Best known for graphic horror flicks like Zombie, filmmaker Lucio Fulci went down a different path with 1986’s The Devil’s Honey. Despite a title that might make one believe it’ll offer supernatural spookiness, instead Honey brings an erotic thriller.

During a fight with his girlfriend Jessica (Blanca Marsillach), Johnny (Stefano Madia) tumbles and hits his head against a rock. Though he initially seems okay, he soon takes ill and undergoes surgery conducted by Dr. Wendell Simpson (Brett Halsey), a physician distracted by conflicts with his wife Carol (Corinne Cléry).

This goes poorly and Johnny dies during the operation. Distraught, Jessica blames Dr. Simpson and kidnaps him so she can torture him as revenge.

On the slipcase for the film, we see Honey referred to as “a sleazy masterpiece”. I agree with half of that claim.

Honey pours on the sleaze, with tons of gratuitous sex and nudity. Not that I’ll complain about the latter, as the many nude shots of Marsillach offer the only value I can find here, so the movie ends up miles away from “masterpiece” status.

Honey brings a story that seems perverse without purpose. Fulci simply ladles on layer after layer of nasty content for no reason other than basic shock value.

Much of the movie feels like a tedious soap opera, and a creepy one in terms of Jessica’s romance with Johnny. Honey clearly depicts Johnny as a sexual sadist, one who comes across like a pretty terrible person.

However, Honey prompts Jessica to view Johnny as her One True Love. This means that even with all the unpleasant material on display, the film follows a theme of passion and loss.

I get that plenty of women fall for the Wrong Guy, so Jessica wouldn’t act like some exception to the rule. However, Honey paints Johnny’s foul behavior in such a sunny, glowing light that it sends a confusing message.

Even without these troubling choices, Honey simply seems dull and oddly limp. Given how much sex and nudity and violence it features, one might expect something more provocative than this tedious mess.

As it develops, Honey shifts from sappy soap opera to get into torture porn. Jessica abuses Dr. Simpson for her own vengeful means, but these don’t make the film more interesting.

Instead, these segments just continue to bore, and Fulci’s misogyny becomes even more grating. Though we should probably feel sympathy for Jessica, we find her so irritating and shrill that we don’t care what happens to her.

At least Marsillach looks good naked. That exists as the only positive I can find in this goofy and sadistic melodrama.

The Devil’s Honey appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Expect a spotty image.

Sharpness varied, though some of that depended on the cinematography, as the filmmakers clearly desired a gauzy look at times. Still, other shots felt a bit soft for no apparent reason, and the movie rarely seemed especially precise.

I noticed no issues with jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. Grain was natural, albeit on the heavy side.

Print flaws became a moderate issue, as I saw specks, lines and marks sporadically through the film. While these never felt heavy, they created more than a few distractions.

Colors leaned toward a mix of blue/teal and amber most of the time and seemed adequate, if without much impact. HDR brought a little added heft to the hues, though not much.

Blacks seemed fairly deep, while shadows offered reasonable clarity. Whites and contrast got a mild boost from HDR. This turned into a watchable presentation but not one that excelled.

In addition, the film’s DTS-HD MA monaural audio felt primitive even for its era. Like most Italian flicks, Honey came with entirely looped dialogue.

This left us with speech that sounded artificial and canned. The lines also suffered from sporadic bouts of edginess.

Music showed decent range, though the score could feel somewhat shrill at times. Effects brought mediocre reproduction and came with some roughness. This turned into a subpar mix.

Except for a trailer, no extras appear on the 4K disc. However, the included Blu-ray copy boasts a mix of materials.

Sax, Lies and Videotape spans 14 minutes, 36 seconds. It brings an interview with actor Blanca Marsillach.

She covers her entry into movies along with her experiences on Honey. Marsillach proves surprisingly honest and blunt about the good and the bad related to her time on the film.

Next comes a circa 1990-91 Archival Audio Interview with Director Lucio Fulci. It goes for six minutes, 28 seconds.

The filmmaker examines his approach to films, with a few notes about Honey - but not much. Still, Fulci brings some interesting thoughts in this short piece.

The Devil’s Halsey runs 17 minutes, 26 seconds. As implied by the title, it provides a chat with actor Brett Halsey.

He looks at of parts of his career as well as his thoughts about Honey. Halsey proves less engaging than Marsillach, though he does hint at problems - mainly related to her!

However, Halsey refrains from details. We end up with a decent chat but not one with a lot of zing.

Another actor appears via Wild Flower. In this 12-minute, 13-second reel, we hear from Corinne Cléry.

She also gets into her life and career plus specifics about her time on Honey. Cléry gives us a vibrant and engaging chat.

Producing Honey lasts 13 minutes, 22 seconds. This one gives us a chat with producer Vincenzo Salviani.

The program covers collaborating with Fulci, his approach to filmmaking, and working on Honey. Expect a solid discussion.

After this we get The Devil’s Sax, a nine-minute, 51-second reel. It features composer Claudio Natili.

Unsurprisingly, Natili focuses on the film’s score as well as additional notes about his career. This develops into a positive program.

Up next comes an Interview with Author Stephen Thrower. It spans 21 minutes, 44 seconds.

Thrower examines Fulci’s career as well as cast/crew and aspects of the Honey production. He makes this an efficient overview.

Fulci’s Honey delivers an audio essay. It takes up 16 minutes, 56 seconds and comes with comments from film historian Troy Howarth.

“Honey” runs through a lot of Fulci’s filmography and connects various films to Honey. We find another solid summary.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we finish with an alternate opening (6:23). Intended for the US video release, it just offers a shorter and somewhat less graphic version.

Note that this set's Blu-ray does not appear to be the same one released in 2017. The 2024 disc adds the interview with Scarfe and an additional trailer. As of April 2024, Severin has not announced plans to issue this 2024 BD on its own.

Essentially a sappy melodrama with lots of nudity involved, The Devil’s Honey delivers a silly experience. Overwrought and ridiculous, almost nothing about the film succeeds. The 4K UHD comes with inconsistent picture and audio as well as a generally good collection of supplements. Don’t expect much from this ridiculous flick.