Tribeca Film Festival 2022 review: Travis Stevens’ latest genre fare ‘A Wounded Fawn’ is… different.

A WOUNDED FAWN

I must admit that I might be one of the biggest Travis Stevens fans. His aesthetic gets me every time. The boundary-pushing in sound editing, practical FX, and color saturation are things of beauty. The man knows how to write iconic feminist leads. Understanding how much I love Girl On The Third Floor and Jakob’s Wife is paramount. His latest film premiering at Tribeca 2022 is called A Wounded Fawn, and it pains me to say it confounds me. Let me explain.

The first half, or Act One, as indicated by a dramatic and beautiful bright red title card, is classic throwback magic, dirt filter included. Going into the film, we understand the setup. Bruce is a suave art dealer who invites gallery curator Meredith away for the weekend at his secluded cabin. From the second scene, we know that Bruce is also a serial killer, and poor Meredith is about to be added to his “special” collection. The opening of the film features a specific sculpture of Greek mythology. That piece will come to haunt our characters in a very literal way. 

First, let’s talk about the best parts of the film; the performances. Sarah Lind (Jakob’s Wife) and Josh Ruben knock it out of the park. Lind navigates the cringe and slyly aggressive overtures of Ruben’s Bruce. She walks an incredible line between submissive and badass. Her fight or flight instincts will have you yelling at the screen. Ruben, whose film Werewolves Within is one of my favorites from last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, owns this role. He’s creepy as fuck. There’s no other way to describe his nature. Bruce is peak Stevens’ calling card. Ruben doesn’t play the over-the-top premise for laughs but lives in the madness. I sat through the credits and relished in his endurance of that take. When you see it, you’ll understand what I mean. 

Now, let’s discuss Act Two. I found myself confused during this act. I thought maybe I was missing something, or it was over my head somehow. But, no, it’s meant to be a Greek tragedy akin to Agamemnon or Hippolytus. The film is such a departure from Stevens’ first two films that it’s hard to believe they’re by the same person. Can I respect that he’s trying something new? Yes. Did I love the dozen or so specific visuals in red? Absolutely. Was the hyper-augmented sound editing fucking stellar. You’re goddamn right. The payoff of the final laugh-out-loud line of dialogue wasn’t enough to make up for the second half of the film. A Wounded Fawn most definitely lives up to its Midnight section category. It’s the type of film you’d find in the late 70s at a theatre that exclusively shows cult films in the wee hours of the morning. Yet, here I am, needing to talk about the film ad nauseum. For that reason, Travis Stevens has, sort of, done it again. 


The find out more about Tribeca Film Festival 2022 click here!


DIRECTOR
Travis Stevens
PRODUCER
Joe Barbagallo, Laurence Gendron, Travis Stevens
SCREENWRITER
Travis Stevens, Nathan Faudree
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Ksusha Genenfeld
EDITOR
Zach Clark, Travis Stevens
COMPOSER
Vaaal
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Melissa Rossaki, Emily Gotto
CO-PRODUCER
Jonathan Hsu
US DISTRIBUTOR
Shudder
CAST
Josh Ruben, Sarah Lind, Malin Barr, Katie Kuang, Laksmi Hedemark, Tanya Everett, Marshall Taylor Thurman, Leandro Taub, and Neal Mayer

Review: ‘HONEYDEW’ is unsettling to say the least.

HONEYDEW

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 bizarre.

I first heard about Honeydew after its virtual premiere at Nightstream Film Festival. It is a miracle that I was able to avoid spoilers. I am delighted to report the intense buzz was spot on. Honeydew is that good. The sound editing and score consumed me. Combined with some split-screen deliciousness, Honeydew was dizzying madness. Writer-director Devereaux Milburn has taken the most successful aspects of classic and modern horror to create something insanely scary. It gets under your skin in a truly chilling way. The film also boasted one of the weirdest cameos ever. I did a literal double-take.

Malin Barr as Riley is amazing. Sawyer Spielberg as Sam is fantastic. The chemistry between the two actors is electric. Milburn’s dialogue allows them to convey the small cracks that exist in every relationship. These are keenly exacerbated by their bizarre circumstances. Barr and Spielberg are a hell of a pair but are also allowed to shine on their own. You’re constantly worried about them all while fascinated by their individual needs. Jaime Bradley knocks it out of the park as Gunni. What amounts to almost an entirely physical performance, he will disturb you to no end. Bradley owns every frame. Barbara Kingsley is a genius.  As Karen, she walks an extremely fine line between sweet and horrifying, leaning heavily towards the latter. The way these characters are written and the care with which they are performed culminates in one of the most uneasy watches in 2021.

There is a bit of an Ari Aster feel to the film in more than one way. Both the sound and score are keys to ramping up the fear factor. A combination of music, sound effects, and made-made noises like breath and clapping grate your nerves from start to finish. The plot is cleverly laid out for the audience from the very beginning. That does not lessen its impact as the explosive finale arrives. Once that happens, forget everything you know. I was so unsettled I didn’t know which way was up. All I can do now is cringe. Those images are burned into my brain. I’ll be eternally scarred by Honeydew‘s sights and sounds. 

Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting will release the rural horror film HONEYDEW on VOD, Digital HD, and DVD on April 13, 2021.

HONEYDEW is written and directed by Devereux Milburn (shorts “Stayed For” and “Wade”) and stars Sawyer Spielberg in his feature acting debut, Malin Barr  (Skyscraper, First Love, CBS’s “Bull”), and Barbara Kingsley (The Straight Story, “Jessica Jones”).