So many horror genres talk and plea for an original horror story that brings memories of the everything goes to the era of the 1970s and stirred into the slasher heyday from the 1980s with a ripping, thrashing enjoyment not centered in comedy or even to the extent of exploitation, just straight-up horror. Their answer comes in the form of director Josh hasty and the creative mindset of Kenny Caperton, neither slouches the horror genre and definitely provide the chops and talents to create the memorable horror the fans strive to have fill their minds ooze out of their eyes. The team might be the redeeming quality for the next wave of horror the genre desperately needs, fresh blood always helps the rekindling process in developing new stars, story, and slaughters. They present the audience with a hot film from the festival circuit and now distributed by Brain Damage Films, entitled Honeyspider (2014) with twisted homage to Halloween (1978) often, and yet keep points for not flat-out copying the movie, and rather staying true to itself, and finding a loyal legion new fans for it.
The story opens with Halloween 1989, and Jackie Blue (Mariah Brown, in first role ever), is not really ready to celebrate the holiday let alone her birthday which falls on the same day, as a struggling college student, her world seems as if spiraling out of control and at the very least caught in a web. As her parents separated, finds herself torn in the battle, and then midterms barreling down, with the worry to keep the grades up for the scholarship issue, plaguing nightmares with spiders and strange symbols, then work needing more of her precious time so she’s in no mood for a party. Oh, one must not forget it is also her 21st birthday, and her friends encourage the night of celebration, all the tensions and issues suffering that she’s enduring. What else could go against her life at this point, well her father wants her to rush through college for multiple reasons, and a creepy Professor Lynch (Frank J. Aard (April Fool’s Day [2008])), that seems a tad too interested in his student. Now the night has the tempo stacked against her, but fret not because it comes across naturally, including the dialogue nothing pressured, or awkward a calm and measure response with a fun nature production supporting the actions. This works in a positive and successful manner with everything having time and not rushed, even for the small budget it excels everyone involved magnificently. The theme of Halloween shows no escapism, it spreads everywhere like a virus, nothing stopping its invasion, and the adds to Jackie’s stress. Then the add into the mix the slasher movie Sleepover Slaughterhouse III, with titles that reference another Part 3 horror film with similar styles, think about it horror fans. The element of putting a horror movie inside of another one, works well, from Popcorn (1991) to Scream (1996) the effect captures everyone’s attention, and wonderful how they pull it off. Meanwhile Professor Lynch gives a meaningful speech about Halloween definitely worth the price of admission and if not then turn for the tortures erupting inside Jackie’s life and causing her sickness that endures her suffering. In addition, one must look out for the talented actress Samantha Mills (Bombshell Bloodbath (2014) as Amber a friend of Jackie’s as she helps her friend celebrate and wants to hear no complaints while taking her to the Monster Mash campus.
This dynamic film team shows their passion for the first Halloween film with the long shots mirroring Jackie to Laurie Strode, in this classic and showing a bit with cult, creepy masks and a dazzling array of butcher knife killings, to please the horror fiends. Caperton’s love affair with the genre comes to new levels, and well known in the horror realm, for the individual who built a duplicate Myers House in North Carolina, near to where part of the film shot at The Gem Theatre, a classic and authentic structure in Kannapolis, NC. Their entire film drenched in the richness of the vintage decorations, avoiding the more gruesome ones of today’s market, and doubling in the original storytelling, taking the smaller steps rather going to the gusto in one loaded shot of exploitation exploding across the screen.
Honeyspider contains a few squirrely moments, aside from the haunting and beautiful longing shots, there’s the misuse or perhaps ill-timed usage of the song track Monster Mash. Then mixing in too many concepts near the end of the movie, as if the passion of all the Halloween franchise cascading into the film at once, it hard enough keeping them straight when they stand alone, mixing the batch hurts the sequence, which neatly presented itself. Nevertheless the only nitpicking left sadly goes to the period piece, if in the late eighties then style of dress needs to change along with the hairdos – i.e. big poufy hair. Otherwise the superbly executed movie for the horror legions to vastly enjoy, minus the tone sliding into a flat line near the end of the movie, but again this mainly found as an afterthought, and won’t ruin the overall film.
An original and encouraging horror movie, which answers the questions, pleas of the average horror fan seeking to spend their time and money in the enjoyment of new style of horror, from and by true horror fanatics with the time and patience to dive into the bloodlust of past triumphs and creates new sickening pleasures.
This film was originally reviewed on the now defunct Rogue Cinema website in November 2015.
TAGLINE:
- …Let The Blood Of The Dead Inside.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3526462/
IMDb Rating: 3.2/10
Baron’s Rating: 3.5/10