Honeydew

Get lost with us in the bizarre world of HONEYDEW 🍈 In this episode, we're talking melons, butt meat, and perhaps Ian's new favorite scary movie! Listen now to hear all our juicy thoughts on HONEYDEW - available on VOD Tuesday, April 13 🔪

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Theme by Alex Shawver

Other music zapsplat.com and "Bush Week" by nihilore.com

Audio clips from Honeydew and "Honeymoon" by Lana Del Rey

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi. We were just wondering if we could borrow your phone. Oh, please, please. Well on my manners. You two must be starving. Room for dessert. There's no uh online phone service over here. Sam.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

You like animals?

SPEAKER_01 0:41

We were over. We have been given an opportunity and so we judged.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Hello, Sydney. Hi, who is this?

SPEAKER_04 1:15

It's your killer host. My name is Parker, your resident horror fanatic.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

I'm Caroline, Scaredy Scream Queen.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

I'm Ian, Scary Movie Skeptic.

SPEAKER_04 1:26

And welcome to.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

What's your favorite scary movie? What's your favorite scary movie is a horror film podcast where we're on a journey to find our favorite scary movie one at a time.

SPEAKER_03 1:49

Whether you hate them or love them, join us and discover yours.

SPEAKER_04 1:55

Hey guys. Hey Parker. What's up?

SPEAKER_03 2:00

This guy. The pollen levels.

SPEAKER_04 2:05

Oh, yeah. I actually the other day was wearing a mask in an Uber to my local vaccination site because it was a difficult area to get to. And both of my nostrils were a little clogged up. And there was a moment where I thought I was actually going to die because I was so mucusy wearing my mask in an Uber, and all I wanted to do was pick my nose, but I couldn't take my mask off.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

No, that makes it worse.

SPEAKER_04 2:41

Or you just blow straight into it.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Scratch. Yeah, it's like a like a Kleenex attached to your face.

SPEAKER_03 2:47

Or you just open the door and fall out while they're driving, just stick my head out, pick it. No, just open the door and flop out.

SPEAKER_04 2:57

I've had a song stuck in my head all day. You know what it is? She's a maniac.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Maniac. No?

SPEAKER_04 3:07

No, but that's a good song. Um That's a good song. Uh no. Lana Del Rey's honeymoon. And you know what? Instead of singing honeymoon, you know what I've been singing?

SPEAKER_03 3:22

What?

SPEAKER_04 3:23

Honey do? Our honey does.

SPEAKER_03 3:31

Nailed it.

SPEAKER_04 3:32

Nice. Thank you, yeah. In fact, actually, I was training with Lana Del Rey herself on how to have a sensual voice. So leave in the reviews if you were just seduced by my singing.

SPEAKER_03 3:46

I miss hanging out with Lana Del Rey.

SPEAKER_04 3:50

Well, you heard it here first. That's right. What's your favorite scary movie is covering Honeydew? And spoilers, it's happening right now. But not spoilers because Honeydew comes out in theater or on VOD the day after this episode posts. It's been in theaters for about a month. So we are going to do a bit of a non-spoiler section for all of you people who have not had the pledge of seeing Honeydew yet, so that you can get our basic review of this movie without having the specifics spoiled. You can decide if you want to watch it or not. You can go watch it or not, and then listen to our spoilerific review of Honeydew. So, buckle up, hold on to your butts, because we're about to rock and roll.

SPEAKER_03 4:45

I'm squeezing it. Squeezing my butt.

SPEAKER_04 4:49

He's clenched.

SPEAKER_03 4:50

Clenched.

SPEAKER_04 4:51

Honeydew, is that like um like the green ones?

SPEAKER_03 4:56

Yeah. Uh like when you get melons. It's the honeydew melon. Yeah, it's the green one.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

I always call those cantaloupe.

SPEAKER_03 5:06

No. No, cantaloupe is orange.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

I know, but I always used to get them confused.

SPEAKER_03 5:11

Which one's musk melon?

SPEAKER_04 5:13

Musk melon. I've never heard of that.

SPEAKER_03 5:15

You don't like honeydew? I like the green or the orange one, not the green one. Anyone that likes cantmelon. That's cantaloupe.

SPEAKER_04 5:22

Cantaloupe is the orange. But yeah, the green one, I always thought the green one was like the not ripe cantaloupe. Like I always thought it just wasn't good yet.

SPEAKER_03 5:31

No, they're different.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

It's actually a little sweeter.

SPEAKER_03 5:35

To me. Debatable. I feel like people put them on a fruit platter, and it's always the thing that it's just like cauliflower. It's the cauliflower of fruit.

SPEAKER_04 5:45

Okay, well, cauliflower is delicious. But uh yeah, honeydew, I don't get it. And also, I I don't know, maybe I would didn't have my glasses on, psych I have 2020 vision, but I didn't see a single honeydew in this movie, did you?

SPEAKER_00 6:02

No. No.

