Enys Men is one of those movies that shows a stark contrast between critic and audience scores. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave the 2023 film an 86% fresh score, while audiences had a whopping 22% rotten score. This contrast makes sense, as anyone who went into Enys Men assuming it would be a modern, entertaining horror film was about to have their expectations thrown out the window. Enys Men, which is the Cornish translation for “Stone Island,” is not fast-paced, nor explicitly horror, and not even a full comprehensive narrative. It’s more so an experience — a portal into a Cornish Island in 1973, witnessing the repeated mundane tasks of a scientist making daily nature observations on an island that becomes stranger each day. Director Mark Jenkin did this intentionally and wanted audiences to view the film and make their own interpretations of the themes, such as manipulating the concept of time and using repetition and nature as pieces to his intricate, unsolvable puzzle.

What makes Enys Men memorable and respected by critics is how well it transports audiences back to the 1970s. Jenkin not only directed the film, but also wrote, edited, and did the cinematography and music. His complete creative control resulted in a strong, unsettling mood and sense of isolation throughout its entirety. The cast is limited, with Mary Woodvine as the lead, only identified in the credits as “The Volunteer.” The only other notable characters are John Woodvine (“The Preacher”), Edward Rowe (“The Boatman”), and Flo Crowe (“The Girl”). The cast is small, the cottage is tiny; hell, even the island itself is minuscule, helping reinforce the theme of isolation, which also limits what the audience has to pay attention to. The characters, everyday items used, clothing, setting, nature, edits, zooms, atmosphere, and sound all contribute to its vintage feel. Enys Men is not as much entertainment as it is a portal to another place at another time that is interchangeably familiar and foreign…