Reviews

`HONEYDEW’ Review: Hope You’re Hungry

By Hugh Patrick

March 12th, 2021

A couple seeks help at a secluded farm after their vehicle breaks down in this trippy horror experience.

If you ever thought to yourself what would a mash up of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Hansel and Gretel” be like, you may just have your answer with Devereux Milburn’s first feature “Honeydew.”

Full disclosure this film was not on my radar by any means as I only just heard about it a few days ago scrolling through Bloody Disgusting’s website. They had an article on the film which makes sense due to the fact that it is the very first release with their partnership between Bloody Disgusting and Dark Star Pictures. After reading the article and watching the trailer, a trailer in which I turned off after the first 20 seconds because I knew I had seen and heard enough. I instantly checked where the physical screenings were going to be playing. Lucky for me, I had a few close by screenings here in Arizona. It was time to see what this thing had in its kitchen.

In the past ten years in the horror genre we as fans have gotten a ton of the “slow burn” movies. A24 has mastered the now sub genre and before then I feel House of the Devil and Innkeepers director Ti West single handedly put the term in the lexicon of horror. Honeydew is by all means another slow burn trip into a horror nightmare that whether you’re ready to go there or not, the film is going to take you there. Honeydew follows Sam (Sawyer Spielberg) yes, Steven Spielberg the legendary director’s real life son, and Riley (Malin Barr), a young couple on a road trip through the New England backwoods. Right off the bat I want to talk about what I found to be the stand out feature of this film, the score. Composer John Mehrmann who I’ve never heard of before and when I looked up his IMDb it makes sense because he only has a few other credits on his resumé. Well after this feature I can promise you that is going to change. I don’t know what he used but to explain it the best I can it is this quirky popping effect that is used quite often throughout the runtime. It was so unnerving to me, mixed with the excellent tension that the music brought, I found myself having to take multiple deep breaths and re-relax my muscles as they were tense for a lot of this movie. The director Devereux Milburn, another name I have never heard of due to the fact that his resume as well doesn’t have much meat on the bone. Horror fans should rejoice because you can sense very early on that we may have another potential master on our hands in Mr. Milburn. His ability to use empty space in his shots, the extreme anxiety he causes with his quick edit cuts combined with his intense and most times uncomfortable close ups of characters faces and in this films case, food. Yes, this is a no spoiler review but I cant help but state food plays a huge role in the film. Hope you’re hungry. It is clear from the jump that this director has a love for the genre and I am already eagerly anticipating what he helms next.

Going into the film I had heard that Sawyer Spielberg was the lead role of the Husband so that brought an added layer of intrigue for me and I have to admit, I thought his performance was spectacular. The role asked for a slow decent into madness that is not easy to pull off. His co star Riley played by Malin Barr also did a tremendous job at expressing the tension and dread of the couples current situation. But the star of the show here is Barbara Kingsley who plays old woman Karen. I had a good little giggle that her name was Karen in the film. One thing that is abundantly clear about me, old folks scare the shit out of me in horror films. In real life they’re just fine, love them. As you watch this character Karen cook, take care of her son Goonie and just go about her daily chores, the sense of uneasiness you feel is on thick.

As I watched our characters attempt to survive their time on the farm it felt like I was on a roller coaster heading up knowing the drop could come at any moment. By the time the third act hits the anxiety and nerves are in the red zone. I wont spoil it but there is a sequence where you will be squirming in your seat. Very effecting tension that I have to applaud everyone involved.

The film wasn’t without its faults. Not that the running time was too long or the pacing was off I just felt a couple sequences could have remained on the cutting room floor. This little gripe wasn’t enough to take away from my enjoyment of Honeydew. It surpassed my expectations on tension and overall creepiness that I just adore with these slow burn fever nightmares. By the time the credits rolled, me and the other folks all took a collective inhale and exhale while saying wow. I recommend you catching Honeydew when it becomes available near you. Just remember to eat everything on your plate before you leave the table.

👻👻👻 3 Ghosts out of 5

Featured Images: Yellow Veil Productions