SPEAKER_04 6:03

Okay, well, I said we wouldn't do spoilers, so I hope that didn't upset anyone. But no honeydew, from what I can tell in this movie, Honeydew. But Honeydew was released, like I said, tomorrow. So in the year 2021, and it was written and directed by Devereaux Milburn. And this is Devereaux Milburn's feature debut. So let's have a round of applause for Devereaux Milburn. If I'm saying that correctly, I hope I am, and if I'm not, I apologize. Milburn says he developed the idea after his friend Dan Kennedy, a cinematographer, approached him about creating a horror film. So Kennedy did the cinematography, and Milburn did the editing for this movie, which I think really makes it feel like an autour experience. Like I felt like there was vision in this movie, and I think that's always fun to see in a movie, like a very hands-on experience, honeydew.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

Yeah, definitely handsy.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

We have Malin Barr as Riley. Uh, she is in an interesting-looking upcoming horror film called The Beta Test. Cool name. Um, and some New York City theater. Um Sawyer Spielberg plays the role of Sam. You guessed it, son of Steven. That's cool.

SPEAKER_03 7:42

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Um he had a small role in The Post in 2017 and was a production assistant on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. So pretty exciting. He's carving a path away from his father's work. Way to go. Uh we also have Barbara Kingsley in the role of Karen. And I actually noticed this during the movie, but she is a theater actress, and I could tell. I could! You know, she has that. Um I was getting mad vibes like Hansel and Gretel, the woman who was in that.

SPEAKER_04 8:29

Gretel and Hansel.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Gretel and Hansel, there you go. And that woman was also a Broadway actress.

SPEAKER_04 8:37

So Yeah, and I I thought the same thing while when she said she said, Euless, I thought, oh my god, take me to the theater.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Mm-hmm. Yeah. She was just projecting for that last person in the audience, you know. Anyways, uh Barbara Barb uh was on Broadway in August, Osage County, and lots of other small roles like The Flight Attendant and in Jessica Jones.

SPEAKER_03 9:07

Love Jessica Jones.

SPEAKER_04 9:08

The Flight Attendant, that was a fun show.

SPEAKER_03 9:11

Here's a little press release summary. Quote, Honeydew tells the story of a young couple played by Spielberg and Barr, who are forced to seek shelter in the home of an aging farmer, Kingsley, and her peculiar son, when they suddenly begin having strange cravings and hallucinations, taking them down a rabbit hole of the bazaar. The Rotten Tomatoes, as of April 9th, uh the critic score is 74%. The audience score is 19%. Wow. That might be a record low.

SPEAKER_04 10:00

Oh, I doubt it. I bet we've seen some some rock bottom scores, but but I'm not saying anything. We'll discuss. We'll discuss.

SPEAKER_03 10:10

The critics' consensus is quote atmospheric horror built on layers of creeping dread. Honeydew finds fresh frights in its familiar setup and portends. Great things for writer, director DeVroe Milburn.

SPEAKER_04 10:32

Hmm. Interesting. Now, like I said, we're gonna start spoiler-free so that you, listener, can get an idea of whether or not you want to go watch Honeydew. So we're gonna do two things. The first thing I want to do is I wanna go around the table and let's all say our favorite thing about Honeydew and our uh something Honeydew could work on. Uh, and I will take the plunge to start. So my thoughts on Honeydew, first of all, very cool sound score. There is like a lot of music and sound effects. They're using popular songs like uh Oh Holy Night and the National Anthem, and they're kind of infusing those with the national that's probably the most popular song in America. And they're infusing some would call it pop.

unknown 11:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 11:32

And they're infusing it with like synth scores and like strange like poppy sound effects. You know what I'm talking about?

unknown 11:41

Ho, ho, ho.

SPEAKER_04 11:43

Yeah. Yeah, I thought it was very cool and had a lot of uh shouldered, bit bore a lot of the weight of building some of the tension, uh having some of the jarring um energy of some of the scares. I thought the sound score was extremely cool. Now, something I didn't like about this movie is you know, ooh, I know I'm a little upset. Um the a feeling that I do not like is ending a movie and thinking like, well, I guess I'm stupid. Cause this movie ended, and I was just like, I don't get it. And the probably the least fun thing for me to do is to then go to the internet and type in honeydew explained. And since it's such a new movie, none of those are out yet. So I was just like, I don't get it. Yeah, I think I have some more detailed thoughts on one what things could mean, and two um more on what they don't. But um, yeah, I think if you are not a fan of kind of a a frustrating or a purpose purposefully um like surreal frustration driven thing, then I think that maybe a honeydew might be your new enemy. What do you guys think?

SPEAKER_00 13:21

I also loved the sound score slash music. Um but just to make it a little bit different than Parker's answer, I think that they did a really good job in interweaving, but not necessarily like laying the background story out on the table. I forget the term. What is scanders?

