Honeymoon

Oh what horror...Now don't be fooled into thinking I'm saying that this low brow FRIDAY THE 13TH wannabe is scary, no far from it. I'm talking about the hilariously atrocious acting that I had to sit through for an hour and twenty minutes to write this review. Watch out for Marlo the shopkeeper (Mary Lou Wittman), her excessive and somewhat unconvincing 'down south' accent is worth the rental price alone!

In the pre-credits we're shown a woman - Elaine (Cheryl Black) - getting on with her lover Vic (Bob Wagner). This fact is emphasised by the music that accompanies the scene which, sounds like it would feel more at home in a seventies porno movie. As the randy couple begin to dress down for the occasion, there's a frantic knock on the door. All of a sudden it flies open and in bursts a rather miserable looking chap. We then find out he's Elaine's husband, Frank. He punches Vic, grabs him around the throat and begins to strangle him. Quick thinking Elaine smashes him over the head with a glass bottle (presumably with some super human strength because it knocks him flying!) and helps Vic to his feet. In the commotion a paraffin lamp falls on the floor and before long the cabin's up in flames...with Frank left lying in it. Fast forward a year and Elaine is back on Lover's Island with her new husband...you've got it, Vic! They've just finished rebuilding the cabins after the tragic 'accident' that occurred 12 months earlier completely destroyed them. Their first customers - three flirtatious sorority sisters with their newly wed husbands in toe - arrive, and all seems to be going accordingly. But before long feelings of content switch to those of fear when a severely mutilated corpse is found on the beach. Stranded and without any form of contact with the outside world, the group must pit their wits against the Island's resident psychopath!

HONEYMOON HORROR is the only period slasher I can think of that manages to look at least five years older than it actually is. The whole flick (especially Bob Wagner's haircut) looks suspiciously seventies! Hmmm. All the genre cliches are present and correct, including the lunatic with heavy breath, the comical lard ass sheriff and of course the aforementioned sorority sisters who make perfect victim material for a deranged killer! Director Preston even pulls off one pretty suspenseful scene. Towards the end, Elaine hears someone trying to open her back door while she's in the kitchen of her cabin - unbeknown to her it's the killer. She turns to open it, leaving you thinking will she or wont she! I wont spoil that short moment of tension by telling you the outcome, simply because that's about as good as it gets, sadly the rest of the flick is pretty much of a disappointment. For a start there's the diabolical acting. It's almost comical how the cast calmly drink coffee whilst they're randomly being picked off and dispatched one by one by the maniacal assassin. Its no surprise, that absolutely NONE of these actors went on to do anything worth mentioning since 1981 when this little 'beauty' was unleashed on to the unsuspecting public! And then there's the incredibly inept sheriff and his goofy deputy. The director tries to add a touch of humour here and there by showing us these two buffoons pulling silly shenanigans whilst accompanying every scene with music that would make Benny Hill blush. But instead of generating any sort of amusement he merely creates two annoying characters that I'd rather not see on my TV screen. He also tries to be clever by not letting us see the killer right until the end and giving us a few would be suspects, so we can play whodunit. But even this doesn't work because (and i say this trying my best not to give too much away.)he shows us a whole heap of clues throughout that point straight at the real murderer's identity. So sadly that's another bad move on the director's part.

I'd like to say that HONEYMOON HORROR is a good reminder of a vintage year for slasher movies - 1981. But sadly it's probably one of the better examples of what killed of the genre. Avoid

Awful Friday the 13th. ripoff with an extremely low budget about several newlywed couples taking their honeymoon at a new island hotel designed with just newlywed couples in mind. However, they soon begin to fall prey to a killer lurking in the shadows and spying in the windows during love making sessions.

Avid horror fans might want to rent this because of a cool looking effect on the back of the tape box, but trust me this film is really awful. Just about everyone is miscast in this film and give nothing but wide eyed, jaw dropped heavily performances. The actors expressions remain almost the same no matter the situation. The director of this film, has given this film a murky, sleazy feel when it should at least be romantic at the beginning. The script copies Friday the 13th. all the way. This flick isn't even good for T & A since most of the cast members are in their mid 30's to 40's and are not attractive at all. Do yourself a favor and forget about this flick.

