The movie subtly darkens its tone until, when the horrifying ending arrives, we can see how we got there. There is a final shot that would get laughs in another kind of film, but May earns the right to it, and it works, and we understand it.
Though ultimately too waterlogged with student-film self-seriousness to revel fully in its low-rent joie de cleaver -- nevertheless taps into a furious atavistic energy that reflects well on the filmmaker and his fully committed cast.
Satisfyingly, May also turns out to be lowdown genre fun, a film that nearly makes up in slacker wit and high-spirited gore what it lacks in budget and elegance.
Led by Ms. Bettis's discreetly campy May, the performances are a cut or two above what you would find in the average slasher film. But in the end that's all it is.
