Honeymoon (2015) User Reviews

You're my wife now.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 30 October 2017]

If I hadn't seen a gazillion torture porn movies since Saw and Hostel, I might have thought that Honeymoon, from Mexican director Diego Cohen, was fairly decent. But I have, and it's about as clichéd and predictable as the now very stale genre gets.

Paulina Ahmed stars as married woman Isabel Herrera, who is stalked by neighbour Jorge Toledo (Hector Kotsifakis), who eventually abducts the woman, keeping her tied up in his home. From here-on-in, it's all about the humiliation and pain. Jorge conducts a wedding ceremony to make her his wife, only to have his affection thrown back in his face, leaving him no option but to spray acid down her throat, flay her fingers, and rape her!

Despite being quite nasty in tone, the unconvincing special effects and lack of originality prevent the film from being the gruelling experience that it so desperately wants to be. Add the fact that, when Isabel finally gets the upper hand, she fails to finish off Jorge despite plenty of opportunity, and what we have is far from satisfying experience. Remember ladies: always make sure your psycho is definitely dead before attempting to escape!

A twist regarding the true nature of Isabel's abduction does little to improve matters; ditto for the final revelation that the victim, having dispatched of Jorge by pushing his face in a barrel of acid, has now become the tormentor.

3.5 out of 10, rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

Curious film...worth catching

[The_Celluloid_Sage · 6/10 · 6 April 2020]

When you read a quick preview of a film and go in blind, you never really know what you are going to get. Sometimes you will get a major fail and at other times you will find an odd and interesting little film like this one. This is now the second Mexican film that has pleasantly surprised me, not so much with its quality, but its rather bizarre and strange story.

Honeymoon is the story of two people, one more crazy and disturbed than the other. We open to see the lives of two separate people one morning, Jorge (Kotsifakis) in his suit getting ready for work and Isabel (Ahmed) who is going out jogging. Only it seems Jorge is timing his daily routine (which includes taking out the rubbish) in order to be able to see Isabel run past him.

Jorge then sees her again at the local store and listens into her conversation with friends and the counter assistant. Sometime later we see Jorge at what appears to be a hardware store and he is still following her. Jogging behind her Jorge stops when he sees Isabel jump into the arms of her husband Pablo (Agnesi) who glances over at him as they enter their building opposite his. Then Jorge gets a delivery, a shock collar.

I'm not going to go any further but you can probably guess in which direction this little title is going. While I would say this is not your typical abduction/torture film, there are plenty of cliches and tired old stuff in here that has all been seen before, along with plenty of imaginative things that have not. The plot itself is pretty basic but well done nonetheless, given the budget they were probably working with.

The script is reasonably good, although they could do with some polishing, but they work well enough for the most part. There are also a couple of scenes to make you laugh and I think these are intentional by the director to try and lighten the mood given the subject matter. On that note, for most of the film I was surprised this was given a certificate by the BBFC, given they usually view films of this nature (torture against females for no reason) very dimly unless it is warranted for the plot.

The acting is also surprisingly good, especially from Kotsifakis. He pretty much carries the entire film and excels in his role. Jorge is disciplined, studious and methodical and has the half creepy smile almost permanently on his face. In fact, Jorge is beyond creepy, on a scale of one to a hundred, he easily scores around one hundred and fifty. Pauline Ahmed also does well in her limited role and both of them deserve credit for their parts, given the majority of the film is set in one location.

The soundtrack is also quite different for this type of feature, quirky at times and quite sinister when it needs to be. Not your usual horror film soundtrack but one that works within the context of the scenes. An interesting ending if not rather absurd makes for an altogether enjoyable experience if you are looking for something a little different. Just keep your fingers hidden.

The Sage's Rating: 6/10

abduction torture horror

[xxxxxdarkmoon · 6/10 · 19 August 2022]

I don't understand how come that movie is so under the radar.

It is about an abduction made in a different way as we expect it. For the most part it is about the relationship between these 2 main actors. No worries, there is no Stockholm-syndrome. And there is no police, no investigation and such. Nevertheless, there is a lot going on in the story. There are twists and unexpected surprises.

That movie has some intense and scary scenes, also torture scenes. Bloody and scary. I never had the feeling, that I know what is going to happen next.

It is unpredictable. The sound design is pretty good, it creates a threatening and frightening atmosphere in some scenes. The 2 main actors, the victim and her perpetrator are doing good, although I dislike the role of the bad guy very much, which actually is a compliment for his acting. He plays a poor and disgusting sick guy and I was hoping that she is getting a chance for revenge. She is playing brilliant. Her desperation and fear is absolutely believable. I give it 7.5 stars. What could have done better in my opinion is the screenplay. Some scenes are a bit confusing. Nevertheless, absolutely worth a watch.

Just pure violence

[claudiamelania · 1/10 · 28 April 2018]

This movie doesn't contain anything interesting, only violence and abuse with no other reason besides obsession and madness. A boring story about a guy named Jorge who abducts a woman and makes her "his wife" keeping her tied up and sedated for most of the movie. In the end she becomes mad like him.

