In Mark Jenkin’s (Bait) new film, a wildlife volunteer’s daily observations of a rare flower take a dark turn into the strange and metaphysical, forcing both her and viewers to question what is real and what is nightmare
From visionary filmmaker Mark Jenkin, the Bafta award-winning director of Bait.
Enys Men is a mind-bending Cornish folk horror set in 1973 that unfolds on an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast. A wildlife volunteer’s (Mary Woodvine) daily observations of a rare flower take a dark turn into the strange and metaphysical, forcing both her and viewers to question what is real and what is nightmare. Is the landscape not only alive but sentient?
Shot by Jenkin on grainy 16mm colour film stock and with his trademark post-synched sound, the form feels both innovative and authentic to the period. Filmed on location around the disused tin mines of West Penwith, it is also an ode to Cornwall’s rich folklore and natural beauty.
'Mary Woodvine mesmerises in Mark Jenkin’s superbly haunting Cornish gem' Mark Kermode, Kermode and Mayo’s Take
⭑⭑⭑⭑ 'Confirms Mark Jenkin as one of the most exciting, original cinematic voices in the UK right now' John Nugent, Empire
