Films about men entrenched in the manosphere have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Adding to that rising subgenre is a new film directed by Aaron Harvey (Into the Ashes, The Neighbor), who also wrote the film with Jonathan Croom. The film is Come With Me, and it follows a blue collar man with a stable job and a live-in girlfriend. After a series of tragic events plague the man’s life, a radio show he listens to takes over his life and makes the man increasingly angry and violent.

As incels become more prevalent in the real world, they also pop up more as characters in films. While we are seeing more films focusing on those types of characters, Come With Me takes a slightly different approach. When the main character, Simon, is first introduced, he seems like a rather normal guy. He has a long-term girlfriend he rents a house with, he has a best friend he spends time with, and he has a stable job. What those in his life don’t know is that he’s started listening to a radio show hosted by a man spouting hateful rhetoric about the injustices men experience. While at first Simon doesn’t seem to be too invested in these ideas, things change every time something bad happens in his life. It leads to an explosive conclusion. While the final moments are ones many viewers might see coming, it’s still compelling to watch the same way an inevitable car crash holds our attention. Harvey and Croom chose to keep the story very grounded, making the characters and events seem a bit too real for comfort. That’s where the suspense comes from. It’s unnerving because one can imagine this happening to a man they know personally in their life.

One of the reasons this plot works well is because of Simon’s characterization. When he’s first introduced, he doesn’t seem to have any real goals. He’s a passive passenger in his own life, just going through the motions and content with how things are. As the radio show host seeps more and more into his brain, Simon slowly, but dramatically, changes into a completely different person. It’s a great way to showcase how easy it is for men in today’s world to be brainwashed and indoctrinated into this extremist mentality in which men are told the world is out to get them and the only way to survive is through acts of violence. It also brilliantly, albeit more subtly, shows the way people spewing these messages really feel. Simon becomes obsessed with the radio host in a way that profoundly alters his world-view. He made Simon hate those around him, made him feel like everyone is against him, and ultimately encouraged his anger and violence. However, when it comes down to it, this host and others like him really don’t care about the message they’re sending to impressionable men, and they certainly don’t care about the men themselves. It’s a fascinating anthropological view of the rampant toxic masculinity and it’s something many men could learn from watching. That being said, the slow burn of the plot and the content are sure to have more conservative audiences up in arms.

Come With Me has some great performances, but Theo Rossi (The Saviors, Sons of Anarchy) is the undisputed star as Simon. At first, Rossi portrays Simon with very little emotion. He simply exists, almost like a zombie going from home to work and back again every day. The more Simon becomes brainwashed, the more audiences will see the rage bubbling up to the surface. Rossi gives an outstanding performance that emphasizes how different the character becomes by the end of the film. Ronnie Gene Blevins (Joe, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) plays Gary, Simon’s coworker and best friend. Despite Gary having all the hallmarks of a very conservative man, who easily could have fallen into the same trap Simon does, Blevins manages to make the character endearing. The biggest difference, and what seems to make Gary less susceptible to falling into the manosphere, is his love for his wife and sick daughter. He ends up being the heart of the film as well as the moral compass, making it easy to see the man Simon could have become if he hadn’t fallen into the radio show’s trap. The film also has some great voice acting by fan-favorite Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy) as the radio show host, Dalton Kirby.

Because this is an understated, low-budget indie film, Come With Me relies more on the performances to carry the plot rather than the visuals. Yet that doesn’t mean there aren’t interesting choices being made. The entire film has a rather gritty, greyscale appearance. It’s a visual choice that lets the audiences know they’re in for a dark thriller. Much of the cinematography involves long, close-up shots of Rossi’s face. It lets his performance shine in the stillness while also focusing on the character’s facial expressions to show how his rage builds throughout the film. While most of these choices are quite simplistic and feel real, Come With Me does also incorporate a couple of dream-like sequences to convey just how much Simon’s mind has unraveled. Watching the film will give audiences a raw, unfiltered view of today’s America as well as how those in power leave it to deteriorate and fester.

Come With Me is a chilling cautionary tale highlighting just how simple it is for a normal man to get sucked into dangerous incel ideology. The story Harvey and Croom have created is timely. The film is one everyone should watch not only for entertainment, but as a guide to the warning signs one should look for with the men in their life. Rossi gives a phenomenal performance that starts out understated, but builds into something far more explosive. The content of the plot will surely anger many, but that’s also kind of the point of the story. Come With Me will be available in select theaters beginning September 4th.

OVERALL RATING: 7/10