The Devil's Honey (1986) User Reviews

not a horror or porn but a pure sleazefest

[trashgang · 5/10 · 5 September 2012]

I do know Fulci as a horror buff from his splatter flicks but I even knew him from his sometimes almost porn look-a-like flicks. This here doesn't fit in one of those categories.

There isn't any blood to see in a gory fashion but it do gives the viewer a lot of nudity. Weird for being made in the late eighties that armpits are still hairy and bushes aren't trimmed. Nevertheless, for me this is a pure sleazefest. We do see some kind of masturbation done by a saxophone and we do have a close up of a pussy being satisfied with lipstick. If that isn't sleazy enough one guy is being wanked off by his girlfriend while riding a motorbike. Corinne Cléry is almost naked the whole flick and it is as gratuitous as it can get. It also contains the Stockholm Syndrome.

it's a weird story full of sex and torture towards the end. Fulci fans do search this rare to find flick but it's findable on fleamarkets in the Netherlands and Belgium on VHS. Most copies that are being sold on DVD do contain Dutch subs.

As I said before, not a typical Fulci but not boring at all.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 3,5/5 Effects 0/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

Fulci and his team bring quality and interest to something that could have been a lot worse in the hands of a lesser director.

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 4 April 2014]

Johnny (Madia) is an up-and-coming saxophone player (this was the 80's, after all) who lets his sax do the talking. And if the scene in the recording studio is any indication, if I may paraphrase Color Me Badd, he really wants to "sax you up". Johnny is in an intense, stormy, and tumultuous relationship with Jessica (Marsillach). Meanwhile, Dr. Wendell Simpson (Halsey) is in a downright failing relationship with his wife Carol (Clery), primarily due to his frequenting of prostitutes and neglecting the needs of his wife. He's a surgeon, and he uses the hospital as his excuse to be away from Carol. When Johnny suffers a motorbike accident - again because he's the ultimate 80's coolguy - while proclaiming his undying love for Jessica, he ends up on the operating table of Dr. Simpson. But Simpson is so distracted by his wife's carping, he fumbles the operation. So Jessica reacts in the way anybody else would - she kidnaps the doctor and subjects him to endless psychological/physical/sexual torture. What will happen to Jessica and the doctor? Find out today? Did you know AIP released a Lucio Fulci film? Neither did we, until we came across Dangerous Obsession during our, well, obsessive AIP research. No one's a bigger Fulci fan than me, so I was delighted to stumble on to a movie of his I'd never seen before. Because of his famous horror movies, most people that know his name simply associate it with gore. But the truth is, the man has worked in just about every film genre there is. As we all know, the Italian film industry is known for, let's say, jumping on the bandwagon of prevailing cinematic trends, and at this point in time, erotic dramas were, no pun intended, hot. And while many people have drawn parallels between this movie and 9 1/2 Weeks, it's really like a "Last Tango In Rome" meets Emanuelle's Revenge (1975), which was directed by Joe D'Amato, himself no stranger to the erotic drama, namely Eleven Days, Eleven Nights (1987). Of course, the whole thing has a very European flavor to it that I personally found appealing.

The aforementioned Emanuelle's Revenge is probably the closest parallel you'll find to Dangerous Obsession, because both are Italian psychological-erotic hostage dramas with a structure of flashbacks. But only Dangerous Obsession opens with live smooth sax. In fact, the music by Claudio Natili is not only enjoyable and noteworthy, but actually important to the plot and it drives it along. Probably the best place to turn at this point would be to quote Stephen Thrower, from his must-have monograph on Fulci, Beyond Terror: "Fulci turned in a trashy, often hilarious S&M fantasy with a few dark undertows of melancholia for good measure." So Fulci fans who haven't seen it should check it out, especially those only familiar with his horror output. For everyone else, those with a taste for this kind of thing most likely won't be disappointed, because Fulci and his team bring quality and interest to something that could have been a lot worse in the hands of a lesser director.

The bizarre sexual fetishes show! With your host: Lucio Fulci!!

