kubrick2899

I, like so many people, had very low expectations of this film going into it. However, once it began unfolding in front of my eyes, I couldn't help but be completely enraptured by the sheer delight of it! The songs are catchy, well-written, and beautifully performed. The production design was outstanding, and Rachel Zegler showcased her incredible talents in every scene. We already know how incredible her voice is, from WEST SIDE STORY and THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES, but here I noticed all the micro-expressions she makes in her face that truly show her incredible talents. The updated version of "Heigh-Ho" was very whimsical and smart. Gal Gadot was a fantastic Evil Queen. The updated story worked very well, and I was on board the entire time! The only thing I thought was a bit clunky was the explanation of Snow White's name, but that aside, I thought the film was delightful! I hope in time people give this film more attention and love, and set aside their pettiness. **** out of *****

I was fortunate enough to see the world premiere of this film in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Parts of the film were shot at the local, historic Gem Theatre, and it features prominently in the film. The Gem Theatre held the premiere, as a double feature with George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead. As much as I adore Night of the Living Dead, I had more fun watching Honeyspider. It was fresh, highly ambitious, infectious, mysterious, and genuinely frightening at times. As an independent author and wannabe filmmaker myself, I'm always impressed at what independent filmmakers can accomplish with such a small budget. A lot of times, the smaller budget allows for an increase in creativity and devotion to a project, and Honeyspider is oozing around the edges with creativity and devoted participants.

The film begins on a slow zoom in on our beautiful leading lady. Mariah Brown plays Jackie Blue, a college student celebrating her 21st birthday on the most glorious day of the year, Halloween. She works at the local movie theatre, has eccentric friends (two of whom are appreciably dressed as Columbia and Magenta from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is ironic, as I wore a Rocky Horror shirt to the premiere!), has to deal with a creepy professor, and has parents who don't really seem to care. Frank Aard plays Professor Lynch, the aforementioned creepy professor, who may be more diabolical than the viewer can imagine. As Jackie goes about her evening, tarantulas begin showing up, tormenting her.

Setting the film in the late '80s was a very welcome touch, as I abhor a lot of modern technologies. If the characters were all playing on their current phones, tablets, etc. throughout the film, in twenty years, it would end up being a dated work, like plenty of other films through the ages. The filmmakers wisely set it in the '80s, thereby immediately stamping it as a curiosity piece, allowing the true characters and plot to unfold in a more universal manner. The slow pacing of the film is right up my alley. The best horror films build and build with suspense, thoroughly developing the characters, rather than relying on cheap scares. Take The Exorcist and The Shining, for example. They are based in reality, developing characters and a world which absorb the viewer. Honeyspider takes a page from that book, building a lead character and her world on a firm, believable foundation. Then, when the climax comes, it's that much more unsettling and terrifying.

Another facet of this film that I adored was the music and sound design. Some of the sound design felt as though the filmmakers overdosed on David Lynch films before working on this project. Given the fact that the creepy professor's name is Lynch, that doesn't seem like a far-fetched possibility. The music is even one of the first scares in the film. After the first scene, the lead character starts walking back to her dorm, calmly, quietly. Suddenly, the image freezes, the title card appears, and the music strikes a boisterous, sinister chord that jolts the viewer and chills him to the core.

What makes Honeyspider so smart, though, is the fact that it never takes itself too seriously. The slow pacing and high ambition never get in the way of the tremendous level of fun the film instills. This is most evident in the movie-within-the-movie. As stated before, Jackie works at a movie theatre. The theatre is showing a film titled, Sleepover Slaughterhouse Part III. This is where I really fell in love with the film. Honeyspider is shot in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The Sleepover Slaughterhouse Part III segments change to a standard 1.33:1 aspect ratio. I adore whenever a film uses varying aspect ratios to tell its story. Woodstock, Life of Pi, and The Grand Budapest Hotel all use this technique, and I love it. The opening credits of Sleepover Slaughterhouse Part III are a scream, not only because of the ridiculously campy faux cast and crew, but because they are fashioned after another famous, ridiculous Part III of a slasher series starring a certain hockey mask wearing individual. Sleepover Slaughterhouse Part III is every horror stereotype Honeyspider is not. This is how the filmmakers allowed themselves to be fun and crazy amidst the serious effort put forward in the rest of the film.

My only qualm with seeing the first screening of a film in theatres is that I have to way so much longer for a home video release. I hope this film makes its way onto the home video market quite soon because I want to show it to everyone I know. Honeyspider is a self-proclaimed cult film, and I hate the fact that I didn't "Join the Cult" on the film's website early enough, so I could have gotten a shirt. I am proud to be a part of the Honeyspider cult. I think it's time to retire the V for Vendetta symbol I've been drawing random places, for I have found a new symbol.