SPEAKER_04 13:47

Yes, there's some sort of um it's called sortico, some sort of toxin within the wheat that has poisoned a bunch of cattle and then people who eat the cattle and bake the bread who didn't get rid of the sortico.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

Yeah. So I think they did a really good job explaining sortico. There was like that brief um dialogue. She's watching the videos. They actually do a really good job of um, you know, like showing the pages that she's reading and like the diagrams and that kind of stuff, where it wasn't like fully just like, oh, this old lady's gonna tell you how it happened, but you get the context clues in a nice way. So I enjoyed that. Also, roll the tapes because a few episodes ago, I don't remember which one it was, but I had read an article about this exact thing, sortigo, and I mentioned it on the podcast because people were like going crazy. Or I don't remember what context I mentioned it, but I had read an article that was circulating social media about this phenomenon that happened in the New England area. Yeah, and I mentioned it. So any true fans out there, find the episode and tell me what it was.

SPEAKER_03 15:10

Professional wins.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

I I remember saying it because I read this whole thing about it and I thought it was fascinating.

SPEAKER_04 15:19

Well, and thank you because I remember thinking, oh, I should look up if this is real, and then I forgot. So it was if it's wrong, then everybody, here's Caroline's address, and you can hunt her down.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

It was real. I read an article about this, and then the movie started, and I was like, oh my god. Anyways, things I did not like. There were like a lot of effects that were used visually. Um like obviously like the split screen thing, that was like a theme, which didn't bother me as much, but there were like little things where like the screen would go blurry, and I think that they were trying to like emulate like people hallucinating, but there were also like weird like jumps.

SPEAKER_04 16:11

And time speeding up. There was one very specific scene where the camera panned, but you could tell that the the they did not actually can' pa pan the camera, that it was an effect.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Yeah. And there were also times where like it would it it seemed to be like they were trying to get the point across that like time has passed, or like a word at before time, or like something like that, but it wasn't consistent enough for it to really develop as a theme visually.

SPEAKER_03 16:44

So I think that I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

I mean, I mean it was just an artistic choice, but I it didn't like hurt or benefit the film in any way.

SPEAKER_03 16:55

Yeah, I think like the m the mix of those effects was like you saying it wasn't enough to develop a theme. I think in a way it actually was thematic in its choice for being various.

SPEAKER_00 17:10

It it could have been, but I didn't s like it wasn't enough to actually make it effective. A little tension in the studio just like, oh, the screen is blurry for a second, that's the only time we're ever gonna do that.

SPEAKER_03 17:25

Well, Parker, I have a hot take for you if you want a little more tension.

SPEAKER_04 17:29

Ooh, let's hear it. My uh sizzling, I can feel it.

SPEAKER_03 17:33

I have a lot of thoughts here, but first I'll open with this. I think almost the exact opposite on everything you just said. So Ow!

SPEAKER_04 17:41

That was a hot take.

SPEAKER_03 17:42

When, like, to me, I one of the things I didn't enjoy the most didn't enjoy the most was actually the way they educated us on the disease. Or the um whatever it's called. Sword of coat, yeah. I think it's some sort of like toxin or something. For some reason, and maybe it's just because, you know, I have a lower IQ than Caroline, I didn't actually pick it up as as quickly or as thoroughly as I felt like I should when they were explaining it, and I felt like they were very obvious about explaining it, but I still didn't get it.

SPEAKER_04 18:23

And so that might just me be, but um No, no, I get what you're saying because kind of on the opposite of my my um loving the sound score, I had a little bit of trouble with like some of the like like loudness balance. Like I couldn't always hear what that little documentary was saying, and I couldn't always hear what the old lady was saying.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

And so I remember thinking I missed a lot of Karen's dialogue.

SPEAKER_04 18:51

Yeah, I remember thinking during that little documentary, like, damn, I bet this is important because I don't think they'd probably start the movie with something not important. Right, but um, I I couldn't really hear yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:03

Also, side note, I don't know what you all think, but I feel like in the first like couple minutes, I I was clearly like, oh, this has to be an East Coast scary movie. Like uh from a production standpoint. Like, do you know what I'm assuming it was produced on the East Coast?

SPEAKER_04 19:21

Um, I know that Devro Milburn it w uh lives in New York, and I know that these people lived in New York, and um but I don't know what you mean. Explain.

SPEAKER_03 19:34

I feel like there's a very clear difference between at least West Coast and East Coast film, but also transcends into scary movies. Like I feel like the actors and actresses, the the aesthetic of the thing, like the different portions of the film, like the transitions and the like.

SPEAKER_04 19:57

Do you mean like a little more theatrical acting, a little more artsy style?

SPEAKER_03 20:01

Yeah, yeah. It was like I don't know how to put it in words, but it just to me uh it didn't feel as indie as you know, maybe I thought it would be. But it because it felt like it was very well done, but it it did feel feel very intellectual and very like um I don't know, not rough, but like uh refined, but like with a rawness that you get from what I would like what I experience as like New York and East Coast, like especially Northeast, like film versus like LA stuff or like stuff on the West Coast.

SPEAKER_04 20:46

That was quite beautiful, Ian.

