Honeycomb, Directed by Avalon Fast, 2021

TW: poor sound design which may affect those with hearing issues, some flashing lights, self-harm, underage drinking and illicit drug use, implied sexual content, violence, cults

This psychedelic, experimental, low budget film is the Pinterest aesthetic board, tumblr feed energy and lofi Instagram reel of teenaged dreams, and much of its dialogue reads like meandering middle-of-the-night-sads tweets and melodramatic posts on the AllPoetry forums — all of which aids in the enjoyment of watching this debut feature.
To examine this movie by using the same standards as a professionally trained filmmaking team or studio backed venture is completely unfair. There’s no question that this is low budget and low production value, and even lower sound editing, but it is all passion and definitely high energy. Sure, the dialogue is a little prose heavy and stilted, but these are friends of the filmmaker and clearly untrained actors. Instead of projecting on this short, bare bones movie, just embrace it for what it is: a passion project with femininity and sisterhood as its core theme. The short run time works in it’s favor and makes quick work of the decline in relationship dynamic and sanity, and captures the frenetic energy of “one last summer together” before your group of besties splits up to explore the vast wilds of adulthood

Although the project may not be overly polished or professionally produced, it is abundantly clear if you handed this young woman some higher quality equipment, anything by way of a budget, and got her some production assistants she would knock it out of the park.

It’s exciting to see the influence of other filmmakers here, too. The pastel dreamy look, golden sunshine, and lens flare moments lend a feminine design reminiscent of Sofia Coppola. The hazy psychedelic shots and strange dialogue have a Lynchian tone, as do the lengthy takes of girls hanging out for picnic lunches. The zero fucks given approach to embracing its low budget vibe and also the aggressive use of daylight, saturated colors large open fields as a setting calls to mind Midsommar. Toss in a little bit of the Gen Z vlogger culture for good measure. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, and yet somehow it just… works!

I recognize that it’s production quality may make it unbearable for some, and that’s okay! But if you have a little patience and are willing to embrace the Lo-Fi (I for one love that stuff, ahahha!) then you’ll find it is a fun little romp into the folk horror and experimental film genre, chock full of life, chaotic energy, and plenty of bizarre antics. Looking forward to Avalon Fast growing and evolving her filmmaking chops; count me in for whatever she offers next!

(There’s also a little bonus credits scene with short bloopers and “crew vlogs”, which was a delightful wrap up!)

Review by Ellen Avigliano
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