There has never been a place quite like Grandma’s home. When I was growing up, my sister and I’s favorite place was our Grandmother’s. We were really close with her, despite the short period of time that we got to have with her. She died when I was ten. Both my sister and I have tattoos in her memory. She is the only person ever in my life that I have tattoos for. I have three in her memory. Being an adult, I’m nostalgic for the feeling of walking into my grandmother’s house and just being embraced with an indescribable warmth. My wife, I would argue, is the closest I’ve ever come to said embrace.
My grandmother was the reason I saw Jaws, the Back to the Future trilogy, and even knew what The Exorcist was before I came into my own as a cinephile. I always have to laugh at the SpongeBob episode appropriately titled, “Grandma’s Kisses”. In case you’re unaware, or just forgot, the episode is about SpongeBob being embarrassed by a lipstick kiss his grandmother placed on his forehead right before work. The incident scars him so badly that he renounces any further displays of affection from his grandmother. I would imagine that if my grandmother was still alive I would be SpongeBob, prior to the incident.
Grandma’s place is warm and welcoming. That’s why stories like Hansel and Gretel that prominently feature older women in evil roles shake me to my core. Or horror films like Insidious, The Call, or Don’t Breathe that feature the elderly in terrifying roles - it makes the horror that much more impactful for me. I still can’t think about Don’t Breathe without feeling uncomfortable. If you know about the turkey baster than you know. It feels like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre started this tradition way back in 1974. All these years later we are introduced to a new vision of horror in Honeydew. Don’t let the title fool you, Honeydew is grotesque.
The film tells the story of a young couple (Sawyer Speilberg, Malin Barr) who break down while camping. In search of a phone, they meet Karen (Barbara Kingsley) who welcomes them in but subliminally traps them. Honeydew is written and directed by Devereux Milburn. Milburn delivers a horrifying slow burn that crawls under your skin and violently births a disturbing vision before your very eyes. When it comes to horror, Milburn is a name you want to remember. Honeydew is the director’s debut in a feature length format and it is a harrowing introduction to say the least. The film is intelligently paced and gives viewers just enough unsettling elements that draw you to the edge of your seat.
Some of that tension happens before we even get to Kingsley. Sometimes, trouble between couples can come across as kind of cliche. Milburn uses the tension between Speilberg and Barr beautifully to create a bedrock for these characters long before Kingsley ever gets entangled. There comes a point in the film where Barr wants to leave and Speilberg wants to stay. The reason that I bring this up in particular is because Milburn uses this tension to craft the unsettling nature of Honeydew. All of the issues between the couple come to a climax in the film’s third act with terrific effectiveness. Speilberg and Barr are both great in this movie.
However it is Kingsley that absolutely steals the show. To call her performance astonishingly eerie wouldn’t begin to describe how perfect she is here. Kingsley is sympathetic and yet so malevolent in the same breath. Perhaps what helps this film so much is how grounded this movie is and how relatable Kingsley feels. We all have those grandparents we probably don’t see enough, that we can have a tendency to forget about from time to time. From their perspective, they feel neglected and lonely. Kingsley embodies those emotions and amplifies them. She’s deliciously evil; yet somehow you never find yourself repulsed by her. Kingsley transforms into the charm and sinister with terrifying ease. The latter is what makes Honeydew that much more unsettling.
Overall, Honeydew is an unsettling debut from Devereux Milburn. The film is brilliantly paced, wonderfully grounded, and eerie with nearly every frame. Sawyer Speilberg and Malin Barr have beautiful tension that feeds into the horror of the film without ever feeling heavy handed. It is Barbara Kingsley who steals the show. Her transformative and commanding performance is sympathetic and vicious. She is absolutely wonderful. The film ventures into some horror tropes and familiar settings like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Don’t Breathe, but Honeydew manages to stand on its own with its bold vision of terror.
RORSCHACH RATING:
Mental Health Moment: I always try my hardest to keep the mental health moment fairly wide. I felt like for Honeydew I wanted to address the film’s use of relationships and family. There are two relational arcs that parallel one another throughout the film. The first being Speilberg and Barr’s relationship, and the second being Kingsley and her grandson, played by Stephen D’Ambrose. While it is the former that we spent the most time with, the two relationships are of equal importance.
Speilberg and Barr demonstrate the importance of healthy relationships. Throughout the first two acts, they have multiple asides where they are at one another’s throats. I’ve been through the ringer of toxic relationships and I’ve witnessed several friends suffer through verbally and physically abusive relationships as well. The scars of those relationships are roots that embed themselves into you. They can shape and mold your future self unless you take steps to process and deal with the events of the relationship. Sometimes things like forgiveness, therapy, and reconciliation need to take place. The roots can shape future relationships unless we face the ghosts of our former ones. How long are we willing to live with ghosts?
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Victims and Villains is written (and produced) by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey and others, and edited by Cam Smith. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Honeydew is property of Lionsgate Films and Bloody Disgusting. We do not own nor claim any rights.
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