SPEAKER_03 20:48

It might uh start getting some of our listeners uh angry, but No, I thought that was lovely, refined but raw.

SPEAKER_04 20:56

I like that.

SPEAKER_03 20:58

I I really there's it's very interesting film to me.

SPEAKER_02 21:03

Hmm.

SPEAKER_04 21:04

Well, let's go ahead. And if you have not seen Honeydew and you don't want it spoiled, I would recommend you turn off this podcast right now and set it aside. Pause, not stop, so that later you can play. And um we'll be you can come back and we'll be ready with some hot spoilers. So let's do that in three, two, one.

SPEAKER_00 21:31

The daughter has no legs!

SPEAKER_04 21:36

Um okay, so my first thought on this movie, which is something we actually could have said in the non spoilery part because it happens in the first few seconds. But so obviously the theme, some of the theme of the movie is set up with this um I don't know if it's all scripture, but definitely scripture in there about body is a temple, this daughter is saying these things.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

No, your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Who is it? You have received from God. You're not your own. You were bought, you were bought at a price. Therefore, other gods are body.

SPEAKER_04 22:27

It actually um her voice, you know that um that vine, the guy that says uh, when life gives you lemons, that guy. That's a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

Wait, I didn't I didn't realize that was the daughter speaking.

SPEAKER_04 22:43

I think it was because she was like shoveling food into her mouth while she's saying this body is a temple monologue. Oh. Yeah, so that kind of sets up the theme. And that's another one of the things I did like about Honeydew is this idea of like, what are you putting into your body? Your body is a temple, it needs to be protected. Obviously, um, what's her name? Riley is like really into that and kind of policing her boyfriend Sam on like what he should and shouldn't be eating, because of course they're having negative health effects on him. And then on kind of the flip side, Karen and company are all about indulgence and they're eating these like really fat meats and cakes and of course people as well. And so then that gets into the interesting territory we've discussed in cannibal films about you know eating yourself and consuming uh consuming humanity. And what's frustrating to me is that I don't see a connection in Honeydew for what any of that means. I think it's all interesting, but Honeydew, I think, leaves you a little bit of blue balls.

SPEAKER_03 24:10

Do we know for a fact they're eating humans?

SPEAKER_00 24:12

Yeah. She takes a chunk out of his butt and then fries it up in front of the daughter and feeds it to her.

SPEAKER_04 24:20

Yeah, what was his name? Was his name Goonie?

SPEAKER_00 24:23

Yeah. So they're they're basically like.

SPEAKER_04 24:26

Goonie is like her cattle, yeah. Um because she said they had to get rid of the cattle. So Goonie is the people are their new cattle. Like I said, I did feel a little frustrated with an ending because I didn't feel like I really got what had happened. And it's this like whole trippy the thing that's frustrating to me also about like the synopsis is that it says, like, um, in the summary that Ian read, it says when they suddenly begin having strange cravings and hallucinations, taking them down a rabbit hole of the bazaar. And I just don't think any of that was clear. These are not strange cravings because they're eating cupcakes and corn and what they think is steak that I assume is people. Um, those are normal things to eat. And then to me, it just like wasn't very clear. Like, I remember thinking, like, oh, I bet maybe there's some sortico in the bread she's baking, and maybe it's also in the meat as well. But then I never really felt like they've been drugged.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Like, I don't know, I'm just not quite sure what that whole Alice in Wonderland thing didn't show you that they were drugged?

SPEAKER_04 25:41

No, it did, but the thing is, is like but it was all real in the end. No, it wasn't. They didn't hallucinate any of it. Yes, it was, because then they woke up and they were also wrapped up and no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 25:57

Before that, when he like passes out when he's eating in the middle of the night on the table, and he's like literally in that The Popeye thing Alice in Wonderland, yeah, and then the there it's like a fever dream with all of the cartoon storylines and him.

SPEAKER_04 26:17

That was a dream in the barn. But like that also was my least favorite part of the movie. I thought that was not good. Um that felt low budget. But I just like I don't know, I felt like nothing was meaningful enough. You know, it was just like, here's a couple of ideas and let's move on.

SPEAKER_00 26:35

I don't know. I think I would challenge that that it was pieced together well. Especially with the you know, the cartoons playing. There's like little things that you pick up on that they're like mirroring, and I think it's because they're in this, they're all in this mental state, and they're just like watching that constantly. But like it shows Betty Boop at the end, um, you know, taking the cake and then like eating a little bit of the icing, like exactly the way that Karen had done with the cupcakes in the fridge.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

I didn't pick that up.

SPEAKER_00 27:14

And then also uh like Betty Boop is like kissing another character on the cartoon, and then it's like shortly after that, it's that weird scene where she's like making her daughter have sex with Sam and that whole thing.

SPEAKER_03 27:31

I did not pick up those scenes.

SPEAKER_00 27:33

There's a there's a good amount of correlation between the frames in the cartoons that they chose to show with what's happening with the characters.

