Traveling can always be a crapshoot, especially when you don’t really have anywhere to stay except a tent. While you may think that provides you the ultimate flexibility, sometimes you accidentally pitch it on an unfriendly farmer’s land. Perhaps a farmer named Eulis (Stephen D’Ambrose) who promptly asks you to pack up and get moving. Rylie (Malin Barr) and Sam (Sawyer Spielberg) get to live through this nightmare in Honeydew, except that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Riley and Sam find themselves stranded due to the battery in their car dying. Wandering aimlessly looking for help, they stumble upon the home of Karen (Barbara Kingsley). The outdated appliances and décor make Karen’s home seem to be stuck in the past. Rylie and Sam questionably ignore Karen’s incredibly odd and unnerving behavior – a mix of absentmindedness, extreme friendliness, and downright creepiness – and accept an invitation into her home.
Honeydew is the feature length debut for writer/director Devereux Milburn, based off a story he and Dan Kennedy wrote. It is also the debut of Sawyer Spielberg, Steven Spielberg’s son, in a leading role. Spielberg does a decent job, but there is not too much to work with in Honeydew. Kingsley is the one who truly steals the show. Karen is a chilling character who always has a hint of evil behind her smile.
Another issue is that Honeydew seems to lack any true substance which greatly impacts the quality of the film. Rylie and Sam’s strange relationship precludes you from truly caring about either character. They complain and take shots at each other, the honeymoon clearly being over. In typical horror fashion, the two make stupid decision after stupid decision – even after Riley discusses the PhD track that she is on.
Milburn does not overdo the gore in Honeydew – leaving many aspects off camera and just alluding to them. This can be a successful tactic, especially for budget conscious productions. He does, however, include images that are tough on the eyes in different ways. The problem is it’s too little, too late. By the time the film gets to the real horror it has already lost it’s luster. Honeydew is just another subpar horror film that is deficient in scares and depth causing it to be a forgettable debut for its director and star.