Sam (Sawyer Spielberg – yes, his son) and Rylie (Malin Barr) have a weekend of camping planned, but are forced to move by the farmer upon whose property they pitched. Even more annoyingly, their car battery if flat so they have to trek through the woods to find civilisation or at least cell phone reception. They do find a nice big house, and the owner, Karen (Barbara Kingsley), despite being elderly and a little strange is very hospitable and offers to put them up for the night until a neighbour can give them a jumpstart. During the night, though, things take a turn for the sinister as Sam develops a craving for Karen’s steaks and the old woman’s son – an overweight, catatonic man who just sits watching vintage cartoons – starts behaving even more peculiarly.
The debut feature from writer/director Devereux Milburn, Honeydew is a disturbing and unsettling trip into backwoods horror that takes its time getting to the meat of the story, but is full of very uneasy moments. Karen, the old lady, could have come straight from Eraserhead with her odd behaviour, but that’s not to say that it’s derivative. The cinematography by Dan Kennedy (who co-wrote the original story) is superb, often incorporating split-screen to see two differing shots, and at times has a ‘70s grindhouse sheen to it.
What’s going on isn’t hard to guess, but fortunately, Milburn manages to keep a few surprises for the audience. Some setups work better than others, but on the whole, the twisted delights on offer will satisfy the hunger of a horror-savvy viewer.
Release Date: Out Now (Digital)