[Coventry · 5/10 · 18 July 2006]

"The Devil's Honey" is definitely one of the rarest and possibly also the strangest movie Lucio Fulci has on his impressive repertoire. And even though it must be very appealing to fans of the man, I certainly wouldn't advise to move heaven and earth in order to purchase a copy of this film. Although not at all bad or boring, this is an extremely atypical Fulci-movie and the complete lack of gore and zombie-action is likely to disappoint people that only know Fulci from films like "City of the Living Dead" and "Zombi 2". "The Devil's Honey" is more like an erotic melodrama and it seems like Fulci took this opportunity to insert as many bizarre sexual fantasies as humanly possible in one screenplay. Especially during the first half hour, this film brings forward some of the oddest sex scenes ever, including sex with a saxophone (very creative!), sex with red paint (weird!), sex on the roller-coaster (exciting!), a threesome in the movie-theater (too strange for words) and sex on a motorcycle (don't try this at home!). We follow a young couple with an extremely healthy sexual appetite as well as a frustrated surgeon who regularly visits prostitutes in order to escape his boring marriage. All their lives interfere when the young man is involved in a banal accident and the surgeon isn't able to save his life. The slightly insane girl Jessica personally holds Dr. Simpson responsible for her lover's death and decides to kidnap him. Her plan is to kill him but, of course, they start a passionate sexual relationship instead. Like other reviewers pointed out correctly, it's very interesting to see how Lucio Fulci – universally known as the director of gorehound movies – is also capable of bringing an intense, non-graphic thriller. His directing is solid and straightforward, although he does waste too much time on pointless flashbacks and unfinished sub plots. The music is good & atmospheric and, perhaps the best thing, the chemistry between the girl and the surgeon comes across as very realistic. Nothing like the average Italian horror film, this movie reminded me most of artistic portraits like Paul Verhoeven's "Turkish Delight", Annaud's "L'Amant" or Catherine Braillat's "Romance X". Not as stylish perhaps, but also revolving on individuals struggling with sexual issues. Be warned!

Not usual Fulci-movie

[Battledragon · 16 May 2004]

I've seen overall 30 Lucio Fulci's movies, horror and non-horror, and have to admit that Devil's honey did surprise me. Many people doesn't like this one, because it's so different than Fulci's better known splatter-movies, but I have to disagree with that. Even though movie differs very much maestro's earlier works like for example Zombie flesh-eaters, Beyond, City of the living dead or even notorious New York ripper, doesn't make it bad. Sure there's different kind of elements involved this time, but movie is still worth to watch.

Basically Devil's honey, as it is titled in most English language countries, is a story of a love and disappointment, which leads eventually to a kidnapping and a torture. It's a story of a disappointed young woman, who kidnaps a doctor who failed to save her boyfriend and who tortures the doctor to the limits to get her satisfactional punishment. There's some sadomasochistic elements involved too, because doctor falls in love with his torturer and starts to enjoy his punishment. Many people see this as a main thing in this movie, but it isn't. Although the story behind the torturing is very simple and little twisted (like many other Fulci movies too), sadomasochism isn't playing the leading role here.

I'll give Devil's honey 8/10 just because it's nice to see that Fulci can handle this kind of erotic thriller as well as his earlier horror flicks. recommended.

Sax Solos Are an Aphrodysiac

[marcialyon · 7/10 · 10 February 2020]

This is a movie that opens with a man erotically blowing a saxophone up against a woman's vagina. That's really all you need to know. If that offends you, best to leave now before your head explodes. If it sounds like a hoot to you, come sit by me.

Um, wow

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 5 December 2017]

Also known as Dangerous Obsession,this movie was intended to be Lucio Fulci's comeback after more than a year of dealing with hepatitis. It's a return to the giallo (or at least sexually related drama) that he was creating in the early 70's instead of the gore that he'd become infamous for throughout the 80's, but when you're dealing with Fulci, you know you're going to get something certifiably insane and also something that doesn't fit into any set category.

