Harper (Jessie Buckley) travels to a small village in the country to find some peace, only to be stalked by a group of eerie locals (Rory Kinnear).

Cast your mind back to a few weeks ago to another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it meme. CBBC’s Hacker T. Dog leans in to his co-presenter claiming “we’re just normal men... We’re just innocent men”. It was a phrase that made its way, at least on Twitter, into discussion of the publicity for writer-director Alex Garland’s latest, Men. A film which can almost be summed up with that exact phrase as Jessie Buckley’s Harper finds herself stalked and tormented by the various male faces (all played by Rory Kinnear) in the isolated village she travels to in the hope of finding peace.

She arrives in order to heal from the suicide of her violent husband (Paapa Essiedou), greeted by landlord Geoffrey. While slightly awkward with his eccentricities and various ‘jokes’ - “M4: Dreadful chore” - a number of which I must confess to having laughed at, he seems a fairly harmless fellow. However, as we meet a number of other faces in the village, a much darker side to the film is revealed.

While some have compared the setting and characters to those of Royston Vasey there’s plenty that reminds of the darker side of Hot Fuzz. Each figure more sinister and eerie than the last. All with increasing effect from an excellent Kinnear after the slight comic-relief of Geoffrey. Where the film truly begins to set off is at the crashing sound of the local vicar stating “men do strike women sometimes, it’s not nice but it’s not a capital offence” before asking a cracking Harper “do you prefer for things to be comfortable or true?”. It’s just the opening development of the twisting torment that she, and the audience, begins to go through.

However, the first true instance of terror comes in a flashback. Harper and husband James scream and shout at each other, tension building as the viewer worries that James will lash out and harm Harper - she’s seen at the start of the film with a bloodied nose as he falls to his death in front of her. It sets in the naturalistic tone of the horror early on and brings you further in to connect with the central figure; feeling the growing suspense in the darkness of the village which she almost appears trapped in.

By the end there’s certainly a lot to unpack, as the naturalistic horror shifts more into fantastical reaches - although never feeling as if they come from nowhere, keeping a consistent level of creepiness. The film’s themes are on full display, worked well by Garland, Buckley and Kinnear; all of whom put in strong efforts. Men is likely to linger long in the mind with a number of moments having a lasting effect - perhaps warranting a second viewing, even if just to watch it again because it’s great. It’s an effective piece of suspenseful horror, far from a dreadful chore.

Jamie Skinner -Four stars