Best of Frightfest: ‘Honeymoon’ Dir. Leigh Janiak

Best of Frightfest: As the twentieth anniversary of Arrow Video Frightfest approaches, we at team THN take a look back at some of the best and brightest films that have screened over the last two decades. Our choice today is Honeymoon.

2014 had one of Frightfest’s strongest line-ups in its twenty years. The event opened with The Guest, and over the course of the five day event, also hosted the likes of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Starry Eyes and The Babadook. Hidden amongst all of them though is a genre film that deserves way more attention than it has received in the years since its release. That film is Honeymoon. Starring Penny Dreadful‘s Harry Treadaway, and Game of Thrones’ Rose Leslie, it’s surprising that the film hasn’t gathered more momentum based on the cast alone.

Treadaway and Leslie play Paul and Bea, a young New York couple on their honeymoon. Travelling to a rustic cabin in the woods frequented by Bea’s family during her childhood, the two have been planning a romantic getaway far removed from the world of technology and phone signal. So far so like every ‘cabin in the woods’ horror you’ve ever seen, but then Honeymoon races off down a different path to the usual stalk and slash. The night after they arrive, Bea is found wandering in the woods in the middle of the night with no memory of how she ended-up there. Then slowly, piece-by-piece, Bea starts to change, causing Paul to question whether or not the person in front of him is actually his wife.

Directed by first time helmer Leigh Janiak, Honeymoon constructs the perfect couple and relationship during the opening half, only to shatter it entirely during the second act. Actors Harry Treadaway and Rose Leslie do a superb job at making the couple so instantly likeable. So good is their job that later on it becomes intensely heart-wrenching to watch as they fall apart. Paul and Bea feel completely real; they are the type of people that turn on the light when investigating a strange noise, which only adds to the sinister atmosphere.

A compelling and intriguing idea made in a very well thought-out and realistic way. Honeymoon is a great little indie horror genre film that offers unexpected surprises for even the most horror-literate audience member.

Arrow Video Frightfest returns for its twentieth year on 22nd August 2019. Full details about the event can be found on the Frightfest website.