Last night October 18th, 2014, I got to attend the world premier screening of Kenny Caperton & John Hasty’s, “Honeyspider.” Having seen the duo’s first collaboration, the short horror film “Judith,” back in 2010, I knew I’d probably appreciate their new project. I did really like the film but before I get into that, let’s talk about the event. Holy Cow, The Gem Theater in Kannapolis, NC is an amazing classic art deco facility from a bygone era. The place is absolutely cavernous once you get inside the screening room. It has an amazing balcony that just seems to go back forever and the sound and projection are top knotch.
Nancee and I had diner at our favorite Sushi place in Concord and got the Gem around 7:30. The theaters regular screenings were still going on but we snuck in and said “Hi” to Kenny and his wing man Gabriel who were just setting up their table. Kenny is a convention pro! By that I mean that he knows how to setup and event table and always has cool posters, cards and freebies for early arrivals. I snagged my pick of the two posters on offer and a glossy card, used the facility’s and went out to kill the hour and a half before start time taking snaps of the theater and just walking around the Research park that has been built up considerably in the former spot of Canon Mills. I used to live about 1 mile away from there, but haven’t been back for decades. The shopping portion of Canon village is still the same, though less business seem to occupy the shops, but the Research part now sports 3 of the largest 5 story buildings I’ve ever seen. Each floor looks like it was built to support a 100 foot tall ballroom. Giant columns up front and giant, GIANT windows. Frankly it looks like that were made for a Gotham City set or something. Very imposing stuff indeed.
Around 8:30 we went into the Gem and spent the next half hour sitting into the balcony listening to Kenn’ys spot on 80’s/90’s spooky movie play list. By the time Kenny came on to introduce the movie, we were all tuned up to see a scary movie.
Firstly the crowd was some 200 strong. This was probably the biggest turnout I’ve ever seen for an indie film’s debut. Kenny being just one of the nicest guys in the regional film making community this did not surprise me. His notoriety among horror fan as the owners of The Myers House NC, Kenny has a track record of solid work in the capacity of art director, producer and writer. He’s been involved in many indie shorts and feature films who’ve shot at his Halloween replica of a homestead, so again, nice guy who helps others out on their films, great work ethic with a history of being involved with and writing really excellent indie films, it’s no wonder he got such a great turn out. I was gratified to see it.
So, the film itself. I actually have a lot to say about this movie. Let’s start off with the official synopsis from the website.
HONEYSPIDER PLOT SYNOPSIS: It’s Halloween day in 1989 and college student Jackie Blue wants to enjoy a quiet birthday in the midst of a chaotic semester at school. Her friend Amber has other ideas and persuades Jackie to come to the annual Monster Mash party on campus after her shift at the local movie theater. As murder plays out on the silver screen during the theater’s Halloween night Horrorthon, Jackie falls under a strange spell, all while a mysterious stranger watches over her every move. As the night unfolds, Jackie slowly unravels and everyone around her is turning up dead. Jackie finds herself helplessly trapped like prey in a spider’s web, and all she can do is try to survive the night!
As for my own thoughts on the film, check out the video below.