Given the bleak state of affairs going on just about everywhere, a newfound worry of mine is movies that aim to bombard its audience with dread will be overlooked or even ignored in favor of something more optimistic. And as long as you can hold off eating until after the film, I would highly suggest making sure Devereux Milburn’s Honeydew is an experience you don’t miss out on. Right from the start, Honeydew is a proper f**king downer that wastes no time conditioning its viewers to not wish the best for anybody they’re about to meet; because it’s probably not going to happen.
The story follows couple Sam and Rylie as they travel through rural Massachusetts. When they aren’t on the verge of bickering–which is pretty much every five minutes–Sam is attempting to memorize lines for an upcoming audition while Rylie investigates an outbreak of an ergot-type fungus that has been devastating the local farms. After attempting to camp on private land and finding that they car has stopped working, they are forced to seek shelter in the home of an aging, deeply religious farmer and her peculiar son; a pleasantly surprising duo that eventually make the family from Texas Chainsaw Massacre look like a bunch of chumps. After sharing a meal with the mother and son, Sam and Rylie begin having disturbing hallucinations that takes them down a rabbit hole of the bizarre.
Sawyer Spielberg is an absolute delight in his feature acting debut. His screen presence was consistent and just the right amount of scattered. And despite her character having the personality and likability of a post-op lobotomy patient, Malin Barr shines with seemingly effortless eloquence and grace. Through a straight and painful delivery, accompanied by some seriously stunning camerawork, director Devereux Milburn has concocted an eerily hypnotic tale that’s equal parts hot blooded and claustrophobic. As though you’ve just been shoved into a horrific Impressionist painting. There is never a dull moment. You can check the film out on VOD, DVD, and DigitalHD starting today.
WICKED RATING: 6/10