The film opens on Johnny playing that tender, tender saxophone that the ladies love so much. And no one loves it more than Jessica, his woman, who runs into the booth to lick the spit off his lips rather than let him wipe it himself. Johnny responds by fondling her in front of the engineers and his band, who are all like, "Brah, you gotta get outta here with that noise." Instead, Johnny kicks everyone out and he takes her right in the middle of the studio, against her protests, telling her that he is her master and that everything he loves is in her. She argues that he doesn't want her, only a piece of her, and Johnny responds by playing sax music directly into her woman parts. Honestly, I don't even know if this is physically possible, but it's one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen in a movie. It's like Fulci was upset he couldn't just cut out someone's eyeball, so he decided to do the most ridiculous sex scene possible.

You know how you get jaded and say, "I've seen everything?" Well, I'm here to tell you that you haven't until you watch The Devil's Honey.

Unbeknowskt to our lovers, everyone was in the booth watching. They blame Jessica for distracting Johnny, so she leaves for the bar.

We cut to a Dr. Wendell Simpson (Brett Halsey, Return of the Fly, Demonia) being stripped of his scrubs after a successful surgery. He calls to tell Carol (Corinne Clery, who of course is Kala from Yor, Hunter from the Future), his wife, that he will be late. And why is he late? Because he's visiting Anna, a prostitute, a fact that his wife knows only too well. He's obsessed with work and finds it hard to concentrate on anything. Well, that is until she tries to fix a run in her stockings with red nail polish — something no human being has ever done before in the history of human civilization. The doctor responds by rubbing that red nail polish all over her face before taking her violently and quickly, then he pays her to leave, as she calls him a monster.

Honestly, Fulci stages a sex scene like he stages a spider eating off someone's face.

Carol catches the doctor leaving the prostitute's apartment, just as we move back to Johnny and Jessica on a roller-coaster. They're fighting, because there's a thin line between love and hate. They lick faces as the coaster goes up and down the hills, which is intercut with Caol lying in bed, unfulfilled as the doctor sleeps.

Just when you think Fulci is going to back off on the insanity, we have Johnny and Jessica on a motorcycle, where he forces her to fondle him while he races the bike faster and faster until they nearly hit a car.

Ladies — if you're into dudes wearing Cosby sweaters, tight jeans and brown leather, Johnny is the man for you.

They head back to their house, where they make love while Dickey from The Beyond barks outside their door. Afterward, Jessica sits outside, angry. Seriously, her mood swings seem like a red flag, but I'm 45 and not a famous saxophone player. I can see these things a little better.

Read more at http://bit.ly/2iWgsVG

Another lost Fulci gem!

[The_Void · 8/10 · 23 May 2006]

Lucio Fulci's name has become synonymous with gore; and that is unfortunate, as there's so much more to the great Italian director than just splatter flicks. The four pre-Zombi 2 Giallo films that Fulci made prove this, and there's enough other gems dotted throughout the man's filmography that go a long way towards proving it further; The Devil's Honey being one of them. This is a surprisingly restrained film considering the more famous Fulci flicks, although the lack of gore is somewhat made up for in nudity; as this film is certainly not short on that front. The first twenty minutes aren't a far cry away from being a porn film, and it's not until the first plot point that we realise Fulci does have actually have a story to tell. The plot follows a young man who has an accident (which is completely his own fault) and ends up on the operating table of Doctor Simpson, a man tormented by his nagging wife and questionable manhood. After the young man dies, poor old Doctor Simpson begins receiving irritating phone calls from a woman repeatedly asking why he let the man die. Before long, he finds himself the captive of the vindictive female.

It has to be said that the story plays out well, and while it's not exactly plot heavy; Fulci does a good job of keeping the sexual tension high, and that is highly beneficial since it's the main point of the movie. The film is bound to appeal to sadists and feminists alike, as much of the movie features the young women exacting her revenge on the man she blames for the death of her lover. The main intrigue comes from the relationship between the two leads, as although their acquaintance is based on hatred; they soon develop a perverse love for one another. Perhaps the most surprising thing about this film is the fact that the love doesn't come across as contrived! Fulci sets up the characters so well that it's easy to see how and why this relationship transpires as it does. The only real problem with the film is that Fulci spends a little too much time with flashbacks between the girl and her dead lover, and this takes the focus away from the girl and the doctor, which should always be kept at the forefront of the film. However, The Devil's Honey works well in spite of that and overall this little thriller is well worth seeking out! I'd also like to give a quick mention to the poem that the movie takes its title from, as like the rest of the film - it's rather good!

