Honey

A short psychological horror thriller written and directed by Alexander Bather and starring Ellie Sammer, Leo Westcott, Lura Mae-Bowes and Peter O'Connor.

The year is 1978 and a man named Michael (Westcott) arrives at an isolated location in Wales, where twelve years prior, a disaster involving a quarry demolished a village and, apparently only three children survived, siblings actually. Once at the location with his caravan, curious about the area's backstory, Michael proceeds to document his experiences by filming himself with a camera. His trip is suddenly distrupted by the arrival of Honey (Sammer), an eccentric young woman who claims that she grew up in this area with her two siblings. Things soon turn sinister and deadly.

A tense and suspenseful story that grabs the viewer's attention from start to finish and seems to be paying homage to horror films from the seventies, such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. Like Chain Saw Massacre, this short begins with a text explaining the story's origins and like The Hills Have Eyes, a large part of the narrative takes place inside a caravan. Things truly pick up with the appearance of Honey, who appears out of nowhere and makes it clear that she is no ordinary woman as she proceeds to have an awkward conversation with the nervous Michael that involves knives, guns and a guessing game that will determine his fate.

One insignificant thing to point out that might had made this film even better would be that Honey mentions that she lives with her two siblings, yet only one of them appears on-screen. The fact that the third is neven seen does not really damage this short, however it would had been interesting to know what they look like and how they behave.

Sammer's performance is the centre of this film. She steals the show and is very convincing as a disturbed individual who has an unconventional upbringing, growing up in isolation with her siblings and as a result has developed a tendency for violence. Honey is dangerous and unpredictable, a person who has spent their life away from society and has developed their on twisted way of viewing the world. Her performance is chilling throughout, primarily when she gets violent and during her awkward and sinister dance accompanied by the song Sleep Walk by Santo & Johnny. Westcott's character is just a simple guy whose curiosity led him at the wrong place.

Mental health is a major subject in this story that explores the dark side of human phychology, especially deception, homicidal tendencies and sadism.

This is a dark and disturbing story and that is part of what makes it such a memorable viewing: a sinister tale about violence and murder that deserves the attention of horror fans.