Alex Garland established himself over the past decade as a sophisticated director of science fiction and action films within the A24 ecosystem, beginning with his 2014 debut Ex Machina. His 2022 film Men, however, marked a significant departure from his established formula, trading intellectual ambition for a horror film that initially appears to be a commentary on grief and male violence but gradually devolves into increasingly absurd and graphic practical effects sequences.

The film follows Harper, a woman recovering from her husband's suicide who encounters multiple incarnations of malevolent men whilst retreating to the English countryside. Though Garland's underlying themes about predatory masculine behaviour are evident throughout, the film's most distinctive feature emerges in its climax, where it abandons subtle symbolism in favour of elaborate gore effects reminiscent of 1980s horror directors like Brian Yuzna and Stuart Gordon. Whilst many critics regarded this stylistic pivot as a miscalculation by a talented filmmaker, the film offers genuine entertainment value for audiences who appreciate creative practical effects and genre thrills.