A strange relationship

[unbrokenmetal · 7/10 · 7 October 2008]

Cecilia (Blanca Marsillach) is in love with the sax player Gaetano (Stefano Madia) who has an accident with his motorbike. Later, Doctor Guido Domenici (Brett Halsey) supervises the operation, but he makes a fatal mistake because he doesn't pay attention. He has problems with his wife Carole (Corinne Clery) who wants a divorce. Understandably, Cecilia doesn't care about the doctor's personal problems - she only knows he is responsible for the death of Gaetano and wants revenge. She phones him, threatens him, then abducts him, tortures him and says she will finally kill him. However, as they spend a lot of time together, a strange relationship begins to form... (Note: the names of the characters are different in the original Italian version compared to the English version.) Although this may have similarities with "9 1/2 Weeks" on the surface, "Il miele del diavolo" reminds me more of the deeper, obsessive films of Andrzej Zulawski or even Luis Bunuel. Stylistically, this is quite experimental, as Cecilia sees her dead boyfriend walking around and has flashbacks like visions. Beyond the obvious bits of exploitation, this is an ambitious and interesting work by Fulci (who briefly appears as a talisman seller).

So where do I sign up to become a slave to Blanca Marsillach?

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 22 May 2010]

Lucio Fulci's films are not known for their great scripts, and indeed the storytelling in "Devil's Honey" is often sloppy and the ending is weak. They are known for their gore (almost completely absent here), and their directorial flair (some of which is present here). Of course this is a rather atypical outing for Fulci (his answer to "9 ½ Weeks", perhaps?), and it works mostly thanks to Blanca Marsillach's surprisingly good performance: she's a beautiful young woman with a perfect body who walks around in the nude a lot, but beyond her looks she gives more depth than you'd expect to her character, making her innocent and curious (and easily aroused!) at first, sadistic and vengeful in the second half (I loved those little smirks that showed how much pleasure she got from her power over her male captive), but always very human underneath. Although she is 3rd-billed, make no mistake: she is the star of this film (2nd-billed Corinne Clery has a relatively small part, but she DOES get fully nude as well!). This is why this erotic thriller is so much more "erotic" than "thriller": who wouldn't want to be captured by a woman like Blanca and become her plaything? **1/2 out of 4.

Kinkfest by Fulci

[Armin_Nikkhah_Shirazi · 6/10 · 20 March 2022]

Lucio Fulci, who is sometimes referred to as the "Godfather of Gore" (an honorific he shares with Herschell Gordon Lewis) is best known for horror films in which logic takes a step back to striking visual aesthetics and over-the-top gore. I don't mean this as criticism but rather as an observation in the spirit of acceptance that art does not necessarily always have to make sense.

In DEVIL'S HONEY, Fulci brings the same kind of aesthetics to the erotic thriller genre, and it makes for a movie which contains several scenes that have to be seen to believed. There is no gore to speak of, but it seems Fulci applied the same approach he uses in his gore scenes to his sex scenes.

All the major characters have kinks, and when tragic circumstances bring two of them together in a highly unusual manner-one kidnaps the other as part of a revenge plan-lo and behold, the kinks of the two turn out to complement each other.

This film is not for vanilla lovers. It is hard to categorize, as it is not quite porn and also not mainstream in any sense. There are not very many movies like it out there, the closest I can think of being THE IMAGE (1975) in terms of the kink, and the much tamer SEX &THE OTHER MAN (1995) in terms of the basic concept.

The movie is probably most of interest for those who would like to broaden their horizons in terms of what has been captured on film.

Sadomasochism, love, obsession. . . another Fulci classic!

