Honeymoon, while hardly perfect with some questionable plot details, is a good little indie horror-science fiction flick well worth at least a rental as it features two fine performances and direction by a new filmmaker who hopefully gets the chance in the future.
Honeymoon
(2014)
Genre(s): Horror, Science Fiction, Suspense/Thriller
Magnolia | R – 87 min. – $29.98 | January 13, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Leigh Janiak Writer(s): Phil Graziadei and Leigh Janiak (written by) Cast: Rose Leslie, Harry Treadaway DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1) |
THE MOVIE – 3.5/5
When will people learn? – It’s never, ever a good idea to stay at a secluded cabin in the middle of the woods.
This is a lesson newlywed couple Paul (HARRY TREADAWAY) and Bea (ROSE LESLIE) failed to learn as they decide to spend their honeymoon at Bea’s family cottage where they are isolated from most civilization – save for a restaurant run by Bea’s childhood friend Will and his wife Annie – no cell service (obviously) and during the off-season so other lakeside homes are vacant (again, obviously). But it’s all good as the couple is blissfully in love and things start off quite well including some hot and heavy sex, earning that R-rating early on.
But soon enough, something strange begins to happen, especially after a strange light shines into the couple’s bedroom in the middle of the night and the following night, Paul awakens to find Bea missing and, after first scouring the cabin, trenches into the forest and finds her naked and in some sort of a trance. Despite never happening before, Bea merely attributes it to sleepwalking though Paul doesn’t buy it for a second and begins to notice other odd behaviors from his new wife; this is not to mention some real “X-Files”-like sh*t goings on…
Every so often a film catches you by surprise and albeit hardly perfect, Honeymoon is a film I was pleasantly surprised found to be suspenseful, unique in its plot and acting from its two leads who, for the large portion since there are only four actors, carry the film and have to relay some horror genre tropes (granted well written) from the isolated cabin to cell phone dead zone as mentioned before. But Rose Leslie (of ‘You Know Nothing Jon Snow’ fame from “Game of Thrones”) and Harry Treadaway (Dr. Victor Frankenstein on “Penny Dreadful) both do really well, although they both have to fight through their British accents every once in a while, Leslie in particular. In any case, I enjoyed both of their performances and the emotional decline both of their characters endure.
Honeymoon was co-written, with Phil Graziadei, and directed by newcomer Leigh Janiak marking her feature debut in both roles. She does a great job in setting the mood and suspense though one does have to have some patience as the middle section can be trying, but is well worth it once the finale set in and we dive into “Tales from the Crypt” and “Twilight Zone” territory.
** I have to note, please do not read the review quotes the artwork designers chose to put on in order to entice audiences to rent or buy this film as one in particular, and is in large type font, more or less spoils the film’s ending… **
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5
Interview with Actors Rose Leslie and Harry Treadaway (9:04; HD) has the two stars, during a press junket, talking about the movie and their characters.
Interview with Director Leigh Janiak (7:28; HD) finds the filmmaker giving her perspective on how the project got off the ground including co-writing the script.
The Worm Behind the Scenes (1:46; HD) is outtake footage of Rose Leslie’s reluctance about picking up a worm for one scene.
Canoe Behind the Scenes (2:33; HD) is more the same, just footage of the two actors rowing in a canoe.
AXS TV: A Look at Honeymoon (2:23; HD) is a very basic making-of featurette.
Festival Trailer Extended Version (1:55; HD)
Festival Teaser Trailer (1:03; HD)
Theatrical Trailer (2:23)
BD-Live – I think Magnolia Home Entertainment is the only studio to still include this but all it is advertising for upcoming titles.
VIDEO – 4.75/5
Honeymoon goes through the threshold onto Blu-ray presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). The picture actually looks pretty darn good showing off excellent and sharp detail levels throughout, bright and brilliant colors for the daylight scenes and stark blacks for those night shots which show no signs of artifacting or other blemishes.
AUDIO – 4.5/5
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is surprisingly aggressive especially when the “dark strangers” make an appearance, the LFE channel goes to work while dialogue levels remain nice and clear throughout and the score makes the most out of the rear channels, to go along with ambient noises.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, Honeymoon, while hardly perfect with some questionable plot details, is a good little indie horror-science fiction flick well worth at least a rental as it features two fine performances and direction by a new filmmaker who hopefully gets the chance in the future. The Blu-ray released by Magnolia Home Entertainment is relatively light in features but the video/audio transfers are both top-notch.
The Movieman
Published: 12/25/2014