Mediocre and disturbing film

[super_asdf · 1/10 · 17 May 2017]

I feel like the only reason this film was made was because the director wanted an reason to portray a woman being tortured over and over. Graphic scenes can be a powerful way to advance a story if used correctly, but the plot was barely existent and only seemed to be there as an excuse to shoot a series of scenes. The only thing this movie made me feel was revulsion. Nothing else about it stood out. I didn't get involved with the story, the cinematography was unremarkable and the pacing was awkward.

I regret watching it all the way through. Don't waste your time with this, even if you enjoy gore and violence. There are way better movies out there.

Violence is okay under the right circumstances

[sjacquemain-22683 · 1/10 · 15 February 2017]

As someone going into the career path of psychology, I was intrigued when I read the description "Psychological Thriller." It is my all- time favorite genre. I love movies that mess with my mind and make me think in different ways than before. That being said, I can confidently say this movie is not a psychological thriller. It is disturbing and unnecessarily violent. The film lures the viewer into almost empathizing with the deranged doctor, making it seem like he had good reason to torture and abuse this woman because he loved her to such an extreme. I really want to believe that anyone who views this movie will think it's sickening, physically and psychologically. But the fact that this is even out there for the public to see, makes me worry about what delusional thoughts other less stable individuals might take away from this movie. **SPOILER** If i had to pick the least worst part in the film, it was when the victim finally gets her revenge. But even that "justice" is ruined. Because of her traumatizing experience, Isabel punishes others in the same way. Sure, what goes around comes around, but that shouldn't be applied to violence and torture. But hey, it's all okay as long as it sells right?

Excruciating, disturbing, well made and intensely acted piece

[Ionizing · 7/10 · 22 December 2016]

Not really your typical and predictable abduction movie. No super-villains that allow you relief from its reality, or the usual home-made styling to create starkness either, just ordinary broken individuals, largely failing. It is gory, and so will both gain and lose audiences because of this, and there are some inevitable tropes, but it does them pretty well all the same, certainly better than most, although it did sorely lack any proper character development or background story, and therefore ultimately any real depth, which potentially could have lifted it beyond its own constraints and above most all others of this genre.

The soundtrack is driving and moves it along well, and also holds it at the right places too, maintaining its quality level. If you're in the mood for this kind of thing, then I'd recommend it, there are far worse out there.

Spoilers follow ...

[parry_na · 7/10 · 4 January 2017]

We've all been attracted to an unattainable someone. It can't just be me. Jorge (Hector Kotsifakis) is likable, presentable, respectable and lonely. He spies local girl Isabel (Paulina Ahmed) and contrives to continually run into her in shops, while she is out jogging etc. We're not sure whether she has been made aware of him or not, but there is a hint of knowing in her eyes as he attracts her attention once again, this time whilst pretending to tend to his car.

Sadly, it is too late by then, for pretty soon she has been tranquilised and tied to a chair in his cellar, miles from where anyone can hear her screams. As you may imagine, she goes through several humiliations as Jorge's spiralling instability continues to make itself known. Apparently while filming, Ahmed would remain tied to the chair between takes, so as to allow her performance a sense of reality.

Jorge is at odds with most horror madmen. He is perfectly calm and composed virtually throughout. Even his attempted suicide attempt is approached without fanfare. Yet Isabel's ordeal becomes ever more tortuous and is difficult to watch. As an audience, we are willing her on to gain revenge.

Even I am not going to spoiler the outcome of this. It could be said that reading up the DVD packaging etc, or IMDb tells you all you need to know about the kind of film this is, but it is played so realistically (with Ahmed in particular turning in a powerhouse performance) and events are staged so methodically by Director Diego Cohen that what emerges is wince-inducing and compelling.

This is how it's done

[Der_Schnibbler · 8/10 · 13 October 2017]

Most abduction movies work up to the actual abduction slowly, building up the tension. In this film, the abduction takes place in the first five minutes. When something like this happens, my first thought that this better be good. And it is.

The tension created, the things that happen--one in particular quite stomach-churning--are to be experienced for themselves. Unlike your typical American or Japanese style gorefest, the things that happen here feel very real and uncomfortable. I actually became nauseated at one point, and I am most definitely not the type to be affected by a movie, not on a physical level.

It is amazing to see the difference between the insipid, utterly moronic American take on the abduction theme and this one. Take, for example, the pathetic joke that was "Pet." The abduction takes place, we settle in our seats waiting to cringe at whatever sick crap the abductor has in store while hoping the heroine will make it out, and then...we are treated to a "twist" so utterly stupid and imbecilic that you wonder what these little vanilla sissies were even thinking of.

If you want actual horror that will push the limits without being afraid of offending its morally superior, goody-two-shoes American vanilla dunce of an audience, you need to look elsewhere. France. Korea. Here, Mexico does not disappoint.

Don't pay attention to the negative reviews. One takes issue because a poor little woman is the one in the predicament as if it were a political statement, and the other thinks it's "disturbing" and "unnecessarily violent." Are you kidding me? Disturbing is what a film like this SHOULD be. If you don't want "violence," go watch your soulless Hollywood blockbusters.

Recommended.