SPEAKER_04 27:45

And I did like the cartoons. Did you guys see the Netflix film I'm thinking of ending things last year?

SPEAKER_00 27:53

No.

SPEAKER_04 27:53

No. So I think that this movie is like a very exact child. Like, and it's tough because obviously Deborah Melbourne did not see I'm thinking of ending things before he made this movie, so that is just a reference. But then that and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, obviously, that was a huge inspiration for this movie. Not only does it have like a similar grit to it, or as Ian said, rawness, but also and and not just cannibalism either, but the emphasis on family and lineage and the um importance of like the kitchen and the dinner table. I think that there are some really strong correlations there. And it um uh do I see a hand in the classroom? Ian?

SPEAKER_03 28:50

What's interesting, you saying that I'm gonna throw a wrench into our listenership. Like you you draw lines between Texas Chainsaw and this movie, but not to spoil the ending. Why would I spoil it? Why would I enjoy this movie over Texas Chainsaw? What is the nuance?

SPEAKER_00 29:14

You get offended by the quality of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

SPEAKER_04 29:18

Well, it's not the it's not the the No, because I don't like the newer Texas Chainsaws either.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

Yeah, because they're replicating similar qualities. Oh, calm down, calm down.

SPEAKER_04 29:29

This isn't a Texas Chainsaw episode. No, it's the references and the themes that are the same. It's not that I'm saying this is the same as Che Texas Chainsaw. In fact, I think the vibes are somewhat different. Um, it's that I think that the films, uh this this film is definitely having an interplay with the themes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, like I said, of family and then kind of eating the world. Consumerism, of course, cannibalism, consumerism, eating who are you willing to step on to get to the to what you want. So like she wants Karen wants her family, and so she's willing to eat all these people that come through so that she can have the family that she wants. And I think that's a very Texas chainsaw thing. Um but again, like I don't get so the movie ends, of course, with the daughter's head on some sort of like was that like a it looked like a teddy bear to me. Um and then like Barbie dolls, she like makes them have sex.

SPEAKER_03 30:42

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:45

And so, yeah, I'm not quite sure because it's like so why is she eating them if she's then wanting to use their their fluids for procreation? Like, I don't know. I'm a little confused. What do you guys think?

SPEAKER_00 30:59

I that really threw me off. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 31:03

And then like if they were burying the daughter at the beginning of the movie but she wasn't dead, then why'd they have a whole funeral?

SPEAKER_00 31:12

Maybe they weren't burying the daughter.

SPEAKER_04 31:14

Who would they have been burying then? I don't think we see any other characters.

SPEAKER_00 31:19

Some someone who ran out of meat. I don't know. Someone else.

SPEAKER_04 31:24

Yeah. I think just there's so and this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but there are just so many questions that go unanswered, but to me, just in ways that aren't like, ooh, I have food for thought, but more like what? Um that that that frustrates me a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 31:45

Yeah. Also the the f the dad, Eulis.

SPEAKER_04 31:50

What? Who?

SPEAKER_00 31:52

Does not Euless? What's his name? You Euless? E U. He doesn't seem as out of it as the rest of everyone.

SPEAKER_04 32:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

Like, Karen has clearly been affected by this. The daughter is like completely brain dead. Like, he just seems like a good old boy who listens to his wife.

SPEAKER_04 32:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:25

But also, I feel like she has very clear moments. And so it always made me wonder like, yeah, is she acting crazy, just to act crazy, or is it in and out? Because she has very clear moments too.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

I think it like she's like high.

SPEAKER_04 32:49

Yeah, maybe. I found Karen absolutely hilarious. I love every every second she was on screen, I was like, oh, give me another line, give me another one. That was so fun.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Um that first shot of her through the screen when she's just smiling at Sam.

SPEAKER_04 33:11

Yeah, uh, she just hi Sam. She is just so funny. And if you want to talk about an actor chewing up their material, Karen, she is eating it. She is like, oh, you want a performance? I'll give you a performance, baby.

SPEAKER_00 33:36

Yeah. She nailed that role.

SPEAKER_04 33:39

Yeah, I thought she was hilarious. Um, something I do really like about Honeydew is how uh it's vicious. Like, this is an upsetting, depressing, disturbing movie. This is a movie that's not interested in making us feel happy as viewers or comfortable as viewers. I think that's always really exciting in horror. I think uh when movies go too far out of their way to be like, well, we don't want people to leave the theater and tell their friends, like, oh, don't go see that. That's a bummer. You know, I that's that's annoying. So it's nice that this movie was like, you know what, this movie's a bummer, and we're not gonna try and hide it. If we're just gonna be weird and a bummer. And so kudos, honeydew, for uh doing it as hard as it does it.

SPEAKER_00 34:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:31

But on the flip side, a little bit weird for the sake of being weird. I like some of the split screen stuff because sometimes necessary. It's showing us visual parallels that are interesting. Sometimes it's doing it to be cool. And uh there are a few things like that throughout the movie where it's like, is this necessary?

