Honeymoon (2014)

[Paulette Dzurilla]

Honeymoonis a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Leigh Janiak in her feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Janiak and Phil Graziadei. It stars Rose Leslie and Harry Treadaway as a newly married couple whose honeymoon ends up being plagued by a series of strange events.[2] The film had its world premiere on March 7, 2014, at South by Southwest, and was theatrically released by Magnolia Pictures on September 12, 2014.

Newlyweds Bea and Paul spend their honeymoon at Bea's family's cabin in a secluded Canadian forest. In a small restaurant, they meet the owner Will, Bea's childhood friend. Will's wife Annie interrupts their conversation, saying they need to get away. That night, Paul wakes up to find Bea missing. He finds her naked and disoriented in the woods and takes her back to the cabin. Bea claims she was sleepwalking due to stress, which unsettles Paul as Bea doesn't have a history of sleepwalking.

Over subsequent days, Bea seemingly forgets how to do several basic tasks, but insists she is fine. Paul sees her practicing conversations alone and struggling to remember common words. One night, Paul is disturbed by bright lights shining through their bedroom window but cannot find its source. He returns to where he found Bea the night she vanished and finds her gown covered in a mysterious goo. Despite her repeated denials, Paul concludes that Will is responsible and goes to confront him.

Outside the restaurant, Paul sees Annie, who exhibits similar behavior to Bea and bears identical marks on her thighs. Annie claims that Will is hiding and again warns Paul to stay away before departing. Paul finds Will's bloody baseball hat floating in the water. He enters their home and finds several pages of notes describing basic details about Annie, including her and Will's names, along with security camera footage of Annie following the bright lights into the woods.

Paul discovers that Bea has taken similar notes, and accuses her of being someone else. She locks herself in the bathroom, and when Paul breaks in he finds her repeatedly stabbing herself in the genitals. Paul ties her to the bed and interrogates her about details of their relationship, most of which she either misremembers or has forgotten. She puts Paul's hand into her vagina and has him remove a large worm-like creature.

Bea explains that the night she disappeared into the woods, she saw the same lights Paul had seen and walked to them. She encountered a group of silhouetted figures who impregnated her with the creature. Bea claims that the figures are taking away what is left of her. Paul scrambles to find their car keys, but she insists that they cannot leave. After a beam of light suddenly appears, she knocks Paul out and takes him into the lake on a boat, fastening an anchor to his legs. He awakens, with Bea explaining that she is protecting him from the figures by "hiding" him under the water. Paul tries to escape, but she throws him overboard.

Bea is shown to be deteriorating with her skin peeling off and her eyes discolored. After watching her and Paul's wedding video, she is met by a similarly-deteriorated Annie, and they walk into the lights together.

The development of Honeymoon began in 2010, after Janiak viewed Monsters and Tiny Furniture,[3] and she and Phil Graziadei began writing the script in 2012.[4] While writing the film's script, Janiak was inspired by the idea that "Even small moments ... can drive a wedge between people" and, with her writing partner, wondered "how far [they] could push them until they started falling apart."[3][5] Janiak chose Rose Leslie to play the role of Bea after seeing her performance as Ygritte on Game of Thrones.[5] Principal photography began in spring 2013 and had a limited budget.[3]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 76% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 5.80/10. The site's consensus reads, "Smart, stylish, and nail-bitingly tense, Honeymoon packs more slow-building horror than many bigger-budget productions."[6] On Metacritic, the film has an aggregated score of 65 out of 100 based on 10 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]

Ryan Turek of Shock Till You Drop gave Honeymoon a positive review, stating "Janiak demonstrates some wonderfully confident direction for a first-timer, utilizing space, sound design and two very good lead actors as her tools to slowly amplify the tension and mess with your head."[8] Ryland Aldrich of Twitch Film also praised the film and called it "a good story, excellently told, and very, very scary."[9]

Young newlyweds Paul and Bea travel to a remote lake cottage for their honeymoon, where the promise of private romance awaits them. Shortly after arriving, Paul finds Bea wandering and disoriented in the middle of the night.

