Interview With The Star Of ‘Honeydew,’ Malin Barr

If you’re in the market for a fucked horror film that will make your jaw drop, then Devereux Milburn’s Honeydew (2021 – read our review here) is that movie. It’s so sick and twisted that it’s being compared to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and I can’t think of a better compliment. I caught up with the star of the film, Malin Barr, and we talked about why she wanted to be in Honeydew, her new appreciation for the genre, and of course, horror movies.

Malin Barr: Hi Tiffany!

PopHorror: Hi Malin! How are you?

Malin Barr: I’m good, thank you. How are you?

PopHorror: I’m good, thank you. I watched Honeydew last week, and it is just crazy insane. I’m really excited to speak with you about it.

Malin Barr: Yeah! It is a crazy movie.

PopHorror: What intrigued you about the film, and made you want to be a part of it?

Malin Barr: I think right from the first time I read part of the script while auditioning for it, it had exactly this sort of strange, quirky, peculiar vibe, and it was such a specific type of horror. It felt like it had some sort of comment on the food industry, and there was so much more than that… I don’t know. I’m a little scared of horror films. It’s not my go-to genre. So maybe I thought it was going to be really scary, and I thought it was going to be in a specific way, but there’s just so many little fun things.

I thought the script is just written so sharp. And reading the scenes that I got for the first audition between Riley and Sam [Sawyer Spielberg], there was so much humor that stood out to me in their relationship and on the page that I got really excited to be a part of this film. Riley is such a great character. I was so excited to work on her. To me, she’s very much a Virgo in the sense that she’s desperately trying to control everything. She’s driven, she’s ambitious, and she wants to fix Sam, to be able to fix their failing relationship. So there were so many things for me to work on, but I also loved their bickering relationship that they have, and the contrast of her and Sam. So I think there were two things. Dev’s [Devereux Milburn] amazing and brilliant, sharp writing in the script along with the humor combined with these strange characters. They’re so odd in their own way.

PopHorror: They really are!

Malin Barr: Karen and Sam and Riley, they’re so odd. The tension that hangs in the air with the conversations they have, I just think it’s really funny. It was hard to keep it together on set and in the reading and everything when they first interact with Barbara’s [Kingsley – read our interview here] Karen, for example. It was really a hard thing! At one point, me and Sawyer just started laughing. We couldn’t keep it together. It was just so fun to play, and Dev let us take our time to let the moment really sit and play out. I think that’s also a result of both Dev’s vision and the script but also all of us. Me, Barbara and Sawyer all being really… We’d done our work and created our characters, that way when we’re sitting there at the table or whichever scene it was, we took our time. And Dev allowed us to, so that’s where I think all these fun moments and awkward tensions were created, so there was just so much about this script that I loved. I’m so glad that I got to work with this entire cast and a crew that’s just brilliant.

PopHorror: There’s so much of the film that you’re just sitting there watching it, and you’re not sure what’s coming up next. I loved that. There was a lot of tension and a lot of suspense. You know Karen’s off a bit, but you’re not really sure what it is. I really appreciated that. 

Malin Barr: That’s kind of what I liked about it also, because Riley… I feel like Riley is kind of the audience’s eye, in a sense, because she’s trying to deal with all of this and respond to what Barbara is doing, but then also respond to what Sam is not doing. He doesn’t seem to be bothered at all. He’s kind of naively eating and doing his thing. So there’s a lot of frustration that I had fun with building in Riley’s character. Again, she’s a controlling person I feel—which I created and felt like she was—with no control over her boyfriend who is just doing his thing and then being in the house of a lady that’s not holding up her promises and just keeps saying all these weird things.

It was really fun to play. Like you said, we learn what’s going to happen sort of through Riley in a sense, so I was very much enjoying being in the moment and listening to Barbara, who is such a brilliant actor. I knew some of the stuff that she was doing in rehearsal, but every time she did it, it was just so odd. It was not hard to work off her. She really plays you up in a beautiful way. And then Sawyer as well, because he is just eating or not even noticing that anything strange is going on. It was really fun to play on that and on Riley. That’s what makes the film also very different and special. We’re like, “Why are they still there, though?” You know? “Why don’t they leave? What’s going to happen?” I’m excited to see what audiences feel about the characters and about the film. I think it’s a really different, brilliant, quirky, grotesque, scary, nightmarish, gritty film.

PopHorror: So, you said that you were not a horror fan when you took the role. Did this give you a different view on horror?

Malin Barr: This is the thing. I think that I’m not not a horror fan. I don’t not like horror films because there’s a lot of horror films that I love. I love The Shining and I love Silence of the Lambs. I love Get Out from a few years ago. There’s a lot of great horror films. When they get a little gritty and slashy-like, it’s hard for me to watch them. I’ve gotten nightmares since I was a five-year-old child.

Maybe I am. Absolutely. I appreciate them, and it’s not like I don’t think horror movies are good. I think I’m just sensitive. Being part of one was really fun, and if I got scared from the situation or the set, that was just something that I would feed into. The darkness… I think my interest has grown. They can be so different. This is such a different horror film. 

PopHorror: I’m so glad that you took the chance to do one. What’s up next for you, Malin?

Malin Barr: I just got to Sweden yesterday. I’m here to work on a TV show that’s based on one of Agatha Christie characters called Hjerson, a Swedish character she actually wrote. It’s a really interesting show, and I’m going to work on that for a few weeks. That’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m really excited about it. And then after that, I have a few things in the pipeline, but I’m not sure exactly when so nothing that I can talk about right now, but I’m very excited to work on this. It’s very fun for me to get to work in Sweden and the US. But I’m excited to be able to go in between, especially in times of Covid when you feel sort of scared to fly.

PopHorror: Traveling is definitely different than it used to be. 

Malin Barr: It’s so empty everywhere! I’m really lucky to be working because it’s tough times. It’s been a strange year for everyone, so I’m lucky to be able to work on a project. We’ll see how this one pays off. It’s actually one of Agatha Christie’s more comedic characters. The character feels very modern compared to some of the others. He’s a vegetarian and he’s gay, which felt very new back when she wrote it. I think it’s going to be a fun character to work on. He’s a really fun, talented Swedish actor. Stoked to do that.

PopHorror: That’s exciting!

Malin Barr: And then spend some time with family here and play in the snow I currently have outside of my window, and then go back to the sun. I love it.

PopHorror: One last question, Malin. What is your favorite scary movie?

Malin Barr: I’m going to have to say two, I think. One older would probably be The Shining. I think it’s brilliant. And then for a newer one that I wasn’t too scared to watch is Get Out. I think it’s like Honeydew. It’s such a specific type of horror.

Watch Honeydew now!

Thank you so much, Malin, for taking the time to speak with us. Be sure to check out Honeydew on VOD, Digital HD, and DVD now.