SPEAKER_03 34:55

I feel like like at the beginning, I enjoyed it, uh, but like I felt like there were some pacing and like Wes Anderson inspirations on some of the scenes and also the narratives at the beginning, and I was like totally here for where I thought it was going in the first ten minutes with the how the script and the narration was going with the the characters. But then I feel like it transitioned out of like this quirky, like creative, like um back and forth into like a traditional like um like uh plot or like I don't know what you'd say script.

SPEAKER_04 35:40

No, yeah, I agree with you. It was predictable.

SPEAKER_00 35:45

Yeah, there was a as soon as Riley goes quote unquote missing, that was a turning point for me. Like actually post Alice in Wonderland dream sequence, and maybe that's on purpose.

SPEAKER_03 36:02

I I think I would agree there.

SPEAKER_00 36:03

I think like I I was with it, vibing with it, up until that point, and then once they kind of just went into the spiral of like, oh, we're in a weird spot and they're gonna eat us, like I it didn't keep up that creativity.

SPEAKER_04 36:23

I think it was even earlier for me. I think as soon as I realized, like, oh, they're not getting back out of this house for the rest of the movie. I think that's when I was kind of like, oh, I even thought at one point this was gonna be a monster movie. There are some like zooming shots through the forest, and I was like, oh, something's out there.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Um yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:42

But it's it it became something where as soon as they got to the house, I was like, oh, that cra that lady's crazy. And um as soon as they started showing like the meat, the raw meat, I was like, Oh, I bet that's people. So I just thought that it was it was a little too much um I could I could predict. And I've said on this podcast, I'm a bad predictor. I'm bad at guessing. Uh twists always shock me. But um this one I was just kind of like, oh, I know where we're headed, and then it did. And also I thought the movie was going to be gorier. I thought it was gonna be violent and gross, and then it wasn't. And I wish it, I think it would have been if it's gonna be this weird, I think seeing a little bit more, it doesn't even have to be gory or gross, but seeing just things that are more grotesque, I think would have been more unsettling. It was almost like the movie felt a little too clean and safe, and then at the end it was like, oh, okay, it's sad, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 37:37

Yeah, I the only like real gore is the blood coming from the eyes.

SPEAKER_04 37:44

There's a scene in the weird Popeye dream sequence where his stomach is kind of ripped open.

SPEAKER_00 37:49

Oh, his stomach.

SPEAKER_04 37:50

But it doesn't even bad. Doesn't look like his stomach is actually ripped open.

SPEAKER_03 37:57

I will say, I did have a jump scare when the old lady attacked him from behind. I jumped.

SPEAKER_04 38:06

Yeah. She moved very quick.

SPEAKER_03 38:10

It was very kind of What's up with the lemons?

SPEAKER_04 38:15

When life gives you lemons.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

Like, are they doing it with salt? Are they doing tequila shots? She also dips the meat in like lemonade before giving it to the daughter.

SPEAKER_04 38:31

Well, I wonder if because uh citrus is acidic, if maybe that's kind of like they're all high on the Sordeco and that's kind of their jolt of reality. Like, please let me out of this. I'm going to eat so many lemons that I'm I'm saying. I don't know. That's just a thought. Enjoy my incomplete thought. Do people do that? I don't know, I'm just guessing. Like, of all the things they're eating, like they're eating a lot of wheat and meat, and lemons are the only thing off the top of my head I can think of that maybe couldn't have sortigo in them.

SPEAKER_03 39:13

That's what I thought. I figured it was like their yeah, their way of not consuming sortigo.

SPEAKER_04 39:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:22

So I don't know if I'll ever look at a plate of meat and potatoes the same.

SPEAKER_04 39:27

I don't know if I'll ever look at a cute old grandma the same way because I'll be wishing the whole time that she would be like, uh, oh, what does she say that's so funny? Oh, you're a couple of sticks.

SPEAKER_03 39:42

Yeah, my mom says that all the time to me.

SPEAKER_04 39:45

Does she? I'd never heard that before, and I thought, sticks? I could snap you like a chicken. Oh, alrighty. Do you guys have any last thoughts about the movie before we do our wrap-up questions?

SPEAKER_00 40:04

I just have like lingering questions about like little things that they introduced that I thought would have bigger meanings, but they didn't.

SPEAKER_04 40:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:14

Like like the radiator and it being hot in there. I don't know. Yeah. That seemed like a thing, and then it was not.

SPEAKER_04 40:23

Well, I think there's only one murder in this movie, if I'm remembering correctly. So what would you say is your most memorable moment from Honey Dew?

SPEAKER_03 40:38

I think just because it definitely made me jump is when the lady um puts the shot or pulls the meat out of the guy's butt from behind or whatever you did she did.

SPEAKER_04 40:54

It pulls the meat out of his butt.

SPEAKER_03 40:57

In the barn.

SPEAKER_00 40:57

No, she tranquilizes him.

SPEAKER_04 41:00

Yeah, she's tranquilizing him.

