Thursday, October 29, 2015

Honeymoon (2014)



Number Rolled: 85
Movie Name/Year: Honeymoon (2014)
Tagline: After the ceremony comes the ritual.
Genre: Indie
Length: 87 minutes
Rating: R
Production Companies: Fewlas Entertainment
Executive Producer: Julie Parker Benello
Director: Leigh Janiak
Writer: Leigh Janiak, Phil Graziadei
Actors: Rose Leslie, Harry Treadaway, Ben Huber, Hanna Brown

Bea and Paul have just been married, so they’re off to Bea’s family cabin for their honeymoon.

Selina’s Point of View:
This film was slooooooooooooooooooooooow.

By a half hour in, nothing had happened yet. I understand that it was necessary to show the audience the nature of the couple’s relationship in order for the main plot to hit home, but they could have done something to make it feel less like having to watch a friend’s vacation video.

I spent a good deal of the movie trying not to yawn and wondering where the horror was going to come in. However, when the story hit a turning point, it became immediately interesting.

In fact, by the end of the film, my eyelids were practically glued open.

I hated the character of Paul. I don’t think Harry Treadaway (Truckers, The Night Watch, Pelican Blood) played him badly, I just don’t like the way he was written. The character of Bea was a different story. I loved her and I loved the way Rose Leslie (The Last Witch Hunter, The Great Fire, Game of Thrones) played her. She really gave the part everything she had.

Even with a slow first half I really enjoyed this movie. I’d recommend it to others in a heartbeat.

Cat’s Point of View:
At the outset, I was expecting something interesting with this film. A friend of mine had dropped a spoiler regarding a particularly disturbing scene from the movie, and I was gung ho to see if it measured up on my own disturb-o-meter.

I have to admit, I have mixed feelings.

I love a good build up in a movie. You know that something wonky is going to happen when the film is billed as a thriller or horror movie. The longer things seem ‘normal;’ the more anticipation builds for when ‘the other shoe drops,’ as the old saying goes.

This movie takes its time with layering in the foundation for the wonky-to-come. Some might consider it rather slow-paced. I remember idly wondering when that proverbial fan was going to start splattering the situational mess around.

That being said, I don’t think that the story took any unnecessary detours.  Every scene has some sort of significance, even though that doesn’t become clear until the climax begins to weave the pieces together.

I love Rose Leslie (Now is Good, New Town, Downtown Abbey) and Harry Treadaway (City of Ember, Cockneys vs. Zombies, Penny Dreadful).  For that reason, I had high expectations for their performance.
The movie focused primarily on their characters, and they didn’t disappoint. I could feel the underlying frustration and uneasiness that was growing between them. They drew me into their story.

Unfortunately, the story lacked something -it just didn’t entirely satisfy me. I liked the movie, in general, but it’s not one I would add to my collection.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 70%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 43%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 2/5
Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score4/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 2/5
Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score3/5

Movie Trailer:

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