[directjw · 10/10 · 18 November 1999]

This is an atypical Lucio Fulci film in that it focuses on themes which are usually examined by Jess Franco. Nevertheless, this is still one of my top three favorite Fulci films (behind Lizard in a Woman's Skin and New York Ripper). It is an interesting examination of an increasingly dangerous sadomasochistic relationship, a relationship tinged with unbridled lust, obsession, torture, and love.

Although the first thirty minutes of the film (with the exception of the great saxophone sex scene) are quite silly and cheaply done, the second half of the film completely surprised me with its serious and dark tone. As the film progresses, we are increasingly drawn into a truly screwed up relationship, until we realize that the only resolution to this relationship is absolute nihilism and destruction.

An atypical, yet ultimately satisfying film by the maestro Fulci. Would make a great double feature with Adrian Lynne's "9 1/2 Weeks"!

The Devil's Honey

[Michael_Elliott · 28 December 2009]

Devil's Honey, The (1986)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Bizarre film for Fulci sees him in more of a Jess Franco type of territory. In the film, a woman (Blanca Marsillach) loses her mind after the death of her boyfriend. Even though it was his fault, she blames the doctor (Brett Halsey) who was operating on him when he died. Soon the woman kidnaps the doctor and plans to torture him both physically and sexually. This certainly isn't the type of film you'd expect someone like Fulci to make especially during this period in his career. Throughout this decade we were getting non-stop violence and gore but that's all cut out here and in its place is non-stop nudity and bizarre sex scenes. The first twenty-minutes of this film features one sex scene after another and it appears they each get more and more bizarre. Fulci's THE NEW YORK RIPPER was pretty perverse but so is this film and that includes a scene where the boyfriend "satisfies" the woman by putting his trumpet up to her private parts and playing. The sex scenes never reach the hardcore stage but Fulci handles them pretty well, although he never quite reaches a full erotic mode. The biggest problem for me was the actual screenplay and the entire revenge aspect. One could compare this film to Franco's SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY but that movie worked a lot better because we understood the woman's need for revenge. That's not the case here for a couple of reasons. The first being that the man is a complete jerk to her so we really don't care when he dies. The second reason is because the woman is simply blaming the wrong person for his death. There's no way around that and it's hard to buy into anything she's doing because you simply don't agree with her. Halsey, a soon to be Fulci regular, does a pretty good job in his role but there's no question that the film belongs to Marsillach who really digs deep into her character. The two work quite well together and certainly make the film a lot better than it really has the right to be. The brisk 78-minute running time moves pretty well and the jazz score is quite nice as well. Fans of Fulci will certainly want to check this one out but others probably won't find too much entertainment here.

Not your usual Fulci Film!

[singhlall · 7/10 · 30 November 2020]

From the Bizarre Saxophone solo, applying nail varnish to oneself to unusual torture methods. A great watch. Film making from a totally different era.

Blanca Marsillach looks great, everything else just so-so

[smatysia · 6/10 · 25 March 2001]

Not exactly a cinematic classic, but it's okay as foreign films go. Corinne Clery got a top billing, but she played only a minor character in this film. The real star was Blanca Marsillach, and she was pretty good, inasmuch as I can tell in a film that appeared to be dubbed. Her sweet, innocent look was a good one for the violent revenge she takes. (Man, I wish European actresses would shave their armpits, though) Also in the early scenes where "Johnny" was playing the saxophone, it was painfully obvious that he was not. Grade: C+

Sax and Sex

[Stevieboy666 · 8/10 · 19 July 2021]

Notorious Italian movie director Lucio Fulci is probably best known for his gory, maggot infested horror movies but The Devil's Honey is a different offering. Dark, erotic, psychological, suspense thriller pretty much sums it up. Lots of female full frontal nudity, including some Jess Franco style genital zooms, but a bit too much hair on show for my liking. The lead female character, as well as appearing nude a lot, is also a nutcase and does dish out some nasty violence on an innocent man. A very well made film, proof that Fulci was more than just a gory horror director. Highly recommended for fans of both Fulci and adult Italian movies.

a rather neat piece of exploitation cinema

[christopher-underwood · 7/10 · 26 February 2021]