Rated R; Violence, Nudity, Sexual Situations, and Profanity.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Honeymoon Horror; before launching into my critique, here's a breakdown of my ratings:

Story - 0.50 Direction - 1.00 Pace - 0.75 Acting - 1.00 Enjoyment - 1.00

TOTAL - 4.25 out of 10

Honeymoon Horror would have been a better movie had the writers gone for a more mysterious approach and thrown in a few red herrings. Sadly they elected for a step-by-step structure, which leaves no doubt about the killer's identity. When using this formulaic approach, you need to have a brilliant director; one who can keep the audience's eyes on the screen.

And Harry Preston, who also co-wrote this story, nearly pulls it off. There is plenty of angled camerawork. I particularly like the scene where the girl answers the door. She comes out of the bathroom, and the camera pans down her body to her hand swinging by her side. But no sooner has the camera framed her hand than she reaches for the door handle to answer the knocking. The camera keeps the framing as she grips and turns the handle. It's a nice shot and better than the standard point and shoot that most would do. It shows imagination and skill. He is also talented when it comes to shooting in the dark. For the most part, the shadows are heavy, but you can still see the action. Unfortunately, a few scenes are in complete darkness, which is annoying. But the worst thing is the steady, unhurried pace. You need to use everything to entertain the viewers if they know the killer's identity from the start because there won't be a surprise at the climax. Even though the camerawork was fine, it didn't work with the movie's single tempo. There needed to be excitement, thrills, tension, and suspense. All of that was lacking.

The cast is another plus for the picture. All the performers do well in their roles. However, they are held back by stereotypically written characters.

I had the feeling Honeymoon Horror was written and shot to tag onto the Slasher genre that was doing so well in the 1980s. As such, it just misses the mark, though it could have been better. It needed a more powerful story filled with interesting characters. As it stands, I wouldn't recommend rushing to watch Honeymoon Horror. But, should you stumble across it online, it will pass an hour and a half. It's not all bad.

Please feel free to visit my Killer Thriller Chiller list to see where I ranked Honeymoon Horror, or better yet, to find something more entertaining.

Take Care & Stay Well.

I watched it yesterday and it was sooo stupid! This movie is really a poor man's Friday the 13th. I felt like I was watching a film through a projection cause of the quality of the film and the sound! The blood? One word: Ketchup! Don't waste your time with this flick (even the ending was dumb!), and watch Friday the 13th instead!

Made in the heydays of the slashers this is a slasher but one that people forgot and it disappeared in obscurity. It still is because if you want to see it you will have to search an old ex-rental NTSC VHS. Is it worth searching, oh yes it does but not for the horror.

The acting is sometimes as wooden as it can get. But that's normal because they were all first time actors, and even last time actors, not one made it further and only Kathy Johnson (tourist) came from a few other flicks but her career stopped with this flick. the worst acting came from Bill Pecchi as the sheriff but he went further as an technician like in Moonwalker (1988) as camera operator.

This flick is a perfect example how bad a flick can be due the low budget. The editing was too slow and it's clear that when they went running outside the cabin the sound was added afterwards. It isn't lipsync at all. But it can get worser. There were so many opportunities for the killer to attack but every time there was something in between so that the killer couldn't attack. If he attacks the editing was done so weird and bad that you misses some important moments of stabbing. Naturally they had to add some nudity which they did with a shower scene. Does I have to say that the killer slashes the nude girl, but just look once she's dead and is discovered by her lover. You can see her breath, her body is moving, go figure that one out!

The last scene were the killer enters the house is funny too. They tried to add some suspense but failed completely. Watch after a killing with an axe the killer watching the victim and her boyfriend just standing there waiting to be attacked. Once everything is solved we go further to a scene with the sheriff and his deputy on a motorboat, it adds nothing to the flick, only stupidity in the story and even the script, listen how he reacts to the CB.

Early eighties, the clothes do add something ridiculous to the viewer too. One guy is as gay as it can be, white socks, a chest with too much hair, and he's wearing a mustach and daisy dukes, but he's as straight as it can be. Men, this is a must see. There are a few bloody moments but from shot 5 you already know who the killer is.

One to add to your collections to classify under weird horrors. I had a few laughs due the cheesy lyrics and the weird editing while the killer goes berserk.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 1/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5