Honeymoon (2014) Review

Honeymoon (2014)

Directed by Leigh Janiak

Starring: Rose Leslie, Harry Treadaway, Ben Huber, Hanna Brown

Plot Synopsis: (via IMDB)
A newlywed couple finds their lake-country honeymoon descend into chaos after Paul finds Bea wandering and disoriented in the middle of their first night.

My Opinion:

I can’t exactly explain why but I quite liked this movie. It’s weird & it’s definitely not for everyone but I liked that it felt a bit different from your usual sort of horror flick nowadays. I think it had a good atmosphere & it did feel mysteriously creepy at times. Plus, the characters were pretty likable. How bizarre is that?! Likable characters in a horror movie! Although, they were SO lovey-dovey that it was a little over the top & fake but, still, it was a lot better than watching a bunch of assholes like we so often get in horror films (I’m talking to you, Don’t Breathe). I had a bit of a crush on Harry Treadaway throughout this movie. What a sweetheart.

Yes, the “You know nothing, Jon Snow” chick is in this. I actually found Rose Leslie a bit annoying in Game Of Thrones but she’s okay in this one, I guess. It’s really distracting to see Game Of Thrones actors in other things now, though. They’ll always just be their GoT characters to me! Like that Littlefinger bastard – he keeps showing up in movies & almost ruining them for me (such as Sing Street, which he didn’t manage to ruin – it’s actually my favorite movie so far this year & I totally recommend it to everyone).

Where was I? I have to say I really don’t know how to go about reviewing this movie. It’s not one I would be comfortable recommending to anyone whose movie taste I didn’t know really well. I think horror is probably the most divisive genre when it comes to movies, even more so than comedy. And I must admit that I especially seem to rarely agree with the mainstream public on movies when it comes to this genre (I don’t mean you bloggers – movie bloggers have good taste!). 😉 Okay, sorry – I’m going to bitch about Don’t Breathe yet again. I stupidly went to that based on its high IMDB score. It wasn’t exactly the worst film ever but it was your typical silly, throwaway horror movie that I won’t remember a year from now (except for one scene. Gross). Yet it currently has an IMDB user rating that’s much higher than that for The Babadook, which I loved & personally think is one of the finest horror movies in years. I honestly don’t understand IMDB users. I need to learn to ignore those ratings…

So, to explain my taste in horror a little bit, I’d say my favorites are psychological thrillers and/or those that deal with the supernatural in some way. I absolutely hate torture porn & excessive gore and I don’t tend to like anything too straightforward & realistic, such as serial killer movies. Unless it’s a supernatural serial killer like Freddy Krueger or something – the Elm Street films RULE! Oh, and I love a good zombie movie (preferably Romero) & funny horror comedies.

So, yes – Honeymoon falls into one of the categories that I like. Is it a spoiler if I say which? Well, it’s not an Elm Street-like slasher, zombie movie, or horror comedy. It’s a category people either love or hate. If you like your horror to have lots of fast-paced action & gore or to be really straightforward and not at all “weird”, then you should probably avoid Honeymoon. It has a slow pace & takes its time setting up our two main characters and showing us just how close they are. It creates a pretty effective unsettling mood as Leslie’s character becomes increasingly bizarre. It doesn’t feel the need to “show” us a lot (which some people hate) or to tie everything up neatly & leave us with no questions (another thing that some people hate). Well, these are the things that I like. Fairly well developed & likable characters, a creepy atmosphere, and a sense of mystery thanks to not having absolutely everything shown or spelled out to us.

But, hey, if you hate all of the above things yet still end up watching this for some reason I can at least guarantee you one thing: Honeymoon gets pretty seriously f*^ked-up at the end! The ending is a definite love it or hate it & was probably the make or break moment for anyone watching this. I bitch about horror movie endings a lot as I feel that they rarely get them right. Guess what? I have no complaints this time. Bravo on that ending, Honeymoon! I bet it pissed most people off, though.

This movie isn’t perfect & it certainly isn’t at the same level as something truly great like The Babadook. It’s still just a “horror” movie that will never be an all-time favorite of mine as only a handful of horrors have managed that. I know Honeymoon is a movie I’ll never watch again but I can honestly say that I’ll easily remember it, which is more than I can say for most modern horror films. So I’m therefore being a little more generous with my rating than I usually am with horrors. It was just nice to watch a modern one that didn’t piss me off for a change!

My Rating: 7/10

**Stay tuned for three days of reviews of horror comedies from New Zealand, starting on Sunday! And tomorrow I’ll be reblogging two reviews of two good South Korean horror films. Have a great weekend, everyone! 🙂