A baffling film, to say the least. To me, it's clearly allegorical, but unlike a film such as Denis Villeneuve's Enemy, I'm unable to figure out what this film might represent. With Enemy, after looking back at all of the signs and thinking about the film for a half hour or so, I had already come to the conclusion that it was, loosely, a film about infidelity. It's been about that long since I've finished Honeymoon, and I'm still completely in the dark. Nonetheless, I'll theorize.

"What is going on? Will you tell me what's going on? What's going on? Can you please explain what's going on? Bea, tell me what's going on! What's going on? Why were you sleepwalking? What is going on? Do you mind telling me what's going on? Why were you outside sleepwalking? Tell me what's going on? Why are you writing this stuff down? What's going on? Please tell me you know what's going on? Bea, what's going on? Why were you in the woods? What's going on? Where did you put the keys? Will you please explain what's going on? Why are you writing all this down? What is going on? Why were you in the woods? Bea, please tell me what's going on! What is going on?"

I remember first seeing this in Netflix back when I was on a dozen different fabulous pills and even then I knew it was something special. Now, on only a couple of fabulous pills and a smidge of vodka, it absolutely stands up to my previous reception.

Honeymoon isn't your typical horror. It doesn't go for the jump scares or ultra-gore. Yes, there is blood, but it a result more than a gross-out factor. Leigh Janiak's psychological horror bruises the brain moreso than the body when the newlyweds discover that love isn't all fun and games. The strength of the film is the performances from the leads: Bea (Rose Leslie) and Paul (Harry Treadaway). Leslie is subdued, but strong and Treadaway cautiously approaches his wife when things seem amiss.

Cabins in the woods may not be ideal for romantic getaways, but they've proved brilliant for the horror genre. Another indie that relies on atmosphere, performance, and creative creepiness to upstage its bigger budgeted rivals.

Rose Leslie and Harry Treadaway are so cute as newlyweds on their induction to the untold joys of married life. Their portrayal of the fresh-faced bride and groom is pretty convincing, and with Leslie's Emma Stone like mannerisms, this was looking good from the get-go. If you don't know who Rose Leslie is, you know nothing... ##this may jog your memory.##

Newlyweds Bea and Paul have their honeymoon at a mostly isolated cabin, because cabins are completely safe. They goof off, fuck, go rowing, fuck, go fishing, fuck. You get it. Meanwhile, Bea starts 'sleepwalking' and just overall acting weird, because cabins. They meet another couple who act suspiciously right away. Are they to blame, or were they a forewarning for what's really out there?

There was an ominous feeling that consumed this movie, but I really felt like it wasn't going to pay off until it actually did. Just make sure you can stay patient with this movie or you will not like it at all, as this movie has a really slow going.

We had a magical honeymoon through two of our favorite places: Dublin and London (with a stopover to see some of our favorite family members in Weston-super-Mare, England). Click the links below for blog posts and hotel information.

Bea and Paul have just gotten married and are having their honeymoon in Bea's family cabin. They want to be alone, just the two of them, and enjoy their newly married life. But one night Bea mysteriously goes sleepwalking and Paul begins to notice strange changes in Bea as the honeymoon continues.

The directorial debut of Leigh Janiak, Honeymoon is one hell of a dread filled film. It begins with a great setup of this adorable couple, showing them reminiscing in their wedding videos of their first date and their engagement. Harry Treadway plays Paul and Rose Leslie plays Bea, and the two feel so natural together with some great chemistry. As a newly married couple they are adorable and you never question the endless love they have for each other. Which makes the story that much more heart wrenching. Considering this movie is pretty much these two the entire time, they had a lot on their shoulders to carry this entire story.

When Bea first starts showing changes it's quite scary even though it's mundane things like forgetting how to make coffee and make french toast. As Paul discovers more is different about his new wife, your heart goes out to him. Is Bea just showing her true colors or is something seriously wrong? At one point Paul catches her practicing her lines to him in the bathroom and when he questions her about their first date she has seemingly forgotten. It plays on that feeling you get sometimes when you've been with someone for ages, do you truly know them? One day they'll do something or say something that completely throws you off guard and it can be scary. Do we truly know the ones we love?

Although you can pretty much figure out what's going on from the get go, it's still interesting to watch Paul try and unravel it all. Rose Leslie is incredible as she plays this character and in the final moments, is really terrifying. The final few scenes confirm what we've been expecting all along in a grotesque, emotional way.

3a8082e126