Honeyspider

Kenny Caperton is the writer of this occult Halloween horror tale, and it is in the same vein as Zombie's "The Lords Of Salem". The story blends aspects of chilling atmosphere, macabre theatrics and almost hypnotic surrealism- the dream sequence that seems to tap into some metaphysical state is some of my favorite moments in the film. True art-house horror moments. But there is so much about "Honeyspider" that is so cool, retro and fresh that I just really enjoyed being pulled into the main character's story. And the occult stuff always gets me giddy in horror, especially films that build it around Halloween/Samhain.

The special effects and makeup are complimentary to this dark, mystical nightmare. The atmosphere builds on some nice sounds that instantly throw you back into classic 80's horror. The cool addition of adding a film within a film gives some extra and much needed blood and gore. All of which is practical effects done masterfully. I personally loved the soundtrack from the first notes of the synth just after the intro right up until the very last moments of the film. The mix of songs from various indie genre artists and the instrumental stuff really put you in the attitude and emotion of the film. Nothing about the effects or the 80's setting felt fabricated or cheap. I guess you could argue that some of the props were more retro inspired than actual 80's, but it all looked and felt 80's to me.

Overall "Honeyspider" is a well crafted horror tale with some truly instant classic moments. This is indie/ low-budget film making awesomeness! The cast give stellar performances and the dialog is short but effective. The film does take a slow and steady build up with occult, and suspense thriller mixing together in a methodical pace in away that pulls you into the story, and you just set and watch as it all unfolds. "Honeyspider" takes the best of the horror genre-from it's "new"beginnings in the Corman era, through the occult days, right into the totally awesome slasher/splatter days of the 80's. Definitely check "Honeyspider" out. I do think the ending may bother some horror fans but only if the ending to "The Lords Of Salem" bothered you! I love it and feel it begs a second installment.

I wanted to like Honeyspider, I really did. I like independent horror films that don't rely on jump scares and buckets of blood and gore. I thought the premise to this sounded interesting and so I thought that I would give it a watch. That was my first mistake. To be honest, I found it hard to follow, the story was disjointed, the acting was terrible. The music wasn't too bad and mercifully the film avoided the bullied teen trope. But the movie was just...well...not that good. It had. It looked as thought it was shot for a film student project. I can respect what they were trying to do, but the filmmakers need to really improve their craft and hire better actors.

After wasting 76 min. of my life, enduring the abysmal ordeal that is Honeyspider, I can safely say that Mr. Hasty ( what a fitting name ) doesn't have a clue when it comes to creating horror and he should be thoroughly ashamed of himself having the affront to actually release s**t like this. Disgusting.

Nothing works in this movie, and I mean nothing. The acting is horrendous, truly the epitome of bad, not a single syllable that is being spewed out of their stupid mouths is convincing in any shape or form, they have all the charm of cardboard and the tangibility of ghosts. The dimension of reality is non-existent. The pacing and editing is all kinds of wrong; obviously this "director" thinks that spending inordinate amounts of time watching the lead wandering aimlessly around in different settings is pure gold and he clearly don't have a clue as when to switch to another shot. But I guess it's nearly impossible to get this properly done when you have the sensibility of an elephant.

The soundtrack isn't much to write home about either, and most of the time it doesn't fit the scenes at all. The story? Completely meaningless and soulless.

In other words, one of the worst movies ever made. Please don't make another one Mr. Hasty, you and the rest of your crew have zero talent.

I'm always excited for Halloween horror films and 'Honeyspider' is one of the best new ones to come around in awhile. The first thing that struck me about the film was the soundtrack. And not just the known songs, but the overall backing music and intro song. For a very small film, the soundtrack was effectively creepy.

Jackie is trying to have a quiet Halloween birthday, but her night takes a terrifying turn when she sees a mysterious symbol on the wall in her dorm shower, she receives a strange ring and huge spiders start appearing out of nowhere. Murder on the big screen during the horrorthon blends with real life slashing adds up to a lot of bloody mayhem and dead spiders.

The style in which the film is shot creates an incredibly effective eerie and surreal atmosphere. Combining that with the music, and 'Honeyspider' is one of the creepiest movies I've seen in the past year. Reminiscent of horror classics such as 'Halloween', and 'Rosemary's Baby', and Stanley Kubrick in terms of atmosphere, the film also reminded me of Ti West's 'House of the Devil', which is a favorite of mine. I especially enjoyed the end of the film, which was executed in an artistic way. The Smashing Pumpkins song 'Honeyspider,' which the film was inspired by, plays over the last scene and wrapped up the film perfectly.

Mariah Brown was excellent as the confused Jackie Blue. Frank Aard ('April Fool's Day' remake) was straight up creepy as hell. Director Josh Hasty was clearly inspired by his passion for the genre and did an amazing job with this film. I really hope to see more of his work in the future. Horror fans looking for that classic horror vibe that many of today's films have lost need to check out 'Honeyspider.' It's one of those films you will want to watch every year on Halloween.

Originally Posted on Horrornewsnetwork.net

http://horrornewsnetwork.net/articles/11911-honeyspider-review? Itemid=101

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.