Plot: Julia (Lexi Giovagnoli) and Rivers (Adam Hagenbuch) are newlyweds on their honeymoon, visiting a coastal bed & breakfast in South Carolina, though one with an interesting local legend attached. As soon as the couple and the other guests arrive, they’re told the story of Alice Flagg, a young woman who raised the ire of her rich family when she fell in love with a simple lumberjack. Although she tried to run away to be with her love, but she fell ill and died before she could make an escape. Her father took her engagement ring and wouldn’t allow it to be buried with her, a decision that some believe has left her spirit at unrest. The legend says Alice haunts the area in search of her ring and while Julia isn’t sure she believes that, she can relate to Alice’s woes, as she too fell for someone her family didn’t approve of. Meanwhile, Rivers thinks the story is a tourist tall tale, so he goes to Alice’s grave and tries to summon her, unaware that he very well might have…

Entertainment Value: Lifetime is best known for melodrama and thrillers, but the channel does veer into light horror at times and Honeymoon from Hell is one of those detours. The movie still holds the usual Lifetime melodrama and relationship issues of course, but these are woven into a haunted house narrative with some light folk horror touches blended in as well. The narrative is fine and uses a lot of horror cliches, but that’s not a bad thing at all in this case. The storms, the eerie nights, the local ghost story, it all adds some effective chills to Honeymoon from Hell, giving it genuine haunted house vibes. And to be fair, this is more horror slanted than most of Lifetime’s nudges into the genre, as the melodrama and dysfunction take a backseat in most scenes. There is still the relationship woes and the pregnancy thread, so Lifetime fans have some roots here to hold onto, while the horror atmosphere puts a fresh spin on those tropes, which is always welcome. I appreciated the creepiness that is present in most of the scenes and while perhaps not overly eerie, some effort was made to build some suspense and mood, which pays off. I still don’t think horror fans will be converted by this one, but for fans of melodrama and Lifetime thrillers, this is a nice change of pace and I think it earns a solid recommendation.

The cast here is tasked to turn in more restrained efforts than most Lifetime movies, which means the wild, outlandish melodrama and mania aren’t here, but I think the performances are still fine. And we do have a little of that craziness from Catherine Hicks, as she is given an eccentric character and runs with it, giving one of the movie’s more memorable turns. I think she dials up her presence just enough, to fall in line with the film’s more serious, even dark tone. Lexi Giovagnoli has the lead however and she is good, if unmemorable overall. She is likable and performs well, but doesn’t do much to stand out or command the screen. But she does what she needs to do and the movie benefits from her being here, especially since she and Adam Hagenbuch have good couple chemistry, which helps. So no high voltage, Lifetime special type efforts here, but more than solid work from most of the cast. You can also see Cameron Richardson, Ciara Flynn, and Christian Brunetti in this one.

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