“...beautifully somber...”
”...whereas many narratives about the queer community involve living out loud, May-Mann’s film comes alive in its silences...
”...a rich experience...”
“I can’t wait to see what else Carlen May-Mann has in store for movie fans down the road.”
Final Girls Berlin Film Fest: #MeToo (Shorts)
Morbidly Beautiful
The Rat: Final Girls Berlin Review
Battle Royale With Cheese
“...excellent...I think a number of bigger horror directors could take a few pointers from this for how to do atmosphere right”
The Solzy Awards for Short Films in 2019
Solzy at the Movies
BHFF 2019: Carlen May-Mann’s ‘The Rat’ (2019) And Its Gnawing Sense of Dread
PopHorror
“Carlen May-Mann is a bright star whose next project is going to hit the earth like a meteor, wherever and whenever it strikes.”
“With The Rat, May-Mann does an excellent job of highlighting the red flags we all should look for in potentially abusive relationships. Like a rat that burrows through the hidden corners and foundation of a house, abusers burrow into the psyche of their victims, destroying their confidence, creating fractures in their emotional and mental stability.”
Final Frames: The Fourth Annual Final Frame Horror Short Film Competition
Room 207 Press
“…my personal favorite. It used lovely, simple imagery and the tropes of haunting and visual transformation to tell a tale of teenage disillusionment.”
“The Rat told its story with a lovely eloquence”
Conversation | On the Value of Thinking on Your Feet
The Creative Independent
Sundance Institute Unveils 2019 Screenwriters Intensive Fellows
Deadline
Sundance 2019: The Shorts Program
Solzy at the Movies
“…there’s something that’s different about May-Mann’s second short film. Even though the film runs some 12 minutes, she is able to bring something new to the genre.”
Sundance ’19 Interview: Carlen May-Mann on Exposing the Trap with “The Rat”
Moveable Fest
“May-Mann has fun toying with the expectations of an audience in terms of genre in “The Rat,” turning the notion of a haunted house into what women live with every day in their interactions with potentially predatory men, but she shows a laser-like focus in articulating the way in which Renee and Jim have very different expectations of the evening…”
Conversations | Carlen May-Mann’s “The Rat” Goes to the 2019 Sundance Film Festival
NYFA Current
Sundance Film Festival 2019 | Carlen May-Mann
The New Current
These Sundance-Bound Filmmakers Pack Big Ideas into Short Films
Kickstarter
Sundance 2019 Short Film Preview: 10 Must-See Gems, From Vampires to Emily Mortimer
Indiewire
“Too many short filmmakers stumble while trying to find a satisfying conclusion for their brief films, but writer-director Carlen May-Mann’s decision how to end her 12-minute film is masterful. In fact, May-Mann makes top-notch directorial choices throughout “The Rat” as she tells the story of a young couple’s experience in a haunted house and the aftermath.”
Sundance 2019: Carlen May-Mann talks The Rat
Solzy at the Movies
A Face in the Crowd: Carlen May-Mann Slyly Finds a New Way Into the Horror Genre with “The Rat”
Moveable Fest
Eli Sundae Premieres Glitter-Fueled Video for “Bite My Tongue”
AdHoc
“…an absurdist and colorful trip.”
Debut: The Meltaways, “Home”
Impose Magazine