Part war movie, part feminist revenge fantasy, Karen Cinnore’s Mayday was one of the most interesting films to emerge from Sundance this year. Starring Grace Van Patten, Mia Goth, Juliette Lewis, Soko, Havana Rose Liu, and Théodore Pellerin, it centers on Ana, who wakes up on a mysterious coast where she encounters a group of rugged female rebels fighting the good fight.
As you can see in the new trailer, that fight is against other men, with the women posing as damsels in distress so as to lure their would-be rescuers to certain doom. While Ana counts herself as one of their number early on, forming a bond with leader Marsha, as the group grows more violent she begins to question their actions.
In my review of Mayday I likened it to a superior version of Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch, because I do believe both films are essentially saying the same thing and telling a similar story about traumatized women who escape from reality and strike back against their male attackers. Having a woman tell that story makes all of the difference in the world, and Mayday is the better film even if I thought it could have pushed the envelope even further.
Mayday opens in theaters and VOD on October 1st.
In director Karen Cinorre’s bold new action fantasy film MAYDAY, Ana (Grace Van Patten) finds herself transported to a dreamlike and dangerous coastline. Once there, she joins a female army engaged in a never-ending war where the women lure men to their deaths with radio signals, like 20th century sirens. Though Ana finds strength in this exhilarating world, she comes to realize she is not the killer they want her to be.