SPEAKER_03 41:02

Or tranquilizes him. That was made me jump. So I would memorize that.

SPEAKER_04 41:08

Meat in the butt. Hot.

SPEAKER_03 41:12

Well, why did they have oxygen then if I thought No, those were drugs.

SPEAKER_04 41:18

They were sedating them with the um Yeah, I don't know what that would be. Yeah, like uh maybe a little laughing gas or something.

SPEAKER_03 41:29

Ah.

SPEAKER_00 41:29

That's why they took him off and they were like Um, I think when uh what's the guy's name that has the goofy name?

SPEAKER_03 41:40

Goonie.

SPEAKER_00 41:41

What's his name?

SPEAKER_03 41:42

Eulis? Goonie. Goonie. Euless.

SPEAKER_00 41:45

Goonie is carrying when Goonie is carrying Riley out and then gets stuck in the trap. And then Karen comes along and is like I don't know, loving even I don't weird relationship there. And then I realize what she's been carrying around that whole time is the thing that they used to kill cows with.

SPEAKER_04 42:08

Yeah, little pss like air gun thing.

SPEAKER_00 42:11

That was a moment, and I also that I mean this whole movie did, but that moment in particular took in particular took me to Texas Chainsaw when they go through that big description at the beginning about how they kill the cows.

SPEAKER_04 42:27

Mm. Head sheets.

SPEAKER_00 42:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 42:31

Yeah. Yeah. And I I think same thing when she is so like distraught that she has to kill Goonie, but also like she's evil, so of course she's gonna do it. Um it's another thing where it it's I do like these things where this like demented idea of family and that she's creating her own little family, but ultimately she's she's number one. She doesn't care about her family. Um matriarch. Of course. I am going to pick for my most memorable murder moment. Excuse me. Um, Caroline, I like what you were talking about with him carrying Riley. I thought that was very gorgeous. But I think I'm going to go a little bit sooner to when she is cooking them dinner. And not even a specific moment. I just think her little mannerisms are so funny. Like how she's not really saying anything, but Riley's like, oh, I'm a vegan, and she just kind of shovels around and then she just turns around with like two little stalks of corn, and Riley's like, that'll work, and she's like, uh, you know, like just going around the kitchen. So I think that that would be it for me. On a scary scale, one to five. How would you rate our honeydew?

SPEAKER_00 43:55

I'd give it a three and a half.

SPEAKER_04 43:58

Oh wow. You th you were scared?

SPEAKER_00 44:02

I think it's creepy and I like that that kind of like suspensible creepiness. I enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_03 44:11

I would give it a two and a half.

SPEAKER_04 44:16

Mmm. I'll give it uh just a flat two. I think it's disturbing, I think it's gross, I think it's gritty and grimy, um, but not particularly scary IMO. Um, so then I'm feeling a little upset on the podcast. Would you give Honeydew a smash or a slush?

SPEAKER_03 44:44

I will be giving Honeydew a smash. I think there's a lot of opportunity for improvement with this movie. It is far from perfect, and the plot is also needs some reworking. But um overall, aesthetically, uh, first of all, we didn't even talk about the coloring in this freaking movie. Go for it. Beautiful. Um, just like the contrast and the depth of the colors I just felt were perfectly executed. But um, it's that, like I said, that New York style film that I just can't get enough of. You know, the you know, you're in your mid-teens and you're kinda, you know, going through that emo phase and you're you're like moody and and you like think up these cool ideas and then you go to film school, that is what you're getting here. And I just am here for it. I wish I wish the first ten minutes was the entire movie, and then it would be a upset, but um for now it's just a smash.

SPEAKER_04 45:58

Yes, I would call this a very A twenty-four aesthetic movie. And I know that you're a fan of those bad boys, like uh Midsummer and Hereditarian.

SPEAKER_03 46:08

Yeah. It's they wanna be A24, they're not there.

SPEAKER_04 46:14

But they're in training, and yes, uh Deborah Milburn, when they s began conceptualizing this film, uh was at NYU, so you're right on the money. Oh, I know I am. Caroline.

SPEAKER_00 46:30

Um I am taking this honeydew, raising it above my head, and smashing it on the ground. It's a smash.

SPEAKER_04 46:42

Wow. Okay, because I was like, that's an interesting uh way of describing that, because that sounds negative but positive.

SPEAKER_00 46:51

But if it were a slash, I would say fruit ninja knife. Slash.

SPEAKER_04 46:59

Well, you know what? Just pass that samurai sword to me because it's a slash from me. I um you know, I think that what you said earlier about how you have some lingering questions. I think there are good lingering questions and there are bad lingering questions. And I just uh I have bad lingering questions. More in the style of Godzilla versus Kong, where I'm like, but I just don't get it. Like it just doesn't make sense to me. Um not not like, ooh, how fun. I have questions. And if you want to hear us discuss Godzilla versus Kong, you can of course head over to our Patreon at patreon.com slash scary moviepod.

