You may have taken wrong turns with horror movie protagonists and wound up in terrifying rural areas with them before, but you have never been on a ride quite like the one the main characters go through in director Devereux Milburn’s macabre Honeydew. The film is a dizzying, discomfiting experience full of surprises that gives a new flavor to backwoods fright fare.
Rylie (Malin Barr) is a PhD student researching a strain of fungus that affects wheat crops. She and her actor boyfriend Sam (Sawyer Spielberg) travel to a rural area affected by the fungus as part of her work for dissertation. When a landowner tells them that they must leave his property immediately but their car won’t start, they stumble upon a house owned by eldery farmer Karen (Barbara Kingsley), who calls her neighbor to come give their battery a jump. He doesn’t show, so the young couple winds up eating a meal with Karen and her adult son Gunni (Jamie Bradley), who is suffering from having been kicked in the head by an animal. Things were odd with Honeydew before the opening credits, and at this point in the film, events are about to get even more outré.
Honeydew is a divisive film, and how much viewers might enjoy it will likely depend largely on how willing they are to give themselves into Milburn’s measured, slowly unraveling style. I personally found myself mesmerized and fully engaged in the proceedings, with my attention held by the discomfiting sense of dread and of things being constantly off balance. The film looks terrific, with Dan Kennedy providing some superb cinematography, and I found Milburn’s editing to aid fantastically in keeping the sense of having no idea what bizarreness lurks around each corner.
Barr and Spielberg both give gripping performances, portraying a couple who are having obvious troubles balancing their personal pursuits with their romantic relationship. Kingsley is outstanding as a woman who may be suffering some issues with being at an advanced age, or it may be something more than that. The rest of the supporting cast is also solid.
Honeydew is a challenging horror film, and viewers expecting another rack-up-the-body-count spree with loads of grue are likely to be disappointed. Viewers up for a challenge with a well-acted, great-looking effort full of peculiarity should find plenty to enjoy, though.
Honeydew screens as part of Panic Fest, which takes place from April 8–18, 2021. For tickets or more information about this hybrid edition of the festival, visit panicfilmfest.com. #panicfest2021
Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting will release Honeydew on VOD, Digital HD and DVD on April 13, 2021.
