This sci-fi thriller, creepy at times with a couple cringeworthy moments here or there, stumbles through dragged out reveals and a final third of silly, rushed developments before a not unexpected send-off. The fact we’re immediately told the fate of one of our two main characters doesn’t exactly add to the mystery, in my opinion, so much as start things off with one hand tied behind the movie’s back.

Young couple Eve (Chloe Carroll) and Tom (Jim Schubin) enter an experiment concerning those recently wed, quite eager for the $50,000 payout. They must spend one month together isolated in a home with cameras *everywhere,* Big Brother-style, so the Director (François Chau) of the facility can effectively observe and document the hows/whats/whens of new love. Easy enough, right?

“My wife killed herself on our wedding day.” 

That’s the kickoff to The Honeymoon Phase before actually beginning our story, where we find out in short order our lead couple isn’t actually married (they just want 50K). So, within minutes we’re informed both that they survive this experiment & Eve dies on their wedding day and I can’t help but wonder why so many movies *love* blurting out the end as soon as it starts. I mean, it’s one thing to use it as a misdirect but if there’s not even really much of a twist once we catch up to that moment then what was the point?

Anyway, the not-too-distant-future/alternate present is a fine enough sci-fi setting, roughly the same as reality with a few tweaks like better hologram/virtual reality technology. The experiment house Eve & Tom stay in is certainly nice and modern with a wonderfully odd bookcase I loved at first sight, though I’m not sure what’s with their mandatory skin tight experiment outfits. That’s one of a few things that’d sure raise several red flags with me, another being they sedate and separate spouses before you wake up in your new home for the next month. Nothing fishy there…

Chloe Carroll and Jim Schubin seem game for anything thrown at them and their performances along with some creepy or unnerving happenings carry the movie for a while, but eventually when the story finally progresses beyond the apparent and the situation Eve and Tom are in is made explicit it’s almost amusing how predictable things become. Do you happen to recall an episode of the TV show “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” starring the Mowry twins (of Sister, Sister sitcom fame)? Explaining why I was reminded of it would definitely give away some of The Honeymoon Phase’s story beats and even if you simply know what I’m referring to you already get what to expect from this movie so I apologize to all three other people who know what I’m talking about. Anyway, I’m sure the setup was hoary by the time I saw it on NickTV in the late ‘90s so to get pretty much a repeat in 2020 only with sex, violence, and four times as long doesn’t exactly rock my socks off.

If you like Black Mirror or Twilight Zone kind of stuff I think you’ll either be reasonably taken with this movie or a bit bored, depending on how much you enjoy waiting for a twist to come and then when it does it’s fairly boilerplate. Good luck!

6 out of 10 Mowry Sisters