CRIME THRILLER. “Honey Don't!” / "Stone Creek Killer.” / “Sew Torn.” / “Barron's Cove.” / “Rust Creek.”

“Honey Don't!” (2025, Netflix) neo-noir black comedy directed by Ethan Coen. Small-town private investigator Honey O'Donahue probes a series of strange deaths that are tied to a mysterious church.


       Director Ethan Coen requires no introduction, whatsoever. And Margaret Qualley has been scoring hits so far. Add Aubrey Plaza's engaging stoicism. But never mind a perennially one-dimensional Chris Evans and loud-mouth Charlie Day. 

       Anyhow, this movie has the pre-watch gravitas that'd get you intrigued and interested. Only, “Honey Don't” is a disappointment, and I am not necessarily talking about Margaret and Aubrey's lesbo sex scenes. 🎥💻📽


"Stone Creek Killer" (2025, Amazon Prime) psychological thriller about a Minnesota small-town police chief who pursues a serial killer. He is aided by a psychic, all while fighting to prove his own innocence and confronting his personal past and present demons. 



       This movie started with wry intrigue and fringe provocation, as the cop chief (played with nonchalant coldness by Clayne Crawford) gives us a few hints. But everything fizzled midway to the end game.

       Director Robert Enriquez lost the handle of the serial-killer mystery and eventually yielded to genre cliché. 🎥💻📽


“Sew Torn” (2024, Amazon Prime) crime thriller. The film tells the story of a seamstress on the verge of bankruptcy, and how she comes upon a drug deal gone bad and how her choices at the scene of the crime lead to drastically different outcomes along the way. 



       Writer/director Freddy Macdonald, 25 years old, is the youngest directing fellow ever accepted to the American Film Institute. This movie proves that he has ample potential to (probably) follow the footsteps of the Coen brothers or those A24 guys. A wunderkind of sorts.

       Well, if you are the kind of movie watcher that is entertained or turned on by movies that are crafted by the Coens, Ari Aster, Alex Garland, or Robert Eggers, “Sew Torn” is your gig. Intriguing production set, flashy editing, weird sequences, wacko characters. And the very creative “sewing” plot-point.

        But still kinda oblique mish-mash to me. In my older years, I'd prefer a clearer navigation or non-smartass ending. Before I forget, kudos to relatively unknown Eve Connolly as Barbara. Very involved. 🎥💻📽


“Barron's Cove” (2024. Apple TV+) crime drama thriller mystery. Caleb Faulkner, who after the judicial system fails to hold the person responsible for his son's death in an accident, decides to kidnap a boy. 



       Low-key and low-profile, this movie doesn't invite interest from the get-go. Lead star Garrett Hedlund is no A-1 luster at all. The overall premise is violence toward kids but how many times have we wallowed on that plotline already, without me undermining the theme's real-life urgency? 

       Aside from powerful performances, the pacing is non-meandering and the intensity doesn't shudder and unnerves but it provokes attention and scrutiny. Kudos to writer-director Evan Ari Kelman. 🎥💻📽


“Rust Creek” (2018, Hulu) crime thriller. A college student who becomes lost while on a road trip and is hunted by criminals who believe her to be a witness to their crimes.



 

       This movie's plotline is passe: Bad dudes chase a young woman in the woods. You know how that's going to play out, right? Screaming and sinister “Now you got nowhere to hide, bitch” and really gory stuff as we reach the climax. But then "Rust Creek” isn't a Jason Voorhees template or the scandalously awful (but cult favorite) “I Spit on Your Grave.” Nope.

       This is definitely not a “scream queen” gig for young Hermione Corfield. In fact, her performance (along with Jay Paulson as a meth cook) deserves a shot in more serious major studio projects. Director Jen McGowan and screenplay-writer Julie Lipson did a cool job. 🎥💻📽


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