The Devil's Honey (1986) ★★★★
If I didn't know this was directed by Lucio Fulci, I don't think I would have guessed he was one of the people responsible for writing and directing the movie. It has one of the all-time greatest and weirdest beginnings, a sequence in which the main character, Jessica (Blanca Marsillach) is brought to the point of climax by the saxophone stylings of her boyfriend, Johnny (Stefano Madia).
When Johnny is seriously injured in a motorbike crash, subsequently collapsing and then dying on the operating table, Jessica becomes obsessed with Wendell Simpson (Brett Halsey), the doctor whose lack of concentration, distracted by imminent divorce proceedings from his unhappy wife, led to Johnny's untimely death. Events take an even more serious turn when a grief stricken Jessica kidnaps Dr Simpson, tying him up and humiliating him.
Most people will know Lucio Fulci because of his horror or giallo films such as Zombie 2, The Beyond, or Don't Torture a Duckling, so this psychosexual thriller is, a little like the historical drama Beatrice Cenci, a bit of an outlier when compared to the films which make up the bulk of his oeuvre. Although it's a film which few people would watch and identify Fulci as the director, it's also a film which only someone like Fulci would have made, though the lingering shots of Jessica's crotch would likely have earned a nod of approval from Jess Franco.
I really liked this, I thought the non-linear narrative works brilliantly with the character driven story and the flashbacks to develop Johnny and Jessica's relationship and change the nature of her illegal imprisonment of Dr Simpson. It has very strong performances from Brett Halsey, Blanca Marsillach, Corinne Cléry, and Stefano Madia who make this an intense and fascinating watch.
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