Something Weird Video | Buy at Something Weird Video | Review by Sinferno
Here is another Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde movie from Something Weird for this update. This one was from 1964 so you know it's going to be goofy. By it's very title, genre, and every second of running time, HONEYMOON OF HORROR is the story about a love gone horribly wrong. It's a short, simple film so let's see if we can commit to this this mess, or at least try and have it annulled.
When the film starts we meet newlyweds Lili and Emile shortly after they have met each other. After just two short weeks they are already married and en route to Emile's fancy Coconut Grove beachfront pad. From there, the lunacy begins almost at once as it seems the entire island is infested with all manner of freak, physically deformed weirdo, or creep stolen straight from the court of Caligula. Among many others there's a loud obnoxious dwarf, a blind sculptor who obsesses over Lili, and Emile's own brother who has a noted history of insanity (not to mention all sorts of women bouncing about in their bras, gyrating in time to the bongo's just to keep this party going).
But there is bad tidings afoot in the sensual 60's utopia of this Rated PG Coconut Grove swinger community. It seems that one of these guests is a murderer, in fact they even killed the last object of Emile's passions both professional and private: Emile's former wife, who he immortalized in a gold statue. Emile is a sculptor, you see, and he seems to specialize in a very unique series of art- golden statues based on women he once knew intimately who aren't around anymore. I know you probably think you have this figured out by now, but there is a twist which I will not reveal because that's pretty much all this film has going for it.
Throughout the rest of the film Lili investigates the murders while she is plagued by all sorts of mysterious clues and ineffectual attempts on her life. A knife pokes through keyholes at her, a small (weightless) wire sculpture almost falls on her as she plays in a pool, and everyone she confides in about her dilemma ends up slashed to death on the floor in the next frame or simply disappears (much to her chagrin and constant terror). If it sounds wacky, it is, but purists and perverts alike should know right now that there is no part of this Honeymoon that couldn't be shown on broadcast on network television and I have seen teaser videos in my travel agents office that were more sexy and exciting than this. Yet it is in full color, which does bring out the subtle visual beauty of mid 60's Coconut Grove before it was overdeveloped and largely deforested as it is now. Overpopulation sucks. It makes you kind of wish they never caught the killer by the film's end after all.
| Yucko/Neato Factor: A sleazy little romantic thriller without any believable sex or violence. No! No! Bad film! Get out of my Blu-Ray! |
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| Production Values: Even with the stressed and imperfect film stock of the day, it is all too obvious that Florida would be both a great place to live and a pretty lame and meaningless place to die. |
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| Realism: Improbable, unlikely and wrong but not unfeasible with the poor forensics of the day. |
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| Value for Price: For $10.00 I would rather watch old Hawaii Five-O Reruns off of old Betamax tapes. |
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| Plot: Complicated, intense and convoluted. But I am guessing most of that was unintentional. Still, it had much better written dialogue than just the random screams and evil laughter so common to this genre. |
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