SPEAKER_00 47:46

How can you put this movie in the same bucket as Godzilla versus Kong?

SPEAKER_04 47:51

I know that movie's far superior.

SPEAKER_00 47:54

No my god.

SPEAKER_04 47:57

Alright, but we don't want to spoil. We don't want to spoil for those who want to go over to Patreon. Alright, so on that note, you ladies, what's your favorite scary movie?

SPEAKER_00 48:14

I'm sticking with wrong turn 2021.

SPEAKER_03 48:18

And I, like I said, first 10 minutes, I was like, oh shit. Upset City. But unfortunately, it is not gonna upset. I'm gonna stick with Black Swan.

SPEAKER_04 48:32

Hmm. And I'm going to stick with The Strangers Pray at Night, which we covered on our Patreon. So, speaking of Patreon, we will not be back next Monday, April 19th. Instead, if you want to hear more, what's your favorite scary movie, you're going to have to head over to Patreon.com slash scarymoviepod because on April 23rd, that is a week from Friday, we will be covering the zombie classic, Dawn of the Dead. So that next month, when Zack Snyder's new, I believe it's called Army of the Dead comes out, we will be ready to rumble. So, you don't want to miss that out because we will not be returning to your main feed earholes until Monday, April 26th, when Julianne and I discuss the 90s uh or 2000s. I don't know, haven't done the research yet. Slashic Urban Legend. So you won't want to miss that, and you won't want to miss me, Caroline, and Ian talking about Dawn of the Dead. Until then, you can head on over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a rating and a review.

SPEAKER_00 49:54

This comes to us from Blunkenator Raider.

SPEAKER_03 50:00

Blunkenator.

SPEAKER_00 50:02

Who said five stars, awesome. Parker makes me laugh. Ian is so serious. And Caroline is interesting.

SPEAKER_03 50:13

I don't know if I like being serious more or that she he, she, they nailed Caroline as interesting.

SPEAKER_04 50:21

With the emoji of a monocle next to it. Well, fine.

SPEAKER_00 50:28

I'll just leave the podcast to you and Parker, though.

SPEAKER_03 50:32

Is that interesting aka bulldozes everyone else on the punk?

SPEAKER_00 50:37

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 50:38

No, no, no. But I do like that we have.

SPEAKER_00 50:42

Parker makes me laugh. Ian is so serious. And you guys need to cut Caroline a break.

SPEAKER_03 50:48

Poor Caroline.

SPEAKER_00 50:50

But Blunkenator Raider also says Blunken Raider. I still love this. Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. Thank you so much, Blunkenator Raider. I'm gonna take interesting as a compliment.

SPEAKER_04 51:07

Thank you, Blunkenator. We've got funny, serious, and interesting. Interesting.

SPEAKER_03 51:16

Descriptions.

SPEAKER_00 51:18

The way that you guys hate on me, if this were a workplace and you were hating on a woman, it would not fly.

SPEAKER_03 51:26

Shut up.

SPEAKER_04 51:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 51:28

People pay, mofos.

SPEAKER_03 51:30

This is not a workplace.

SPEAKER_04 51:32

Um am I getting a little um emotional over there, Caroline?

SPEAKER_03 51:40

What why are you calling her emotional? Because I'm a woman.

SPEAKER_04 51:44

A woman. Alright, well, from us gals to you, listener, it has been such a pleasure discussing Honeydew. Of course, you can contact what's your favorite scary movie on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter at ScaryMoviePod, and tell us if you loved Honeydew. So make sure you do that. Again, make sure you hit us up at patreon.com slash scary moviepod because you're not gonna want to miss this Dawn of the Dead episode. I think you're gonna be the dead one because you're gonna be have so much having so much fun that you'll be dead. Ian?

SPEAKER_03 52:26

Only 19 only 19 out of a hundred people agree with Caroline and I about this movie. Make sure you speak up and let us know if you're one of those.

SPEAKER_04 52:36

Oh, the nineteen percent. I was like, huh, where are you getting that statistic?

SPEAKER_03 52:41

We are the nineteen percent.

SPEAKER_04 52:44

I ran out, I surveyed a hundred people, and they all said, but all jokes aside, my name is Parker Heron. You can find me on Instagram, uh, not face, don't find me on Facebook, you creep. You can find me on Instagram, Twitter, and letterboxed at Parker Del Rey.

SPEAKER_00 53:05

My name is Caroline. You can find me on Instagram at Carol Manifesto.

SPEAKER_03 53:10

And my name is Ian. You can you can find me on Twitter. I talk to myself on there, and if you want to join that conversation, go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 53:18

What's your handle?

SPEAKER_03 53:19

Ian White.

SPEAKER_04 53:20

Yeah. Oh, and of course, you can do all the things I said earlier about the pod, and you can also find our website with our calendar at Scarymoviepod.com. And of course, you can send us any requests or feedback at Scarymoviepod at gmail dot com. And until next time, I bid you adieu. Honeydew. Honey, adieu.