Movie Review: HONEYMOON

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Bea (Rose Leslie) and Paul (Harry Treadaway) are newlyweds that go the simple route on their honeymoon and decide to stay in Bea’s family’s cottage in the woods (ummmm, this can’t be good). One night, Paul finds Bea in the woods, alone, staring off into nothing. The next morning, Paul notices something might be wrong with Bea as she seems to forget some of what has become their daily routine of making breakfast together. Paul gets even more worried that something traumatic may have happened out in the woods with a possible previous lover that is staying near by.

While the film may be a bit predictable for some, especially if you have read anything about it prior to reading this review (hence why I kept it vague), Leigh Janiak directs a solid little personal paranoia tale with a little genre flavoring sprinkled throughout. Honeymoon is one of those movies that has different elements that it is hard to call it a straight horror film or a straight sci-fi film or even a straight drama, but it can be looked at from those angles. Rose Leslie & Harry Treadaway have great chemistry and definitely feel like a genuine couple. Their simplistic approach of their wedding down to the fact they are spending their honeymoon at a vacationing cottage is very relatable, especially in this economy. The fact that you can have such a relationship with these characters and truly believe what is happening makes the content more potent. Some genre fans will liken this to Rosemary’s Baby because of the internal conflict that is happening with Bea & Paul. However, I felt like it was more of an interesting home invasion film with a twist. By combining that subgenre with another genre that we haven’t seen done in a non-found footage style, Honeymoon is pretty unique. It may take a little while to get the motor revved up and ready but once the film is running, the screws are tightening and the dread is palpable. Bea’s actions become haunting with a underlying hint of her wanting to be perfect for her husband feels like a commentary on the housewife mentality. This may be Janiak’s first film but if she stays within this genre, she is one to look out for.

An intimate tale of paranoia & horror, Honeymoon delivers the goods.

Magnet Releasing will release HONEYMOON on iTunes/On Demand and in theaters now.