Not one of Lucio Fulci's finest films but then neither is it one of his worst. Bit difficult to summarise or categorise but essentially a rather neat piece of exploitation cinema, leaning very much towards the sexploitation end of the spectrum. Corinne Clery does well here but she is in her late 30s and leaves most of the more blatant and more nudity orientated scenes to Blanca Marsillach. There are some extraordinary sex scenes too, including a wild and near explicit sex act with a saxophone, masturbation with some red nail varnish and a crazy motorbike sequence where Blanca is encouraged to pleasure the youthful rider from her place on the pinion. Later sequences where the reliable Brett Hasley is the bound victim of said young lady (who spends most of the film without clothes) and there are further weird and wonderful sequences including near drowning and near hanging as the dog goes crazy and young Blanca perhaps even crazier. Not a film for everyone but enough here for Fulci fans and more with the maestro giving himself a cameo in a rather attractive episode in Venice.

meditation on s&m

[dopefishie · 6/10 · 13 June 2021]

Meditation on s&m

not his typical film.. so it feels a bit unpredictable.

Do not expect a horror film or a body count here.

It has a lot of potential and is certainly well-made.

But I would say that some of the acting is a bit over the top.

And there's too many flashback/dream sequences.

Most people should pass on this film.

It may be worth checking out once if you're into this kind of thing.

Yes, more Sax

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 23 August 2020]

Not sure if this is the best beginning/intro to any movie out there. I can say though that it is one of the most memorable ones. Once you've seen, it sax with you. Sorry I mean stays with you. Like sticks with you ... ok enough puns and interesting use of a saxophone aside (and not actually sure if it works that way), the movie is quite sexual, so if you are easily offended, do not watch this.

There are different characters and timelines and this may be a bit tough to follow for some. But if you can get behind it, it is quite the entertaining movie to watch. Also as stated before, do not be offended easily. This warrants multiple views to actually discover more ... if you want to that is of course. One time can be enough too.

Filthy Fulci.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 2 December 2021]

For The Devil's Honey, Italian horror legend Lucio Fulci applies the same OTT approach to sex as he does to gore, delivering one eye-popping scene after another (eye-popping in a figurative sense, for a change). The S&M themed erotica on offer is all so incredibly daft and excessive that The Devil's Honey proved to be the most fun I've had with a smutty soft-core movie in a long time.

Beautiful brunette Blanca Marsillach plays Jessica, girlfriend of saxophonist Johnny, Italy's answer to Kenny G, who is in the process of recording his debut album. The couple share a sub/dom relationship, Johnny forcing Jessica to satisfy his perverted sexual needs. In the film's opening scene, Jessica stands her ground when Johnny tries to pressure her into a quickie in the recording booth. On this occasion, sex is a no-no, but sax is fine, Johnny placing his shiny hard instrument against Jessica's vajajay and playing a tune in the key of 'O'. It's utterly ridiculous, but sets the tone for the rest of the film, which lurches from one hilarious sexcapade to another.

The action then cuts to Dr. Wendell Simpson (Brett Halsey), an eminent surgeon whose marriage to Carol (Corinne Cléry) is on the rocks. Wendell get his sexual thrills from visiting prostitutes and treating them like trash. In another totally bizarre moment, the doctor goes to a hotel with a hooker, who proceeds to paint her pussy with nail varnish, which Wendell also smears on her face before having his way with the woman. Fulci is on a roll...

Continuing with the madness, Johnny takes Jessica for a ride on his motorbike, insisting she gives him a hand-job while they hurtle down the highway; they narrowly avoid a head-on collision with a car. Later, Johnny earns his brown wings while rutting with Jessica on the stairs at their cottage; she's not happy 'cos he didn't ask her permission for the backdoor action. To try and cheer his girlfriend up, Johnny rides his bike like an idiot, but falls off, cracking his head on a rock. He appears to be okay, but the next day, back at the recording studio, he collapses and is rushed to hospital.

