick."[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/may) At the Sitges Film Festival it was the only multi-award-winning film that year, taking Best Screenplay and Best Actress.[6](https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/13588) IMDb lists 9 wins and 8 nominations in total, with a user rating of 6.6/10 from about 44,000 votes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303361/)
Bettis's performance is the element most consistently praised across reviews, described as raw, career-making, and central to the film's balance of sympathy and horror.[9](https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3885551/may-blu-ray-review-lucky-mckees-2002-movie-stands-the-test-of-time-as-a-true-cult-classic/) • [7](https://www.fangoria.com/review-may/) The film established McKee's career in horror, leading to *The Woods* (2006), *The Woman* (2011), and later television work.[3](https://lionsgatelimited.com/pages/lucky-mckee) It has been periodically reissued, including a Vestron Video Collector's Series Blu-ray from Lionsgate Limited carrying the special features produced for Second Sight's UK release, with new interviews of McKee, Sisto, Duval, Yedlin, Johnson, Sivertson, Kevin Ford, and Luckett.[9](https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3885551/may-blu-ray-review-lucky-mckees-2002-movie-stands-the-test-of-time-as-a-true-cult-classic/)
## References
1. [May (2002), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303361/)
2. [May (2003), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62833-MAY?cxt=filmography)
3. [Lucky McKee, Lionsgate Limited](https://lionsgatelimited.com/pages/lucky-mckee)
4. [May (2002) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303361/fullcredits/)
5. [May, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/may)
6. [MAY Review, Ain't It Cool News (October 17, 2002)](https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/13588)
7. [Review: MAY, Fangoria (The Gingold Files)](https://www.fangoria.com/review-may/)
8. [May (2002) Film Review, Grimoire of Horror](https://www.grimoireofhorror.com/the-banshee/may-2002-film-review/)
9. ['May' Blu-ray Review, Bloody Disgusting (June 26, 2025)](https://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3885551/may-blu-ray-review-lucky-mckees-2002-movie-stands-the-test-of-time-as-a-true-cult-classic/)
10. ['May' (2002): A Bloody Queer Allegory of Sexuality in Horror, Horror Press](https://horrorpress.com/editorials/9707/may-2002-a-bloody-queer-allegory-of-sexuality-in-horror/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Psychological horror films › Psychological horror films, 1990s and 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license