Enys Men
Neon | Release Date: March 31, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ColliderErick MassotoApr 1, 2023
It’s open enough to be perceived as a character study, a horror story, or something different altogether. But what is indisputable is the movie’s excellent use of wide shots and close-ups, the gorgeous production design and cinematography, and Woodvine’s quiet but compelling performance. Read full review
100
The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeFeb 27, 2023
What Enys Men “means” will differ for each viewer. For me, it is (like Bait) a richly authentic portrait of Cornwall, far removed from any tourist-friendly vision. . . I’ve seen the film three times so far, and I can’t wait to dive into it and be swept away again. Bravo! Read full review
100
The Irish TimesTara BradyJan 13, 2023
The film arguably shares DNA with the psycho-geographical works of Pat Collins and Alan Gilsenan. Read full review
100
CineVueChristopher MachellJan 13, 2023
Whereas Bait was a lament for a way of life swallowed up by mindless urbanite tourism, Enys Men is a hymn to sublime, endless time and the hauntedness of existence. Read full review
91
The Film StageLeonardo GoiMay 28, 2022
Shot by Jenkin on 16mm color negative with a 1970s clockwork Bolex and scored with post-synch sound, the film looks and sounds as a relic unearthed from one of the island’s caves. A chest stashed with stories in turns seductive and chilling, woven into a tale that will keep on unfurling, in an endless and confounding maze. Read full review
91
The PlaylistJack KingMay 25, 2022
The witchy atmosphere Jenkin conjures is spine-tinglingly devilish, the poetic manifestation of the subject’s deep grief, ever-ambiguous and frosty, taking on the aching melancholy of loss. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisMar 30, 2023
At times, Jenkin’s bold, experimental style can perplex; but his vision is so unwavering and beholden to local history that his message is clear: On Enys Men, the earth remembers what the sea has taken. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyMar 31, 2023
I was riveted by every moment of this haunting weird film. Enys Men made me legitimately uneasy. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterCaryn JamesApr 5, 2023
Defying any logical narrative, the film relies on poetic images and associations. It suggests that the most frightening thing in the world can be in your own mind. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMar 30, 2023
Nature nurtured into an eerie consciousness by a celluloid craftsman, it feels like a throwback to “Wicker Man”-era folk-tinged freakouts — confounding enough to not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for those ready for a pot of its brew, plenty transporting and tingling. Read full review
80
Rolling StoneDavid FearMar 30, 2023
Enys Men is for us. It’s a cult classic that didn’t feel the need to kill time in order to be called cult or classic. Read full review
80
The Daily BeastNick SchagerMar 28, 2023
Those with a craving for out-there mystery and dread, however, will get a heady buzz from its bizarro madness. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenJan 13, 2023
Are its cultish mysteries for everyone? Undoubtedly not. But if there’s a place in your heart for dark, folky mind-benders that plug into the cosmic energy of remote, oceanic terrain (ie your favourite film would be a cross between The Wicker Man and The Lighthouse), you should take a trip across Jenkin’s freaky landscape asap. Read full review
80
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsJan 12, 2023
In ambition, achievement and Jenkin’s future as an image-maker of esoteric esteem, this is a big step up from Bait. Read full review
80
EmpireJohn NugentJan 12, 2023
Mesmerising and mystifying, in equal measure. Enys Men confirms Mark Jenkin as one of the most exciting, original cinematic voices in the UK right now. Read full review
80
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyJan 12, 2023
Enys Men is so rich with symbolism that there’s a real satisfaction to be gained from rifling through the clues. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 25, 2022
It is not exactly a horror film, despite some spasms of disquiet, but an uncanny evocation of how, when left utterly on our own, we spiral inwards into our memories, dreams and fears. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMay 25, 2022
It wouldn’t be quite right to describe Mark Jenkin’s Enys Men as a horror film. Rather, it’s the kind of thing the victims in a horror film might watch, just after pulling it from the cellar of a derelict harbour cottage, and shortly before succumbing to some blood-curdling maritime curse. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenMay 25, 2023
I’m sure there’s a definitive explanation, but Enys Men strikes me as a puzzle that’s more enthralled with its individual pieces than any picture they might complete. Read full review
75
IndieWireLeila LatifMay 25, 2022
As much as Jenkin’s film is hypnotic and strikingly realized, in the final half hour it runs out of tricks up its sleeve. Read full review
70
SlashfilmErin BradyMar 31, 2023
This visually and metaphorically commanding film, crafted with precision by Jenkin, urges viewers to look for its answers deep within itself instead of simply giving them away. Read full review
70
Screen DailyWendy IdeMay 25, 2022
Enys Men is an enigmatic proposition, concerned with atmosphere rather than with story. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerMar 31, 2023
While Enys Men may play with the trappings and symbolism of folk horror, it's ultimately more of an internal psychological drama, one driven by Woodvine's tragic and quiet embrace of the island's bleak remoteness. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanApr 4, 2023
It’s a fever dream in which the past and present are confused, along with plant and animal, the living and the dead, and, ultimately, the meaning of this troubled vision. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineJosh WiseOct 10, 2022
Enys Men might have been called A Blueprint for Revival: an attempt to restore to horror something that Jenkin feels has been lost. If only it didn’t lack the power to truly frighten us, it may have flourished. Read full review
60
Screen RantAlex HarrisonApr 5, 2023
Jenkin doesn't leave the audience without any puzzle pieces; there are enough for multiple stories to be constructed, should the viewer wish to understand Enys Men on that level. At a certain point, however, it becomes so difficult to disentangle the real from the unreal that to try feels pointless, and the last act suffers for it. Read full review
58
Paste MagazineJacob OllerMar 29, 2023
As soon as you unearth a place’s past, it lives on in you—changes you. This is the heart of folk horror that Enys Men speaks to, but its dull, repetitive, padded delivery of images makes its genre findings (in words British enough to befit the film) weak tea. Read full review
50
VarietyJessica KiangMay 27, 2022
Visually and sonically, Enys Men is utterly intoxicating, but a lack of any nourishing interplay between form and content makes it feel like getting drunk on an empty stomach, alone on an island where everything happens at the same time, and nothing really happens at all. Read full review
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