Dr. Wendell is the surgeon scheduled to operate on Johnny, but his mind is elsewhere, Carol having got wise to her husband's philandering ways and decided that she wants a divorce; this lack of concentration results in Johnny flatlining on the operating table. Jessica reacts with anger, the woman chasing Wendell's car as he leaves the hospital (she's so furious that her tit falls out!). Over the next few days, Jessica pesters the doctor with anonymous phone calls, asking 'Why did you let him die?'. Eventually, she takes Johnny's revolver and kidnaps Wendell at gunpoint, keeping her hostage tied up at a beachfront property where she abuses him physically and mentally (at one point, she hits him in the face with an axe and pushes his bloody face into her belly). She also walks about totally starkers a lot.

Memories of her time with Johnny come flooding back, and Jessica is reminded of a trip to Venice in the company of music producer Nicky (Bernard Seray), during which they all went to the cinema. She recalls how, as the film played, Johnny made out with her, but also guided Nicky's head downwards for a spot of fellatio. Repulsed by this memory, Jessica realises that she and Johnny were never really in love, and releases Wendell from his bondage. Doc Simpson, now besotted by his captor, has sex with Jessica, but a glimpse of the pistol nearby implies that perhaps she still intends to kill him (the ending is quite baffling, but this is Fulci, so confusion is not totally unexpected).

A Really Good Piece of Visual Storytelling

[Raptorclaw155 · 6/10 · 28 June 2020]

The Devil's Honey is really not that bad of a film. It was originally going to be a point of contention I had with it, but looking back, I think I've gotten to appreciate what it was going for. Its narrative structure is a little unconventional and I was a little worried that the film would end up being unfocused and disorganized. But once things came together, it made a lot more sense.

The other thing I like about this film, in retrospect, is that it is surprisingly visual. I say surprisingly because I don't really expect very much from low budget sexploitation film, but the visual aspect of this film was actually quite strong.

This film isn't without its flaws, however. Its weakest point is the acting.Not all of the performances are bad, but the ones that are are so much so that they make certain dramatic points in the film unintentionally funny. The scene that instantly comes to mind for me is when the main character's boyfriend collapses in the recording studio while recording his tenor sax part for a song on his album he's recording. Its obvious that the actor is pretending to play and not pretending very well when his character is having a good day, so when he plays poorly and collapses, it looked hilarious and I did laugh out loud when I saw that happen.

Devil's Honey is a film that excels when it focuses on its visuals. The dialogue isn't necessarily bad but it kind of feels redundant and unnecessary at times. Luckily it isn't very dialogue heavy and even though some of it is hokey I think the visuals of this film are so strong that you could probably watch it on mute and understand everything that's going on.

I'm surprised by how well this film took out. I had to wait a bit after watching it to go over my thoughts on the film because I really wasn't sure what to think about it, but I figure that if it's a film that leaves you thinking about it, then perhaps it has something going for it. I thought it could have had a better ending, but I don't think it ended poorly the way it is. I think it's an interesting film and I think it's worth checking out.

Proves Fulci should stick to horror

[lor_ · 11 May 2023]

My review was written in April 1990 after watching the film on Celebrity video cassette.

Italian horror expert Lucio Fulci stubs his toe in the sex film genre with this weak softcore effort, shot in 1986 as "The Devil's Honey". He'd better stick to zombie pics.

Brett Halsey fans might be shocked to see their hero in a "Last Tango" story as a dour surgeon who can't seem to make it with his beautiful wife (Corinne Clery of "Story of O") and goes to prostitutes instead.

When he blacks out in the operating room, contributing to the death of patient Stefano Madia. Madia's girlfriend Blanca Marsillach starts harassing Halsey. Of course, her hae turns into twisted love when she kidnaps the surgeon, ties him up and starts torturing him. Weird, inconclusive ending has Halsey falling in love with her, too.

Pic's dubbing is weak, with Halsey outfitted with a voice that doesn't match. It comes close to the hardcore porn line with considerable nudity and heavy-duty simulated sex scenes. Video box is mislabeled, credirting Spanish thesp Blanca Marsillach as her better known sister Cristina Marsillach.