Honeydew – Unsettling
Director: Devereux Milburn
Writer: Devereux Milburn (Screenplay) Devereux Milburn, Dan Kennedy (Story)
Starring: Sawyer Spielberg, Malin Barr, Barbara Kingsley, Stephen D’Ambrose, Jamie Bradley, Joshua Patrick Dudley
Plot: Strange cravings and hallucinations befall a young couple after seeking shelter in the home of an aging farmer and her peculiar son.
Runtime: 1 Hour 46 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Honeydew starts when young couple Sam (Spielberg) and Rylie (Barr) are traveling across country when they need to seek shelter for the night, after being moved on from camping they find shelter in a farmhouse with Karen (Kingsley) and her estranged son Gunni (Bradley).
The night does take an unexpected twist for the couple as they learn that Karen has her own plan for any visitors, one which has been happening for years in the area.
Thoughts on Honeydew
Characters & Performances – Sam is an actor/waiter trying to find his big break in life, he is helping his girlfriend with her latest research exercise and fills the typical strongminded man looking to get away from the world, he is starting to get tired of his relationship, which comes from the pressure of wanting more from his career. Sawyer Spielberg is fine in this role, it isn’t the deepest role to be playing. Rylie on the other hand is the one that will ask more questions and has been studying the local problem that hit the area in the past, she is an ambitious student who at times does seem to get too personal with the hosts, while hinting at trying to stay together throughout the whole time. Malin Barr does well in her role, which does seem to be the more alert character in the film. Karen is the farm owner that welcomes the couple into her home, she does have her own motives, which comes from seeing how strange she acts around the home. Barbara Kingsley is truly disturbing through this film with how she acts towards everyone who visits.
Story – The story here follows a young couple that breakdown in the middle of nowhere and look to seek shelter at a local farmhouse, only to learn the owner has their own plans for what they want to do with their latest victims. This is a story that does struggle with some of the pacing involved, as we get the typical couple out of place time, the creepy spell before learning the truth, which does feel like it is crammed into a later part of the film, which is unsettling and doesn’t hold back on the shock value. It does feel like we could have gone deeper into the strangeness of what is going on, instead of just the creepy nature of the actions.
Themes – Honeydew is a horror that dives into the disturbing and unsettling side of things, creating a creation of unease throughout the film. The film uses the safe isolated setting, showing us just how people could be up to the unthinkable away from the world.
Signature Entertainment presents Honeydew on Digital Platforms 29th March, you can check it out yourself here on iTunes
Honeydew is a slow building disturbing horror that will keep us with the feeling of unease throughout.
